This is going to sound crazy to folks who have good soil conditions i realize that but where I live the soil is extremely rocky so much so that digging a traditional pocket set takes quite a bit of time. Ive bent a couple tile spades trying to mimic the stuff I've seen in videos. My question is could / would an auger be a good choice. I know about and use the "poke hole set" and use it regularly its basically my pocket set but I thought maybe the auger that I use on dry land (where the rocks allow) would help create some eye appeal that a piece of rebar poked in the ground doesn't

I agree that a decent sized pocket has much more appeal than a poke hole set. I've never used an auger to make pockets, but I've seen it done in videos and such. I see no reason not to give yours a try!

I will ive never seen anyone do that before

If you're bending tile spades on rocks, I don't think an auger is going to get it done...

It's rough county down here I've had to start a lot of sets over because something won't let it work

Hence the name of your county. I roll with the punches and make cubbies and sandwich sets when its that bad.

For me, the location is more important than the set. Theres a reason why you picked the spot that had rocks. As long as you can stabilize a trap enough at that spot, do whatever you need to do to get an attractant there quickly and move on. coon are too easy to catch without the hole. mink is another story,

Gas augers im not sure how well theyd do with repeated dunkings. Electric ones even without getting dropped will still get enough moisture to get ruined. I do have a hand crank one but dintt use it.