New to Ice Fishing - Auger Question

[TSCTSC]

Do you think I should go get a hand auger or is the hand auger so bad that I am better off getting a gas powered? A hand auger costs about USD 60-90. But the powered ones costs at least USD250 at least. Even the ones that are used are at least USD250. How long does it take to drill a hole with a hand auger anyway? Thanks

[waterwolff]

Boy lot's of variables here. How fat is your wallet. What kind of shape are you in. How sharp are the blades. How often do you think you will get out. Early season the holes punch pretty quickly but late season they tend to grind out alot slower. I myself use both I use my hand auger when shallow early and after pannies it is only a 6" auger. After 4" of ice or more I tend to go to my 8" power auger. This year I'm going to a 10" auger for under the house.

Good luck and have fun in your search.

Mike

[CFRay]

If you are reasonably good shape a hand auger will do you fine. With sharp blades you can cut through 18" of ice in a minute or less. No gas smell on your hands to fool with, much lighter to transport. However, late in the season with 30" of ice you will only want to drill one pair of holes each day.

[schweady]

I've had quite the ramp-up in equipment lately, so I won't be replacing my 8" Mora hand auger any too soon. It has been good to me, and I don't really think about "needing" a power model until it's over a foot or so of hard stuff. $24.50 from Holiday station back in '77. State of the art item from a top supplier of fishing stuff back then. My local bait shop has taken the old blades in trade every fall for resharpened ones.

My father-in-law taught me to take care of it: find a clean spot to drill, never drill out an old hole, never drill where vehicles have left behind their dirt and rocks and salt etc, never bang the blade end on anything - ie: to free up ice etc, dry it off and coat the blades with oil right away each time home to stave off the rust. (He's the Master of Maintenance Overkill: even though he has a back-up item for everything he owns, the first one never seems to wear out..)

[Captain B.R.K]

TSCTSC - After owning a power auger, I won't ever go back to a hand auger. Yes, a hand auger is nice option when the ice is thinner and one is trying to be a little lighter than the norm. BUT most often than not, I'm on ice that I don't need to worry about that.

No more sweating to death and stripping down to a t-shirt after drilling ONEhole.

If you think you will be on the ice a lot, then I would spend the money up front and buy a power auger. It will make you that more productive on the ice because instead of deciding where to drill and working your whole body just for 1 or 2 holes, you'll just pull the cord, hold on the throttle and drill 20 holes in one area.

You'll be happier you bought one and it will make you that much more effective on the ice.

Good Luck.

[schweady]

I hear ya, Cap'n. Don't get me wrong: power auger envy sets in by January, for sure. And I don't care to drill more than half dozen holes even on a good day. I see the smirks from my gas auger bretheren, but I do get comments from my buddies that my ol' blue cuts better than other hand augers they've tried. Sometimes, it's entertaining to see the number of heads that pop out of houses to check out that unfamiliar hand-augering sound.

[federline]

First things first - A hand auger is better than no auger.

Now that that is out of the way, I started with a 7" Mora. It cuts well. I hear the Nils Master hand auger setup kicks butt.

With my mora 7", I can drill two holes in 6" in less than two minutes. At a foot thick, I can do two in less than 5 minutes - and I'm starting to get a bit tired. At 18", I have to take a break halfway through #2. At 24", I have to break and drink water between #1 and #2. At 30", I stopped completely after one hole and put my line in, the H3LL with the second hole.

A couple years ago I picked up a used Mag3000 10.25" chipper blade power auger. It's a Mack truck. Loud, smelly, powerful, big, heavy, and slow - but never fails me, blades are cheep and I can maintain them myself, and drills holes so big that medium dogs could fall though. And the best part? The hole drills itself, and if I don't like where I am, I can move without cursing a second workout.

I'll probably move to Nevada before I decide to get a new auger... I like the combo of my old Mora and old Mag3000.

A hand auger is better than no auger.