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Why bolts and a hand drill?

valerio024

valerio024

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
546
Location
Southwest Michigan
I’ve seen so much excitement about bolts lately. So I have a simple question, why do people choose this method?

Are people using them primarily as a preset method? Is it because of the weight savings? Cost efficiency? It seems slow and sweaty to do on the fly for mobile hunting.


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For me it's weight and cost. 50 bolts for $30.00 beats any other method I am comfortable with and you can drill with a battery drill when pre-setting before season if you chose. Check out nutterbuster's videos and watch as he scampers up and down and up and down a tree. If he can do it in Alabama without breaking a sweat it should be a piece of cake in Ohio.
 
All the above. Nutterbuster makes it look easy. I don’t think I can get up a tree that fast with them but it’s still not much longer than it took me to get up one with my cut down heliums and webbing aiders. For presets it can’t be beat.
 
For presets it’s great. For run and gun it’s super compact. For me personally I only used it for presets last year. I’m usually having some foot pain by the time I get 10-12 holes drilled and setup. I still have some trees to drill for the upcoming season so I’ll see how losing weight may help with that. For my private land presets I just leave the bolts in the tree. They are pretty much the easiest quietest way to climb at that point.
 
Much easier than screw in steps. Take your time though, you will sweat. Hard soles on your shoes helps a lot for standing on the bolts while drilling the next holes. The Treehopper hand drill helps a lot too, great drill.
@flinginairos , Jared Schaffer, had a good short video on using a simple aider which eliminated half the bolts.


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Depends on which climbing method that you are comparing bolts to.

The closest other method to compare bolts to would be screw-in steps, and also exactly which screw-ins you are talking about. Cranford EZ Climb are hands down the best screw ins. But they are expensive, they don't pack as well as bolts, and are still very difficult on some species of trees to start, fully screw, and remove. Osage, for example is like screwing into a steel I-beam. Its actually easy to hand drill holes in super hard woods like Osage.
Even removing screw-ins can be difficult. I hate the sound of the loud "snap" of a screw in when it initially breaks free when unscrewing them from certain trees. And Cranford do have a weak link. The lag is attached to the step by a pin. I had a pin break years ago. Its a good thing it was the ground level step. Grade 8 bolts are actually safer than screw-in steps.
Initial installation of Cranford is slightly faster than bolts, but removal and replacing on subsequent hunts is lightning fast with bolts. For me, speed in getting away from my tree after the hunt can be critical. I want to get down and out when deer are not present. The only way down the tree faster than bolts would be to jump.

The other choice for screw ins are the 1 piece type...Ameristep is a common brand that most sporting goods store carry. They absolutely suck. Clunky to pack and noisy to carry and horrible to install and remove. They sell a big tool for leverage in aiding in screwing them in/out. I sold ~100 of those steps when I got bolts. I can hand drill holes and install bolts faster than I can install those garbage steps.
Bolts can be installed in tight places and on irregular trees with bumps, knots, and adjacent limbs better than a large, 1 piece screw-in step. If a 1 piece screw-in is not perfectly square with the tree, it will make contact and impede rotation before full insertion.

I don't get to hunt pine trees, but guys that do say the sap can make drills and bolts sticky and a mess. IDK.

For preseason presets, cordless drills and bolts is fast, easy, inexpensive, and less financial risk for theft.
I can preset dozens of trees for a fraction of the cost of any other climbing method for presets.

In most states, bolts are not legal on public land so sticks or strap-on steps are another method to climb. Heavy and awkward to carry/unpack and repack, expensive to buy, visible to thieves and expensive to have stolen. Fairly fast to install, but can be a little awkward to transport up the tree as you climb.

SRT climbing...some guys love it. I've never tried it so I can't compare it to bolts.

No climbing method is perfect. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. For private land hunting, nothing gets it done as easily, for less money than bolts.
OP...Thanks for starting the thread and asking the question. The more I typed, the more it reminded me of all the things I love about bolts. It also reminded me, once again, how much I despise 1 piece screw in steps. Unloading them was the 2nd best thing I've done. The best thing was switching to bolts.
 
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valerio024 said:
I’ve seen so much excitement about bolts lately. So I have a simple question, why do people choose this method?

Are people using them primarily as a preset method? Is it because of the weight savings? Cost efficiency? It seems slow and sweaty to do on the fly for mobile hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Because they're literally the best option, and nobody would use anything else if bolts were legal everywhere. :

They're the lightest method possible.

They're the most compact method possible.

They're the cheapest method possible. You can buy grade 8 bolts for .30 a piece if you shop them. And if you're willing to compromise on strength and go with a milder steel, they're even cheaper.

Done right, they're the safest method possible. Grade 8 steel inserted into a tree ain't going nowhere. No dangling from aiders. No stretching your steps. Just put another bolt in. Once set, you "could" climb them without a linemans belt. And leaning/twisted/weird trees are no problem. You can climb trees with bolts that you couldn't touch with other methods. Especially really big trees.

You can mobile hunt and preset with them. I can get up a tree with bolts about as quickly as anybody else can, because I can reach in a pocket, grab my gear and go. No setting my pack down on the ground, fumbling with buckles, hopping on one foot putting on spurs, or clanking sticks together.

They can be used as a platform and a climbing method. Oh, and a bow/pack holder.

You just can't beat them. Once you give bolts a good, honest, go and get comfortable with them, you'll hate everything else. I'm literally at the point where I just about won't climb an area I can't use bolts on.
 
