Hey Gang,
watched a hunting show the other day with a fella bowhunting desert bighorn sheep in Mexico. As he closed in the last few hundred yards, he slipped off his boots and put on a pair of toe shoes (the type used by barefoot runners) over which he put on thick socks. That looks like just the ticket for the jagged, rocky country he was hunting.
Now I typically put on a heavy pair of socks for the final stalk, but it can be mighty hard on the feet. Got me wondering what you all like to where for stalking? Any homemade stalking footwear out there?
Cheers, Matt
ps-the guy got his sheep
I don't really do any stalking here in Michigan but I've always wanted to try a pair moccasins.
QuoteOriginally posted by JMR:
I don't really do any stalking here in Michigan but I've always wanted to try a pair moccasins.
Don't wear the ones with leather bottoms. When wet, they are slicker than whale snot.
Mine have the airbob soles, and it feels like wearing a pair of socks.
When I was a kid, you could buy a pair of heavy duty moccasins from "Tandy". They were called "Bull Mocs". I'm on the lookout for them or something similar.
Ya gotta use "Sneakers"! Chuck Taylor Black High Tops!! About the Quietest thing I have next to Bare Feets! :goldtooth: :laughing: @ Whale Snot!! :laughing: :laughing:
I have used the Vibram Five Fingers to relativly good effect. These come with some limitations, namly that if you don't use them a LOT (I run ultras in them also), then you won't want to just go out for a long hike/hunt in them right at first. You'll wind up hobbled unless you build into them. (Enter the barefoot vs shod arguments.) Also, they are not that great in the hard cold. There isn't much insulation.
On the upside, you can feel EVERYTHING under your feet. If you step on a cricket you can count his legs. They are soft and flexable. Some models have pretty good traction, and all of them are servicable off road.
You probably wouldn't want these to be your only footware, but they do have a place. Unfortunatly, they have really caught on the past three or four years and have nearly doubled in price.
I was eyeballing a pair of high school wrestling shoes (not the kind the Iron Shiek used to wear)at the local sporting goods store. I would bet they would make a great pair of stalkers.
Wrestling shoes! Exactly what I used to use in the early MI bow season. I actually found some camo Asics (if I remember correctly) one time at a sporting goods store for around $30 on sale.
Good old ASICS Wrestling Shoes! Great Idea!!
I use the LL Bean main hunting shoes they are great, and seem to be real quiet!!
Wrestling shoes seem like a great idea!!
The best I ever used were Converse All Star high top sneakers. In cooler weather LL Bean boots.
Bean boots. Except on steep ground
Water shoes! Soft flexible rubber bottoms, expandable tops , lots of different styles and colors....and they only cost around $10 at wally world
http://www.target.com/p/Womens-and-Mens-Beach-Socks/-/A-13335039
Link for picture purposes only....not trying to sponcer them!
I liked them so much that i removed the top and inserts and then sewed the bottoms to a pair of medieval boots.
I use "Tabis" in early season when it doesnt matter if you get wet and it's warm outside, I even sneak around bare feet sometimes if it's realy hot (I do that alot during summer ;) )
Gives a greate feeling, almost as going barefooted.
http://www.artesguerreras.es/WebRoot/StoreES/Shops/ea3196/4897/1C34/14FA/E660/A73D/D94C/8776/938C/60410_g_m.jpg
You can remove your boots and stalk in sock feet for the last bit if the ground is noisy-works fine!
chuck taylors for comfortable climates because even the lined ones get cold if its chilly out ,,, at certain hunting spots I'll put on very heavy cheap socks right over my boots when I'm on dirt roads or trails where you boots will always scuff the ground--> hard at first but they stretch to fit and go on easier each time, or Moccs--> but Moccs are awefull for hills with leaves and dragging deer BUT someone told me to try those ice fishing spikes over the moccs when dragging deer so it may work but its one more thing to carry..
While hunting plains game in Africa (spot and stalk)the only thing the PH wanted to use was heavy wool socks, 3 pair, because every thing else was too noisy. We were hunting in shale and burn sections. Hard to hunt all day in stocking feet, he was use to it, he didn't have a problem.
Feet still hurt a month later!
We were the most successful?
Fred
I use mocs almost exclusively. Elk hide, with rough side out. Not slippery when wet, but you really have to watch where you step. Thorns will stick you. Of course that's added incentive to go slow. Out west I have used mocs with a rawhide sole. Those are good for cactus, but slick when wet and on grassy slopes. You can make your own mocs in a few hours...
