Hey everyone - my current hunting shoes have gotten me by so far (light, leather hiking shoes with rather standard rubber soles), but I am thinking next fall will be a good time to try something different. Most of my deer hunting is on the ground, so moccasins have been sounding good to me (quiet).
Any moccasin-wearers out there have advice, suggestions, or recommendations?
MikeG mentioned Carl Dyer's... any other good brands?
Thanks much!
Carl Dyers is the only brand to consider. But you might want to put little dots of Shoe Goo glue on the soles as mocccasins are very slick when wet. Bob
I am having pretty good luck with Minnetonka mocs.
Might try Poppins. Better than Dyers IMO. But I'm here to tell you that you will be spending some time on your a** with either one. I've been doing the buckskinning/muzzleloading thing for 26 years now and have had considerable time in mocs. On dry grass and leaves you may as well be on skis. Same for mud and wet grass. Now is there any thing in between those two scenarios ?
I have finally settled on 2 pairs of mocs. One a pucker toe and the other center seams. Both made from buckskin, no liners and no sole pad. This allows me to feel the ground under me and to get a better bite on it. By actually arching your sole you can get better traction. Most mocs have too thick soles for this.
The shoe goo thing might help for a while but has to be redone often. Hard to find much of anything that will stick to tanned and oiled leather. In all these years I have tried a lot of things. The one that worked best was the urathane they use to put windshields in cars with.
Truthfully. I know they sound and look romantic, but with 26 years under my belt, I think I can say with some authority that I'd go with a good pair of hunting boots. In the early season a pair of wrestling boots work very well.
Take a look at Arrow moccasin company. Very high quality Moc's in a couple of different styles. Most can be resoled.
Tim,
Never thought about using wrestling shoes. Good idea!!!! Your wrestling shoe suggestion made me think of water shoes. You can get them at W^%*mart and they're light weight and have a thin rubber sole. Just a thought
I have a pair of the lace boots from Arrow Moccasin and would recommend anything made by them. I stopped by the shop two years ago.... real quality stuff - better than Dyers IMO.
I don't have a problem with slipping in them, but I'm not going up too many big hills here in CT. If you think it may be an issue for you, check out his Mukluk Sport boot. That'll be my next boot, but I'd ask him for elk uppers rather than suede - easier to waterproof.
I have a pair of 8" high Russell lace up mocs.Russell does mention to oil or grease the upper cowhide boot section as well as the pig skin soles to prevent slipping.I use neets foot on the soles and they work great.Been wearing them for over 25 years.No problems.bd
I have been using Carl Dyer mocs for 30 years. I have several pair. The ones I hunt with in early fall is the Indian Style. I took rubber bands and chopped them up with a chef's knife on a cutting board and then put rubber cement and put on the bottom of the moc. I poured the chopped rubber bands over the soles and let them dry. Great for rocks and most terrain. They are still a little slippery when real wet.
Mike
I picked up a pair of Dyer mocs here barely used last year...best made mocs I ever wore, and growing up in NM I lived in mocs as a kid...these can even be resoled to last forever. That being said...I have worn them one time and will be putting them up for sale or trade soon. I tend to wear my muck boots most of the time here in Arkansas.
Bob
I have a pair of Nike Free running shoes that work great. They have slits cut across the sole and up and down to allow the sole to flex with the foot as if barefoot.
It also helps that I wore them out running in them first, but they are great. I would also suggest looking into wetsuit booties for winter. You can get those in 5mm neoprene!
I also spend a lot of time hunting in a pair of high top Converse tennis shoes.Ya gotta love the old Chuck's.......bd
OK 2 years ago I bought My girlfriend the Hottest Item on the Shelves UGGS, For Laughs I tried on a pair, AND OH MY GOD!! they are amazing, Sheerling wool lined can be treated and waterproofed, I now have 3 pairs. They are quite costly, But Now I buy them for all my friends, They are truly Amazing..
Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. Really I don't know that I'd wear moccasins for all occasions but there are a few I can think of that would be nice to have a pair. I was out hunting the edge of a cornfield this past fall (pretty standard hunting in my part of NW Iowa). End rows were out, so it left the chance to catch deer grazing for kernels out in the open during the evening. My a couple of times was that it had just rained, so about every 4th step, , as the rubber sole slipped against a wet cornstalk. It became pretty hard to avoid the noise. It just seems like in a situation like that, moccasins would do alright - they would probably avoid the squeaks, but pose no other major problems since terrain is mostly flat and non-threatening (and assuming they're water-proofed well).
Hillbilly moccasins has a nice one---the hillbilly moc. canoe style sole in boar hide and they build them off of a trace of your foot and a measurement of your calf. They will also build them of almost any material you wish for not a lot of money.