Can't use them on public ground here, but I do use them on the very limited amount of private land I hunt, where I know that I can do it. I do think gum and pine would make the bit really sticky, but Goof Off would probably clean it right up.
 
noxninja said:
Can't use them on public ground here, but I do use them on the very limited amount of private land I hunt, where I know that I can do it. I do think gum and pine would make the bit really sticky, but Goof Off would probably clean it right up.
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I'll confirm that pine sap is a pain. But, I drill a lot of pines, and rarely clean my drill. It usually self cleans the next time you drill a hardwood.

Bolts get cleaned up with whatever I have on hand. Sometimes just hot water and a scrubber.
 
If bolts were legal on public here in MO, I would use my Buckingham's instead. The bolts and hand drill are the lightest most packable way to get in a tree, that I am aware of. However, the amount of energy expended drilling holes with a hand drill, rivals the effort of installing screw in steps. This may be something to consider while trying to keep the "lather factor" down to a minimum during a hang and hunt. I've used bolts on private, in preset tree's, for many years. But the holes have all been drilled with an 18v DeWalt.
 
patriotoutlaw said:
If bolts were legal on public here in MO, I would use my Buckingham's instead. The bolts and hand drill are the lightest most packable way to get in a tree, that I am aware of. However, the amount of energy expended drilling holes with a hand drill, rivals the effort of installing screw in steps. This may be something to consider while trying to keep the "lather factor" down to a minimum during a hang and hunt. I've used bolts on private, in preset tree's, for many years. But the holes have all been drilled with an 18v DeWalt.
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It's work, but it's not that much work. Less than 30 seconds per hole, and you get to rest, alternating hands as you go.

I'd say that for most individuals, not being able to drill 8-12 holes with a hand drill is an indicator of a bigger problem. How you gonna drag that buck out with floppy little noodle arms? ;)
 
Nutterbuster said:
It's work, but it's not that much work. Less than 30 seconds per hole, and you get to rest, alternating hands as you go.

I'd say that for most individuals, not being able to drill 8-12 holes with a hand drill is an indicator of a bigger problem. How you gonna drag that buck out with floppy little noodle arms? ;)
Click to expand...

Still more work than my spurs. I like the bolts don't get me wrong, but if both are legal and I am going on a run and gun hunt I'm grabbing my Geckos 100% of the time. Carbon bolts and the new TreeHopper is pretty sweet tho ;) I'll be presetting several locations for that setup.
 
Nutterbuster said:
It's work, but it's not that much work. Less than 30 seconds per hole, and you get to rest, alternating hands as you go.

I'd say that for most individuals, not being able to drill 8-12 holes with a hand drill is an indicator of a bigger problem. How you gonna drag that buck out with floppy little noodle arms? ;)
Click to expand...

Putting on a sweat is no indication of fitness. In fact, the more fit I am, the faster I break into a sweat with any amount of activity.


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I go with spurs whenever I can too. Bolts are a great preset though.


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valerio024 said:
I’ve seen so much excitement about bolts lately. So I have a simple question, why do people choose this method?

Are people using them primarily as a preset method? Is it because of the weight savings? Cost efficiency? It seems slow and sweaty to do on the fly for mobile hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Add up the time it takes you to pack sticks or stepps, Take off your pack and unpack them at the tree, put your gear back on, climb up, climb down, pack up. Then add the extra time/effort of carrying the odd shaped/extra weight in and out of the woods.

With bolts it’s a tiny pouch, that weighs at most 3.5lbs. It’s ready to be deployed without unpacking it. Yes, it can take 5-10 minutes longer to climb up. But with exception of spurs/rappel, there isn’t a faster way down. Right back in a pouch and walk away from tree. No yard sale at base of tree.

Everyone hunts differently, so some of these advantages end up being bigger or smaller.

I can’t stand sticks, for lots of reasons. Packability, and total effort involved is my reason for using bolts when I can. I’m using stepps when I can’t.
 
kyler1945 said:
Add up the time it takes you to pack sticks or stepps, Take off your pack and unpack them at the tree, put your gear back on, climb up, climb down, pack up. Then add the extra time/effort of carrying the odd shaped/extra weight in and out of the woods.

With bolts it’s a tiny pouch, that weighs at most 3.5lbs. It’s ready to be deployed without unpacking it. Yes, it can take 5-10 minutes longer to climb up. But with exception of spurs/rappel, there isn’t a faster way down. Right back in a pouch and walk away from tree. No yard sale at base of tree.

Everyone hunts differently, so some of these advantages end up being bigger or smaller.

I can’t stand sticks, for lots of reasons. Packability, and total effort involved is my reason for using bolts when I can. I’m using stepps when I can’t.
Click to expand...
Great post.

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I'm just sitting here trying to enjoy my lunch while I read all about how great bolts or spurs are. It'd be a lot more enjoyable if they were legal in Michigan. Count your blessings guys, the grass is indeed greener on your side of the fence on this one.
 
T.Clarke said:
I'm just sitting here trying to enjoy my lunch while I read all about how great bolts or spurs are. It'd be a lot more enjoyable if they were legal in Michigan. Count your blessings guys, the grass is indeed greener on your side of the fence on this one.
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Did I mention I'm hunting public land pigs this weekend? And I've never shoveled a single scoop of snow? ;)
 
Nutterbuster doesn’t worry much about sweating. I always try not to get sweaty. That usually lasts until I pull my rubber boots on. I guess I could put the boots on at home and would make it at least 10ft from the truck before I start sweating. That’s just what happens when it’s 90 degrees out.
 
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