I am yet to find a compromise that won't let the stickers in. This season I spent more time in cholla thickets than I care to recall. Some of the stickers are still waiting to come out.
MAP
QuoteOriginally posted by Michael Pfander:
I am yet to find a compromise that won't let the stickers in. This season I spent more time in cholla thickets than I care to recall. Some of the stickers are still waiting to come out.
MAP
Ah, the dreaded cholla! I went to school in Tucson, and the cholla were my nemesis. I once had a cholla sticker in my hand for 6 months. The barrel cactus are nasty also. Those things will go through boots! I don't think quiet and cactus proof footwear exist.
Five fingers in the new low boot version. I used a pair last season and will never hunt without them again.
I saw a Fila version of the vibram for $40 at Academy, wonder if they would do the job
and I just remembered I should have a pair of wrestling shoes somewhere in the house, I'll take them on the nex hunt and to try them
My hunting partner swears by a pair of runners with gore tex socks! I tried it, but I need ankle support. I used a pair of Wellco Tuff Cushion jungle boots, and they work well, as long as it isn't cold. Problem with 5 Fingers or mocs is that when you get a big animal down (moose, elk), I would hate to have to pack out quarters wearing them!
For a number of years I've been nursing along an old pair of Cabela's Silent Stalker sneakers. The old version had a very thin soft rubber sole with no heel but with a surprisingly high-traction, quiet, and durable chevron pattern. The new one is a modern light hiking sole that looks to me like it would be much noisier and give less feel. I actually got on a few websites to ask hunters to write Cabela's and request a return to the whole sole, as I did. For that matter, I like the entire new boot a lot less...but that old boot was fantastic. I should have bought half a dozen or more pairs!
I do carry a pair of Five Fingers now, but don't like how long they take to put on and how they start to smell pretty quickly.
GFA has a good section in his Stillhunting book on footwear. He mentions mocassins, converse all stars, but I don't recall anything about wrestling in whale snot. :D
I have a pair of leather boots made in Fiji that are of a 'cheap' enough quality that the soles are thin and flexible. They actually work good for stalking, because they bend over and around sticks, twigs and stones on the ground causing less cracks, snaps and noises. I like ankle support and protection for my feet in a mid-high leather boot.
Re: mocassins, I think GFA recommended getting rubber tire shreds and glueing them on the bottoms with rubber cement to provide traction.
I've been out of the States for too long. Those five fingers shoes look weird. Hadn't seen them till today! So you wear special 'finger' socks with them, or no socks at all? We've come a long way baby.
Bean Type boots seem to work most of the time!
Merrell Barefoot shoes. easier to wear socks with them. Same barefoot feel as the five fingers. You don't get the wierd looks. They feel like high tech moc's
I use the Vibram Five Fingers but they do get a stink after a while. A person definetly has to get used to weraing them though or your feet will kill ya. My go to are a pair of Russell Thula Thula PH Moccassins. I have worn them out ELk hunting twice now and love them. Granted I did not wear them in areas with a lot of shale or rock but extremely quiet and comfortable. An everyday shoe for me around the woods and yard during the summer and early fall.
QuoteOriginally posted by JockC:
For a number of years I've been nursing along an old pair of Cabela's Silent Stalker sneakers. The old version had a very thin soft rubber sole with no heel but with a surprisingly high-traction, quiet, and durable chevron pattern. The new one is a modern light hiking sole that looks to me like it would be much noisier and give less feel. I actually got on a few websites to ask hunters to write Cabela's and request a return to the whole sole, as I did. For that matter, I like the entire new boot a lot less...but that old boot was fantastic. I should have bought half a dozen or more pairs!
I do carry a pair of Five Fingers now, but don't like how long they take to put on and how they start to smell pretty quickly.
I have been through two pairs of the Cabela's boots you are talking about. They were perfect for our hot bow season here in south Georgia. I've considered the new one's but feel the same as you that they might not be as quiet.
I use Arrow moccasins for most everyday work and hunting activities. I like the double sole ankle-high model. The double sole is not quite as good for ground feel as would be the single, but it wears better and overall is the most comfortable footwear I own. I have a pair of stretch rubber Totes overshoes that slip on easily and work well for rainy, wet, muddy or light snow conditions. Arrow also makes a higher top mukluk model with a gum rubber type of sole for deeper snow use.
