Just wondering if anyone has made a switch from rubber boots to regular during the hot weather. I have always hunted with rubber 16 lacrosse boots but am considering making a switch, my legs get so hot and sweaty during the early season I have always figured rubber would be better for scent but as bad as I sweat I would think the difference would not be much as long as I throw on some cover scent just wondering whats your opinion.
I wear Danner boots or a pair of low ankle ducks in the warm weather. Haven't really noticed a difference.
I only wear rubber [ La Cross "Alpha Burleys"] if its raining and "Packs" if it's really cold.. Any other time it's leather with nylon uppers and thinsulate, Wooverine "Archers" for me. They are light, waterproof, and comfortable, good ankle support, and allow great traction. :wavey:
Deer can smell rubber boots. If it is a foreign odor in the area and they cross your path they will smell it. Wear what your comfortable in and what works for you.
clean them up and just watch where you step.
They can smell any track but, how long can they smell the track would be my question. I wear rubber because, I believe it holds less scent.
I am with huey on this one, especially after watching our chocolate lab trying to find us last year. Took her about a 1/2 hr to figure out the trail and she went the wrong way twice before finally tracking us to the tree. She still did not know where we were until we could not hold our laughing any longer and she looked up at us. Our trail was only 1 hr old. Had it been 3-4 hrs old, who knows ? If we had sprayed down our boots a little better ? I do not think you can totally escape a deer's nose but do think you can knock down the amount of scent you are leaving by using rubber boots and pruning shears. We clean the last 400-500 yds to our stands every year and are very careful not to brush against anything that would leave scent at ground level.
And one more thing..... everything you hear about older bucks being a different animal... IS TRUE ! I have witnessed this firsthand the last two seasons. Almost makes you think that getting within 30yds of a freaknasty is almost impossible. I am convinced now more than ever that you have to have a ton of luck too. I lost my chance on two huge bucks over the last two years with one errant swirl of the wind. One turned wrong side out since he got a full whiff pushed by a 20mph wind, scent falling on a evening hunt. The other simply got a faint whiff, stopped in his tracks, processed the scent, then simply turned and walked back the way he came. And don't kid yourself, they get more sensitive and in tune with scent as the season progresses. About the only chance you got IMHO is the two weeks the cannot smell us for the overwhelming scent of hot does in the air.
I always wear the lacrosse grange boots but sweat control and scent control is all in the socks.
I had a nice buck come up from behind me while I was in a big oak. I could have literally spit on him but could not position myself for the shot. He stayed there for about a minute, then back up like a locomotive on a track backs up; after about thirty yards he turned and continued to pursue a doe out to the field.
I am guessing he caught some scent, but it was very cool being that close to a very nice whitetail, and ALMOST fooling him.
Use to wear rubber without question- then began to experiment and found no difference; that being said, I do keep my leathers clean, never wearing them in the car, spraying them down with scent killer (or wiping them down with Osage apples as I go in). I also try to keep deer from crossing my path. The osage apples (or I suppose something similar) is the real deal- I even use it on my pant-legs and continue to fool deer.
Dan in KS
Recent research by a major university has shown that wearing rubber soled boots (LL Bean type) actually spreads more scent than none rubber boots. Why you may ask? Because, your feet sweat more thus creating more bacteria and odor in the form of a gas. The rubber in those boots is "gas permeable" meaning it allows that scent (in the form of a gas) to escape the boots. So, after all this time the advantage of rubber soled boots has been in the wearers head only. Interesting.
Intersting..... where can we read the research paper from the university bud ?