Who uses an old school auger?

[deerminator]

Who uses one? I have an 8 inch strikemaster I bought 8 years ago and probably drill about a dozen holes a week with it on average. It's really not that much work so long as you keep a sharp set of blades on the end. I'm probably drilling through about 21 inches of ice right now on average. I'm thinking about getting a power auger but in no hurry until I just decide I need a new toy and can afford it.

[goblueM]

i do. 4 inch strikemaster, it tears thru the ice. of course, pretty much limits me to panfish, although fit a 31 by 15 inch pike thru it a couple weeks ago

[nmitchell17]

i use an 8 inch hand auger, likely will buy a power one when i can afford it. the key is not use it to bang the end on the ice, it flattens the angle of the blades and then it won't work

[My_Key]

I have a 6" Strikemaster Mora that I use until the ices gets 8" thick, then it's the gas auger.

[TroutYammer]

Ditto! Use the hand auger until the ice gets to be about 12" and then cut over to a power auger. I really love early ice and don't mind hand-banging the holes.

I hate to admint it but I have never broken down and purchased a power auger. I just go ice fishing with my brothers and friends after early ice and leech off their power augers!

[Ebiz]

I used an 8" lazer hand auger for the past 8 years until I finally saved up and bought a new Strikemaster power auger this year. Almost feel like cheating! But with 20" of ice I don't miss drilling 4-5 holes and just settling on a spot because I'm exhausted. But in some ways it was more rewarding catching fish when I spent the time figuring out exactly where I wanted to set-up before I started drilling.

[fiddleFish]

I use my 30-year-old 6" Mora all winter long just about everywhere I go. I fitted it with an offset handle, and I shim out the blades and these tweaks make it into a fairly serviceable auger even for late winter ice. I have a new 8" Nils that use when I want to sight fish or where I might hook into a big cat or a wayward sturgeon. A power auger isn't in the cards for me any time soon.

[laportian]

I have an 8 inch strikemaster. I like it early when there is 10 inches or less of ice. After that I use my jiffy. I always bring the hand jobber along though cause I've needed it more than once as a backup. I took my jiffy in to the shop to get a carb kit and to get it jetted out and it was there from the 2nd week in Dec. until last Wednesday. I fish at least two days a week and man was I getting sick of that hand auger by Xmas. Glad to have it though.

[Crm7290]

I have an 8 inch strikemaster also but have been avoiding using it by fishing with friends who have gas augers

[Fireranger]

I use a hand auger as well, when I want a new hoile but use the hatchett most of the time to open old holes. I was out with a buddy who had an old school power auger, not sure exactly what it was but I think it had a sticker that said it was an 'Arnst Digger', it had a tecumseh motor. This thing worked like a beast! And I've never seen an auger throw ice out of a whole like this before, I think it might be the pitch of the auger or something, never had to clear ice with the scoop!

[MJ1657]

I can remember when I was a kid my dad used a swedish spoon. Thats really old school.

[Red Cabin]

I use an old Kluge, I have two of them, 71' and a 72' I think production stopped around 75' then resumed a few years ago. The old ones are heavy but seem to cut faster than the current brands, and I'm still using the original blades!

[Crm7290]

It seems like the older ones are much higher quality than the newer ones as far as gas augers go. My friends on his second eskimo, but my other friend has a 30 year old jiffy I believe? that runs like a tank

[TruthWalleyes]

Used to use a 7" hand auger Mora I believe...But around Bach Fest last year i tore up my shoulder and had to buy a 8" gas auger to finish out the ice season last year....Best purchases i've made in a while

[Tom7227]

Who uses one?

Probably anyone under the age of 40, maybe even 30. Older than that you either have enough money to buy a power rig, you have a size 18 neck and a size 3 head, or you are one lucky dude to be able to keep it up.

[FishLocker]

Yup, I am old, and still use the (red) SNABB Swenson Auger (Swedish Spoon) made in Sweden. I inherited the red one from my father so it is REALLY OLD. Produces a beautiful 6 inch hole. I hand sharpen, and it cuts with less effort than my 8 inch lazer hand auger wilth the big twin blades. The blue one is my cheater for this year since my shoulders complain after a number of holes...I used black pipe, heated and hammered flat one end and drilled for the spoon, then ground down a nut driver to fit inside the pipe and tack welded it in place so I can use my drill/driver to drill holes. The blue cheater is a newer auger and is much thiner steel than the red one.

Here is a close up of the nut driver end I put on the blue auger

.The cheater works so well I am thinking of getting a bigger drill and changing my Lazer over to battery power too.

The strap is to support the auger so the chuck on my drill does not have to hold thet weight of the entire rig, it only turns the shaft. It is also a fail safe if the chuck gets loose, the auger won't drop through the hole

the FishLocker

[Gordie]

I have a couple that I have saved over the years and my first one along with a couple of my grandfathers old spoon augers. drill a hole in 2 foot of ice and you'll have a whole new respect for those guys that fished

[leakywaders]

6inch Lazer. Works fine for the amount of fishing I do.

[Surreal Deal]

I have a couple that I have saved over the years and my first one along with a couple of my grandfathers old spoon augers. drill a hole in 2 foot of ice and you'll have a whole new respect for those guys that fished

You will also have another inch or two around your forearms. And forget about this "hole hopping" business. It's more like "hole flopping" - when you finish the hole, flop down next to the hole and rest for a while.

I still have the spoon auger that I started out with, hanging as wall art in my garage.

[Kevlaro]

I still have my Dad's old swedish spoon style as well hanging in the garage. I remember when me and my brothers were kids we would head out on the lake and it took all three of us working together for quite awhile just to get 6 holes punched, 1 cranking 1 holding it steady and 1 of us pushing down...Dad made it look so easy.

[deerminator]

Thanks for the replies and pics guys. This is an interesting read. I just thought about it after reading a few posts that pitied the fools drilling through 2 feet of ice with a hand auger. I agree, if I fished more, I might and may very well consider a power one soon. But for now, it's just a little more excercise. Even at 2 feet of ice or darn near it on our lake, it doesn't take me more than 2-3 minutes or so to drill a hole, and that's with stopping to scoop ice chips out while I go.