StrikeMaster Trip

This weekend I made the trek from Des Moines, IA to Minneapolis, MN to attend the Thorne Brothers portable shack modification event as well as check out StrikeMaster's headquarters and do some "retail therapy" at the various outdoor sporting goods stores in the Minneapolis - St Paul area.

After stopping at the Cabelas in Owatonna, MN we finally made it up to StrikeMaster in Big Lake, MN.  I've always seen pictures of the place but visiting it and seeing everything first hand was more then words could describe.  Upon arriving at the location we were greeted by the signage at the front of the building letting us know we had arrived at our destination.
I brought up my Lazer Mag Xpress gas auger to have it serviced and gone over and while that was being completed, i was given a tour of the facilities.  I was in awe at the size of the warehouse and all of the various augers and accessories they had in stock.  Near the service entrance, they had many of their augers on display as well as some of the older augers they used to manufacture.  Ive included some of the pictures below.

(Older gas augers)

(More gas augers)

(Spoon and hand augers)

(Current augers and trophies)

(Older Auger)

(Ice Saw)

Above you see the various photos of spoon, hand, and gas augers as well as an old ice saw in the last picture.  Before modern refrigeration, they used to cut large blocks of ice from the frozen lakes or rivers and use those blocks to keep the food cold in the fridges of that generation.  It was very labor intensive and not nearly as efficient as we have today.

For the movie enthusiasts out there, the movie "Grumpy Old Men" had a portion of the film which featured some ice fishing scenes.  The gas auger they used in the movie was made by StrikeMaster and is on display at their location.  The auger was epoxied and lacquered to give it the appearance that it was much older then it really was.  Included below is a picture of me with the auger and another picture of me trying to start it.  I think if there was a little gas in the auger she would have fired

right up!

(Picture with original auger)

(Trying to get her started)

I was able to see the new Ice Troller Universal Auger Rack that StrikeMaster is carrying this year.  It seems very well built and will provide security for your auger while traveling on your atv or snowmobile.  For those who operate the StrikeMaster Strike Lite or Strike Lite II augers, the mount comes with a bungee cord which keeps your power head in the proper position while in transport on the ice.  For those worried about supporting the power head's weight, you could modify the mount by attaching an L bracket which would support the weight of the power head.

(Auger Mount)

(Close up of bungee system)

After spending some time going over the operation of the new auger i purchased and having the staff field some of my questions, i took a quick picture and was on my way.  It was great to spend some time with StrikeMaster and their knowledgeable staff and i look forward to future trips there!