While most drywall contractors will scoff at the idea of a collated screw gun, many homeowners and yes even some contractors are finding them very useful.  I decided to write a quick review of the advantage of them.  I know there are more brands out there but DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee are the main ones that offer either the cordless drywall screw gun with an auto-feed attachment or as a complete kit.  Keep in mind; we are just considering the collated screw gun for drywall applications.  You will find others for decking and more.  You will also find corded collated drywall screw guns as well.

There are a few benefits of a cordless collated drywall screw gun.  First off, for those who don’t hang much drywall, it will be faster.  For the pure drywall contractor, they use so many screws and get so good at hanging the drywall; they likely will lean towards a corded single feed tool.  Still, they too find situations where the tool is useful like small jobs or even tacking up drywall overhead.  I think of how many times I have got a piece of drywall in place, then dropped the screw and fumbled trying to grab another one.  I am just your average, well maybe below average DIY homeowner.  Not stringing power cords is also a real benefit.  In some applications you will have no power at all.  So yes a collated drywall screw gun does have its place.

When I was selling power tools, I learned very quickly not to tell a contractor what color power tool he liked.  That somewhat applies to cordless collated screw guns as well.  The big three mentioned above are all good quality tools that will do the job.  I would tell you if you already have a DeWalt, Milwaukee or Makita preference, you will likely lean towards your brand.  And that make sense.  You already have the battery and charger so you have the option of buying a bare tool if you want and saving a little money.  If your batteries have a little age, buy a complete tool.  You can never have too many batteries.  The most popular collated drywall screw bun right now on Amazon is DeWalt.  That really shouldn’t be a real surprise; Dewalt has done a great job with their cordless line.  DeWalt, Milwaukee and Makita have an auto start feature that you can use.  What you can do is lock the trigger on and the motor won’t start until you start the screw.  This is a great feature for any collated screw gun that is cordless. It will really extend the run time of the tool.  As mentioned earlier, most of the manufactures offer a bare tool or a kit.  You may have to order the auto feed part for the tool separately so make sure to read the description well.