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Treehopper bolts/ best way to find the holes in the dark

what are you guys dipping them in? to quiet them, get some grip and lose the shine?
 
what are you guys dipping them in? to quiet them, get some grip and lose the shine?
I just use flat tan spray paint when using them for pre set locations. The ones I carried with me are the coated bolts from tree hopper but I don’t do that very often anymore.

Other people will have some better answers with marine shrink wrap but spray paint to better conceal has worked for me.

I met a guy last year who had just shot a doe sitting underneath a tree I had bolts in and he was unaware.
 
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Yea with shipping that’s not bad at all . My buddy was a die hard tree hopper guy untill I showed him these . He said he will never buy tree hoppers again
 
another question i have if u guys are leaving them in the tree for presets, how long about can u leave them in until u can no longer get them out? for instance a preset sucked or u set a preset for a certain buck and now dont need that preset anymore and want to move it?
 
it’s all here gang. Classic thread.
 
I use marine grade heat shrink tubing. I have left them in from Sept- April. Came right out on 97% the other 3% was a pair of vise grips.
 
I use marine grade heat shrink tubing. I have left them in from Sept- April. Came right out on 97% the other 3% was a pair of vise grips.
I'll say that its really not very predictable as to how long it takes for the tree to become tight on the bolts.
I pulled a preset maple tree last fall. The bolts had been in for 3 years. Most were snug enough that I needed the mini vice grips but there were a few that I pulled out by hand.
Individual trees have individual characteristics within that individual tree.
Can't always depend that a given tree will drill consistently, or insert/remove, or grow around bolts in a predictable manner. That's why you always carry a hand drill and vice grips for impromptu changes.
 
I agree completely agree. Every single tree is different. I always carry the hand drill, vise grips and an extra set of bolts. If my "preset" is 30 yards in the wrong direction I am screwed watching deer walk just out of range. The whole idea of saddle hunting is being mobile.
 
I bought the bolts off amazon and have the treehopper bolts, the treehopper bolts seem to really stay put in the tree barely any movement, must be because of the grip on em. the amazon bolts seem to like to slide out a bit. is there anything u can put on them for presets that will hold em in better, hate to grab onto one and it slides out...
 
I bought the bolts off amazon and have the treehopper bolts, the treehopper bolts seem to really stay put in the tree barely any movement, must be because of the grip on em. the amazon bolts seem to like to slide out a bit. is there anything u can put on them for presets that will hold em in better, hate to grab onto one and it slides out...
Slight downward angle

edit: I'm careful to also put force in a straight vertical direction when climbing bolts
 
what are you guys dipping them in? to quiet them, get some grip and lose the shine?
I use black anodized machine bolts with Allen heads (get them from Fastenal) - I‘ve left them in trees multiple years and no rust. I would have to use the Allen wrench the remove them, but still good to reuse. I bought a large bag of them prolly 15 years ago - before prices went haywire….
 
I use black anodized machine bolts with Allen heads (get them from Fastenal) - I‘ve left them in trees multiple years and no rust. I would have to use the Allen wrench the remove them, but still good to reuse. I bought a large bag of them prolly 15 years ago - before prices went haywire….
You gotta try mini vice grips for removing bolts. Get the cheapest Chinese crap that you can find. Mine are less than 4" long and super light weight.
Clamp it onto a bolt and you can turn and pull at the same time, and without the fear of dropping it like an Allen wrench. Plus, you can use the v grips on other types of bolts or even for tree stand maintenance on the fly. One tool, multi purpose.
 
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