Strength of hitch pin in drawbar
 

I know that a lot of people use a hitch as a recovery point, myself included. I use a drawbar to attach a strap, or attach the strap directly to the hitch pin. While I believe this to be a fairly solid method, I believe the weak point may be the hitch pin. I'm considering using a grade 8 bolt in place of the hitch pin, but don't know if this would actually be any stronger. Thoughts?

Shear strength of a standard 5/8" Grade 5 hitch pin is over 22,000 lbs. The pin is mounted double shear, so 44,000 lbs in a hitch application. You are not going to see a static load anywhere near that.
Now for dynamic loading, a harder grade 8 bolt would be more likely to fail catastrophically, whereas grade 5 can take the load but may deform.

i have used a hitch pin as a recovery point, slid the loop inside the receiver and slide the pin in through the loop. it has worked, but i have only used this method a few times before i grabbed a warn shackle receiver mount.
i have heard of a weaker, smaller pin bend and not able to get out. he had to cut it out.