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Treehopper Drill Question

B

Bowtech Dually

New Member
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Feb 2, 2017
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Looking at purchasing a Treehopper drill, any opinions on which model is easier to drill with (standard or mini) or any other comparison or preferences between the two models. Although I will be also purchasing a few bits for a battery drill I do want to have the option of drilling by hand. and finally if anyone has a used drill and bolts in excellent condition PM me with a price.
 
I haven’t used both, but I suspect the regular is easier to drill with because you have better leverage mechanically, but the mini is lighter and easier to pack. Using their drill bit with a power drill is definitely the way to go for tree prepping, but the hand drill is great for quietly drilling trees you’re about to hunt that day. My bits have stayed very sharp, so I doubt you need more than one for the hand drill and one for the battery drill—you’d probably be better off buying/bringing an extra drill battery rather than an extra drill bit. As far as the bolts are concerned, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better price (new or used) than what you can find on eBay (like THESE, for example). I haven’t yet, but I plan to order some of those and marine grade heat shrink wrap like @Allegheny Tom talked about here: https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/bolts-for-fat-guys.28000/post-392294

Hope this helps!
 
Yes extra battery is useful prepping multiple trees, but an extra bit isn’t a bad thing to have, the tip can break off if you are reckless with it where gravity is concerned. I have the mini hand drill also, it’s functional, but has pinched me once or twice. I believe I have the same bolts mentioned above, no problems so far.
 
I've tested and owned both. I really don't think the larger one is noticeably easier to crank.
I have drilled trees that I was glad I had the mini. Sometimes we have to drill in tight spaces, between trunks or branches. Get the mini.
I would also advise having an extra bit because you could conceivably break the tip. There are a lot of trees that have hidden metal inside them, especially in farm country. Old fence, nails, etc can be grown over inside where you least expect it and if you hit that while drilling, you could be dead in the water. Ask anyone who cuts firewood how often they find metal in trees. Its happened to me a few times...not often, but when my hunt depends on getting up a tree, I want to make sure I have a back up bit with me, especially when its a long walk back to the truck. I have a small allen wrench electrical taped to my drill in the event I have to change a broken bit. Imagine this... Its your last vacation day to hunt. It's a perfect morning on November 5th and you find the perfect tree over the perfect scrape. You break the tip on your drill bit on the 2nd hole. You have a spare but its 1 mile away in your truck. Wouldn't that suck?
Get the mini with the folding handle, carry a spare bit and an allen wrench in your pack. Hope you never need it but if you do then you are prepared. Crap happens.
 
If taking out something like an 18 volt cordless drill, take way more battery than you think you will need. I like to pre-drill and leave bolts behind where I am allowed to and it's surprising how much juice it can take to drill a handful of trees. Also, regular drill bits in a power drill will work fine, assuming you have the right size.

I've only used the mini hand drill. At least I think that is what I have. It folds up real nice, weighs little and does a great job.

Not a big fan of drilling a tree when on a hunt in warmer weather. You can easily work up a sweat, which is why I highly recommend doing it in preseason.

When it cools off it's no big deal.
 
ChasingDinner said:
If taking out something like an 18 volt cordless drill, take way more battery than you think you will need. I like to pre-drill and leave bolts behind where I am allowed to and it's surprising how much juice it can take to drill a handful of trees. Also, regular drill bits in a power drill will work fine, assuming you have the right size.

I've only used the mini hand drill. At least I think that is what I have. It folds up real nice, weighs little and does a great job.

Not a big fan of drilling a tree when on a hunt in warmer weather. You can easily work up a sweat, which is why I highly recommend doing it in preseason.

When it cools off it's no big deal.
Click to expand...
100% right, nothing better than a cordless and presetting. Its so nice!
But sometimes you just need a hand drill.


Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
I recommend the mini also, I haven't used the regular by treehopper, but I used the EZ kut drill for many years and it's a world of difference from that. I've used the mini since it came out and have no complaints. Its perfect addition if you're a bolt guy.
 
I know this is an old thread but I thought I’d comment to reinforce the need for an extra bit, so no one ends up in the situation I was in. Wish I’d read this thread before last week.

Saturday 11/13 I was in the middle of the first day of a seven day Public Land Kansas Hunt. (19 hour drive from my house) Went to pre drill a tree midday because of the intel I’d gained from my morning sit. While drilling the 2nd hole the bit on my Treehopper snapped off about 1/4 inch from the end substantially past the little corkscrew. Not sure why. Drilled a Sycamore that morning absolutely no issue. I’d never dropped it while open on anything other than onto leaves or dirt. And had only drilled 10-12 trees with it before. I was drilling an Osage Orange tree and I’ve been told since this incident that they are really hard. Anyway my point is, 19 hours from home with no backup bit on a week long rut hunt in Kansas sucked. Thankfully I’d brought my cut down lone wolfs so I wasn’t out of the tree sitting game altogether. But my pack weight went way up real quick. Moral of the story…. Like Allegheny said, buy and carry an extra bit. I’m ordering 2 new ones from Mark as we speak.
 
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