Has anyone used one of these drills. I would like to know what size of drill and batteries to chip out 10-15 trap beds per day. I would also be drilling 1/2" holes. I have heavy clay and when froze it is worse than concrete. thanks

I built a custom auger this week for a Milwaukee M18 Fuel D Handle Rotary Hammer.

Redneck, what do you charge for the auger?

The Auger by itself is $29.00 (They don't come hardfaced, I got a little carried away)
It was an additional $37.00 for material, machining and welding.

I use this Dewalt,20V.I use a tile chisel for beds.It will easily do what you want.I also drill stake holes with a long,masonry bit.I recommend Bosch bits.

Taximan, on average how many sets do you think you get out of a battery charge using the drill for dang near everything it looks like? I've resisted packing a drill for just digging dirtholes as I don't use a ton of them, but it looks like you might use that thing on every set which makes more sense to me.

I bought a Milwaukee rotary hammer drill this fall. Going to use it to chisel trap beds, predrill for earth anchors, drill dirtholes and drive wolffangs in frost. Bought a ground rod driver bit for driving the anchors. Has to make life easier this winter. Curious to see how the batteries hold up. I have 4.

I went whole hog with the same unit Taximan has.

5ah batteries, car charger, the whole shebang.

Playing with it in the hills around the yard, it’s ability to auger a 3” dirt hole has been somewhat lackluster. But, it’ll drill a 1/2” pilot hole 18” deep in seconds. Even in the middle of the gravel driveway!

So even if all I use it for is stake holes, it may be worth it.

Do these roto drills have reverse ?

Yessir.

I read that Andy does not use the 1 9/16 rotary drill for trapping but prefers the 1" Milwaukee. Does anyone use the Makita 1" rotary or does one need to use the Milwaukee 1'" to drill pilot holes or drive stakes, etc.? I test drove the Makita 1 9/16 but I am wondering if its overkill? Its heavy and uses 2-18 volt batterys. It powered thru the frost when I test drove the 1/2" drill bit. Please chime in if you have some experience with the Makita rotarys I mentioned. Thanks.

I'm not sure.I bought for use in the dead of Winter,when I'm adding sets,not setting daylight to dark.It seems like I have set about 12 with a 2AH battery.I try to carry 4 batteries,a couple 4AH and a 5AH but have never needed them all.Again,I'm not setting the number of traps that many do.

I built all the custom augers for Andy and most of the other top pros that switched to SDS recently

Andy has posted a few videos of it in action on Facebook

Andy is very happy with it's performance under extreme conditions

Ttt

After using the Milwaukee hammer drill for 2 seasons, I think maybe it might be the most important piece of equipment I have. Makes trapping in the winter much easier. From chiseling trap beds to drilling pilot holes for earth anchors, it handled it all with ease. The batteries lasted much longer than I expected. Probably the best money I've ever spent. Kinda big to carry, but I trap off of a sxs so it's not really an issue.

pics of your set-up, LDW?

It must be nice to be young and fit. My bucket Is heavy enough with just a trowel and hammer and a sifter and some bait and lure. If I added all that gear I would have to hire someone or have to use a 2 wheel cart to haul It too the set . LOL

Actually,the rotary hammer eliminates my 5 lb hammer and my heavy duty trowel,so you really aren't carrying much more weight.It also takes a lot of the physical work out of,takes the strain off my wrist,shoulders etc makes me faster and I just get more traps set and I'm not nearly as tired at the end of the day.I would also say it is one of the best purchases I have made for the trapline.Lets face it,most canine trappers don't set very far from the truck.

I have the same drill as Taximan that I used to chisel trap beds and drill both pilot holes(both rebar and wolf fangs) and bait/lure holes after our ground turned to concrete this year. So much easier on my wrist and shoulder than just using the trapping hammer to chip out a bed and pound in a stake and no more frozen chips in my face. Much easier to make the bed the right size for the trap. A whole lot quicker with the drill, so less time at the set.

I moved and reset my entire line in January after I got the drill and with 2 4AH batteries never ran out of juice. I do not set a huge number of traps, but I am sure that I will always run out of daylight hours before I run out of battery hours.

The drill is more weight and one more thing to carry, but after using it I think at the end of the day it allows me to make more and better sets.

I'm not young or fit, just a broken down 60 year old. That's why I bought the hammer drill. Lol. Really, it saves a lot of work in the winter.