Soft Star in Oregon makes a number of mok-type minimalist shoes that are very light weight and have a very thin sole. The sole is hard rubber with gives good protection from sharp rocks, but it is very thin so you still get a good ground feel. I use mine for running on gravel roads in the winter. With thick wool socks they are good even when the temps drop into the teens. I plan to use mine for stalking shoes next hunting season.
Why not carry a pair of bedroom slippers with you and slip them on when ready to get sneaky?
I carry big wool socks with me, I'll put them on for the whole stock or even put them over my boots depending on ground and vegetation type (cacti, etc).
Check out a pair of New Balance MT101. I have them for trail running but recently found they have a place still hunting too. Can feel everything with the added bonus of a very thin metal plate to protect your feet.
Converse all stars. Best stalking shoe ever built.
I have some black chuck taylors with an EVA insole I added for more support. They are quiet but thats about all. I would not trek far in them. I wish Keene made a boot with a crepe sole instead of the lug soles they always market. Bet that would be the nut.
Also have used the Bean boot for many years. A good all around boot that is quiet.
I like my high top dive shoes they have rubber soles and ankle high neoprene tops. I wear these in the cold and snow every day because my mocs are too cold.
I saw that show...
I thought his stalking shoe/sock set up was interesting too.
Agree on the Chuck Taylors (BTW Taylor grew up 20 miles north of me). You used to be able to get the felt bottom wrestling shoes dirt cheap but like a lot of things they have gotten hi tech and rather pricey now. Back in my high school days we wore a show/boot called a Chukar ( I think). Leather with gum rubber soles. I always thought they would make a good hunting show.
I;m so glad that this thread came up...I have been wondering about the same things. I specifically was curious if anyone hunted with those vibram 5finger things.
I might try them. My other possibility is checking out some local "hippy"-style moccassin makers that actually use vibram boot soles sown onto buffalo leather uppers. It will probably cost an arm and a leg for a pair but you could get em made just how you want em.
I'm very interested in finding SOME type of footwear that is closer to a barefoot experience...
I was reading the back issues of traditional bow hunter magazine and in 1995 thier was an add for a quality made slip on felt sole kinda like an ice creeper but it was made out of 5/8 inch felt. It looked like a great Idea.
I usually kick off my boots (flag them) then go the last bit in my wool socks.
Anyone tried these? (http://www.dayonecamouflage.com/store/products/Creepers.html)
Has anybody tried the Danner Jackals?
I've got a pair of Jackals, and used them a fair bit last season, often hiking several miles a day in them. I found them pretty comfortable, with an adequate amount of ankle support and they are definitely quiet, as long as you're using proper foot technique.
I was a little dubious about the durability of the cloth upper, but they've held up really well.
But beware, they do tend to run a little narrow.
All in all, pretty happy with them.
Thanks Smith, that's what I was hoping to hear. Guess I'd best order them wide.
the old converse shoes!! you can even get them in camo.. they are nice. def not water proof or anything but they work well.
Dyer's Moccasins, I have been able to find arrows that buried themselves in the ground, yes they are slippery, but I use the slip on's for walking on ice when it's wet, and they work fine.
I also have a pair of Danner Jackals. I usually wear a regular width but had to get an EE to fit like a normal size. Takes a while to break 'em in but overall a good boot.
Carry a pair of light "Totes" slip-over boots and an extra pair of heavy socks. (if you think you'll need the extra warmth)
Just like stalking in your socks, without the "wet feet"!!! :thumbsup:
Smithhammer, I have the Day One Creepers in ASAT wool. I bought them both for stalking and for warmth on stand. They work well for both, but unless you take your boots off they don't give you any ground feel, of course.
I bought a pair of Danner Jackals and returned them. The heel pocket was too shallow for me, which is not usually a problem. Given all the praise I see for them, maybe I got a bum pair.
I have yet to find anything near as good as those discontinued Cabela's I described in my earlier post. If everyone on this thread would e-mail Cabela's customer service and the company responded, I would be a happy, happy man. The Bean's hunting shoe (NOT the regular Bean boot, which has a steel shank stiffener) is close, but it's too hot and breathes too poorly for most Western hunting.
Smithhammer. . . yes, I have a pair and they are VERY quiet and you wear them over boots, Thorns don't matter.
ChuckC
Keenes