doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Boots again

I'm getting to be a boot junkie. I'm looking at another upland boot for the western hunting of chukar, quail, and phez.

These pair I want to have a slightly firmer footbed for rocky conditions while maintaining the lightest possible weight. I think I stumbled across a couple models of Danners that fit the bill. Does anyone have any experience with the Danner Sharptail 8" or the military Danner Desert TFX 8"? I think both are very close in specs on their website. Looking for some recommendations as well. 2.5 to 3lbs boots are the target weight.

Chuck, Give Irish Setter upland boot a look. Lightweight,waterproof,comfortable from the getgo. I've got 3 seasons on a pair without an issue. Just got back from ND pheasant hunt. Hunt all day, no blisters or sore feet. Randy

As soon as you said chukars, you eliminated boots with airbob sole and stitched moccasin toes as the rough country in which Chukars live will eat them up.
I love Danners as they fit me well and they last. For chukar hunting get a model that has regular Vibram soles and can be resoled.

Go with Russell handsowns, and get EXACTLY what you want. Well worth the money!
Rick

I second what Rick said.

Chuck,
I am partial to the Danner Pronghorn, no insulation for chukars. They are fairly tough and very lightweight, relatively cheap. I agree with the no airbob, have torn so many off on lava rock.

I have a pair of Russel handsewn custom to my feet. Very nice, very nice indeed. I would NOT do it over. Unless your feet are really funky, the Russels are just not worth the money in my opinion. They are far from perfect and they lack some features that other boots like Danners have (e.g. waterproofness - which Russels are NOT no matter what they claim).

Just another opinion.
Brent

For chuckar I use Cabela's Meindel Boots. They have a lot more support for steep slopes and a more aggressive sole. My foot slides around too much in my upland bird boots and the sole does not provide good traction in rocky uphill applications.

Just my experience with Russells.

I wanted a lightweight pair for upland hunting here in the NE, decided on their Woodcock TLC's with a few options, advertised as their lightweight boots. I specifically waited until the 2006 Vintagers to have the company president measure me so there would be no mistakes.

Boots arrived 4 months later and they fit terribly. There were seams on the inside digging into my feet, tight across the front, loose in the heel, my heel was slipping up. I have a $39 pair of boots from Costco, made in China, that fit better.

I called and to their credit they immediately refunded my money, asked me to re-measure my feet and send the boots back which I did.

About a month later I called to find out what was going on and they said they were sending a pair that was similar to what I wanted just to try for size. What arrived was a pair of their High Country Hunter, 12" boots for sheep hunting and such, nothing like what I wanted. I tried them on for fit and called with what I thought needed to be done to get a good fit on the TLC's I wanted. They took the info and I never heard back.

For the record I am a standard 10D in store bought shoes, the boots they made for me were tagged 10.5 and were still tight.

I know that others swear by them but it didn't work out for me. They were courteous, but didn't follow through.

Keith and Fred both hit a good point about my hunting needs. No air-bob soles or any other soles with the black expanded sponge sole. Also, the tread has to be fairly agressive since my quail hunting is on very steep soft ground. Chukar hunting is, of course, on rocky (often lava rock), steep terrain intermixed with some soft steep ground. Good ankle protection and support is important, leading me to favor a 8" high or more boot. Phez hunting, I'm fairly convinced can be done in any comfortable boot capable of the other two types of hunting. I am also sold on the concept of having the lightest boots that will do the job. Lighter boots reduce fatigue as much as light guns or more. Those that are big fans of light guns should try light boots. A pound or two out of your boots will pay bigger dividends than the same out of your gun. You will be able to go further and be less fatigued at the end of the day. That's why my 2.5-3 lb requirement for this set.

Again, I'm getting to be a boot junkie. I currently have a set of RedHead 17" lace-up snake boots, a pair of Danner 5-6" high GTX boots, and the Cabelas 9" FullDraw boot. If I take a hunting trip for more than the day, I always bring at least one backup set of boots and have used them often.

If someone is looking for a sneaker type boot, I recommend you take a look at the Cabelas FullDraw. Very light and very comfortable with good ankle support, but not much sole/arch support/stiffness. Good for soft ground, flat or steep terrain, but not too much rocky ground as your feet will feel the pointy rocks.