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  1. #21
    User
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
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    58
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    1,668

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    For ankle support, walking over loose fist size rocks, pure leather resistance to steekgras, thorns etc......

    .......I still swear by my SADF military boots. I put some inner soles in them to help the comfort level a bit and once my feet wore into them (the boots didn't really wear in to my feet), they actually become relatively comfortable. They will never be as comfortable as commercial boots but I'm willing to forgo that in the interests of the vastly better ankle support. I managed to get a couple of pairs from the manufacturers but they don't generally sell to the public. I have seen them advertised at Military Surplus stores from time-to-time.

    As a bonus, the price was about 20% of what commercial boots cost when I bought mine.

    Try these for starters or google something like "Military Surplus store":
    http://www.armystores.co.za/army-surplus
    https://www.southafricanmilitarysurplus.co.za
    http://sadsacks.co.za/

  2. #22
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    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    BFN Freestate
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    45
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    12,151

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    I have walked with someone who wore wildebeest shoes, and he was pretty surprised when I walked quieter than him considering my soles were rock hard. The crepe soles does help when stepping onto something if they contort around the object, but then the medium underneath the object is what determines what sound it makes. When walking sandy places like the Kalahari you will mostly find any small twigs you step on accidentally is pushed into the ground. In the karoo mostly you will wind the ground rock hard, but then distance plays a key you will rather be seen than heard. In the mountains you have ample use of cover to stalk behind and you can step on rocks instead of noise making twigs etc. If I hunted bushveld primarily I would consider a boot with a soft sole definitely, but that is not the type of walking and climbing the OP is talking about, we all know bushveld hunting is just sissy hunting :)

    Anyways, I have found the pattern on the sole of the shoe (or lack thereof) makes the biggest difference in hunting boots. And this ain’t rocket science, let say a human weighs 90kg, if he walks with a boot with an aggressive pattern on the sole he is putting all his weight on an area twice is small as when wearing a boot with a smooth sole. Think about racing cars, slicks vs wet tyres, they use different tyres for different conditions. That is why a cheap and plain old vellie will make less noise than most boots 4 times their price. The trick is when you hit the mountains and need ankle support you won’t have it with just a vellie, and I have done a 50km hike with vellies trust me I know what I am talking about.

    So then I would suggest 3 things, firstly use any leather boot with smooth soles, you will have ankle support and protection but less noise than aggressively patterned soles. Secondly don’t use them only as hunting boots, work with them, by a country mile the biggest mistake people make is buying hunting boots only to hunt with, that usually fails miserably since your feet are not used to them and they are not properly worn in. One must be able to work, drive out of the city and into the hunting field with the same pair of boots without having to change anything, it’s the average person’s best chance of avoiding feet trouble. Lastly, conditioning, if you are not used to walking around all day in the veld there is no chance in hell your feet will be used to it. If you have a hunt coming up in two or three weeks time just go walk a few KM each morning or afternoon, just walk normally with your boots, just make your feet used to walking a few clicks with boots that is all.

  3. #23
    User
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Right next to the pot that needs stirring.
    Age
    45
    Posts
    2,157

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    Messor, that is why I do a lot of Bushveld hunting for Kudu barefooted. For the sissy bushveld hunts it works very good. No sound. Twigs can be removed from the place you want to step by your toes etc.

    On a serious note: Bushveld hunting is generally not hard on boots, except when the mountains are hunted, and that a lot of hunters only do from a good pair of BF Goodrich tyres. There are those that walk and climb, but not too many. Staying in the flats definitely is not hard country on boots.

    Serious no 2: I really hunt barefoot for kudu on some farms that I know. Wandering through the riverine bush and scrub and stalking a kudu bull to 20 meters are serious fun. Shoes then are problematic. It is slow walking. Maybe covering 2-3 km in 2-3 hours. Not at all hard on feet or shoes. And then I just say "hallo" to them more often than shooting. I do carry shoes with me on these hunts. If a bad shot has you to track with barefoot at pace or into the mountains or sicklebush field you will run into problems. (And remember, I hunt with a 30-06, not a .308, so bad shots are common..)

  4. #24
    User
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Not too far from Pofadder
    Posts
    448

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    I have done a lot of barefoot stalking , I have a small carabiner hooked into my belt that I hook the tabs of my boots into when I take them off.

  5. #25
    Banned
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Port Elizabeth
    Age
    55
    Posts
    11,588

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    In my area the thought of hunting barefoot raise cold chills and horror thrills.

  6. #26

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    Are still capped boots an option?

    I see that SO has some Wolverines available but they are steel capped.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #27

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    Quote Originally Posted by 264WinMag View Post
    Are still capped boots an option?

    I see that SO has some Wolverines available but they are steel capped.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    The shoes are Wolverine raiders


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #28
    User
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Pretoria
    Posts
    3,327

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    Are wildebees boots made locally or imported?

  9. #29
    User
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Durban North
    Age
    58
    Posts
    1,721

    Default Re: Best Hunting Boots- recommendations please

    Locally, I have a pair. Very happy, No fabric padding, it's something I try to avoid. Well made, slightly heavy but not alarmingly so. Small break in period and very comfortable.
    Soles are hellishly slippery on dewy grass, toying with the idea of grooving them a bit. But overall I'm very happy.

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