If you’ve been ice fishing at all in the last few years, you’ve likely seen someone drilling a hole with their handheld power drill. If you’re like me, you grew green with envy as they pulled the trigger and drilled a hole or two while priming, choking and pulling and pulling and pulling to get your gas auger started. Drill-powered augers seem to be all the rage lately, but are they really that much better than a gas auger? In the terms of full disclosure, I have jumped on the drill train and sold my gas auger. Here are some things to consider if you’re on the fence.
Drill
The powerhouse of the operation, the drill is the most important part of the four-part system. The drill needs to have the right specs and settings to properly drill a hole without damaging the internal components or the auger itself. Many smaller “picture hanger” drills don’t have the oomph to get the job done. In general, you’re looking for a drill that has at least 100 in/lb of torque per inch of hole radius. For example, a drill with 600 in/lb of torque will likely handle a 6-inch hole, but an 8-inch hole could smoke the drill. Keep in mind, an 8-inch hole has nearly twice the surface area to cut as a 6-inch hole (50 square inches versus 28 square inches.) The drill needs to have a 1/2-inch chuck to accommodate most auger adapters as well.
There are three drills on the market right now that are considered the top three based on specs and availability. Those are the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1/2-inch Hammer Drill, Ridgid Octane 1/2-inch Hammer Drill and the DeWalt 996 20V Max XR Hammer Drill, in no particular order. Besides considering the overall torque rating of the drill, it’s important to research the warranty before making a purchase. Although these drills will get the job done, they weren’t made for this sort of thing. If you drill a lot of holes, you may end up needing to make a warranty claim, and you’ll want to know your drill is covered.
Whichever drill you choose, the settings on the drill are almost as important as the specs. You need to make sure your drill is set to its lowest speed setting and set to “drill” mode. Using a drill on “hammer” setting will likely dull or damage the auger blades and slow down the drilling process.
These high-torque drills should include an auxiliary handle, and you’ll want to make sure you use it. Trying to drill a hole without the auxiliary handle is a quick way to get hurt, either from straining your wrist or getting hit by the drill as it spins around when you lose your grip. The auxiliary handle makes the drill perform more like a conventional auger that’s held with two hands.
Auger
There are more options for augers now than there have ever been, which is great for the consumer. You can tailor your auger to your type of fishing. That means what works best for your fishing buddy or the tournament ice angler might not be best for you. It may seem daunting when you look at how many choices there are, but you can narrow them down significantly if you know what features you need.
One significant feature of an auger is the blade style. Most augers have either shaver blades or chipper blades. Shaver blades cut easier and with less power required from the drill. Chipper blades are less prone to dulling when drilling through dirty ice and work better for re-opening frozen holes, like in a permanent ice shack for example. Whether or not the auger has a center point will also dictate whether or not you’re able to drill overlapping holes. If you frequently fish an area with monster fish and find a single 8-inch hole too small, you should seriously consider an auger with a center point. The overlapping holes can also be drilled to create a spearing hole for pike or sturgeon.
There are a handful of augers on the market today that were designed specifically for use with a drill, but other augers can also be retrofitted for that same purpose on a tighter budget. Many hand augers can be converted to work with a drill using an adapter. More on adapters later.
