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Start My Hunt's Link
Have any of you tried hunting barefoot? I tried for one warm day. I figured I had conditioned my feet well enough after mowing the yard barefoot and taking many walks without shoes. What I found out is that you move a lot slower and are more in tune to your surroundings. Don't know if I would do it again, but I was ble to walk into elk beds without them hearing me. Oh, and I also shot a tasty cow that year.
Your thoughts?
Mike
I remember as a kid I use to run down the gravel road barefooted.
Anymore, I can barely take small steps without feeling the pain.
Maybe with 2-3 pairs of socks on.
Boots for me for sure.
My best, Paul
Not for me. I have a hard time on the garage floor moving the garbage can out. I agree you would be slower and quieter.
You must be TBM cousin!!!!!!!
I did the " stocking foot" stalk on a really good bull (360ish) years ago in Colorado. There was a lot of shale skree where I was at while putting the sneak on him so I got the bright idea of taking my boots off!
It did make things a lot quieter & got to within what I thought was 60 yards of him before I ran out of cover. (no rangefinder). I shot & hit him in the spine. He went down but still had use of his front legs. It's amazing how fast they can move downhill with just their front legs. I was scrambling over blowdowns & rocks trying to catch up to him & get another arrow in him.
He finally got the use of his hind legs again & the last I saw of him, he was across the drainage 1/2 a mile away still hauling the mail. I turned to walk back up the mountain to retrieve my boots, & when I took the first step back uphill, I felt a major burn in my left heel. When I checked things out, I found that I had sliced a silver dollar sized chunk of flesh out of my heel on a sharp rock.
It was an interesting hike back to camp that night!
2 Bowcrossskin! I would think you just cost yourself ALOT of business!! Lmao!!
Barefoot in the Elk woods??? Not me! I guess this could be an advantage in certain situations but risky for sure. Don't want to end up like t-roy.
I've got a pair of those five finger shoes. I'm gonna wear them shooting and up scouting in the mountains a few times and see how I do. I can't walk across my living room floor barefoot.
There's an outfitter in Australia who specializes in barefoot hunting.
As I discovered when hunting in Oz, there are a lot of nutty people down there. Between the scorpions, snakes and spiders, never mind the thorns, you couldn't pay me enough to do that...
My thoughts this is a waste of space topic
In Australia's north it's common to hunt in bare feet, the ground is relatively sandy and has few burrs / thorns it's just the snakes, crocodiles and all the things that bite we have to look out for. But the ability to sneak up on game is the great advantage
A lot of better options for a quiet stalk.
I've stalked mule deer in thin cotton socks. You would have to really condition your feet though. Here in NY I often hike the woods barefoot. Lots of rocks and prickers to deal with but your feet get tough enough to walk right over them. I hardly ever wear shoes if the weather is warm enough, if I don't have to. By end of summer I can walk across rocks covered in barnacles at the shore and not get cut when fishing and those things are like razors. So sure elk hunting could be done barefoot but you'd have to get ready for it and be careful. One of my last elk hunts in MT, I kneeled on a tiny cactus and never felt pain like that before. I couldnt imagine stepping on one
I can count to 20 without taking my shoes off. No thanks!
I am a tenderfoot myself, but I can tell you you i feel in touch and elusive like a ghost, I've done it many times but man it's not comfortable it actually hurts. when your shoes are off you have to carry them or go back to them, I've lost them several times. Not that I've killed anything in my bear feet but I've covered my boots to make them quieter and that has worked! 'Bears feet'
Just had to look. I thought TBM reemerged.
I used to do a lot of hunting in my socks when I was younger and bulletproof.
These days...NO WAY!
Sounds like something ol' Steve Jo would do!
I've hunted barefoot in the elk mountains and I have hunted barefoot in South Africa doing walk and stalk. I have to say that the elk mountains are a lot less painful then the African thorns.
I do condition my feet and they are typically pretty leathery by elk season. I have to say that while I believe it helps quiet you down and slow you down and can help get you closer to animals... I don't think I've ever actually shot anything with my boots off.
DiamondD, try those 5 "toed" shoes. Unless you walk on your hands, the 5 fingered ones won't fit.
BTW the shoes ARE named 5-fingers...
Stalking with socks vs. shoes is WAY quieter. An alternative is putting fleece booties over your boots, but not as silent as socks only.
I too have the 5-Fingers and am considering trying them this year for stalking.
Carl
Actually, they are called FiveFingers.
Apparently, Smarba and I were typing at the same time. lol
Id like to get a pair of the 5 fingers and try it, I have been scouting this year in tennis shoes and love it. I like to run barefoot but I'm afraid of sharp things in the woods so I want some puncture protection.
Do they make gloves called FiveToes?
When I was backpack sheep hunting in Canada a lot I wore leather moccasins and short rubber overshoes. We would carry a spare pair of the leather moccasins. They were very light and dried quickly. Great traction. I did not need or want the support of a heavy boot, even with a heavy pack.
The rubber part you could just pour the water out of course. When you needed to be extra quiet, you just slipped out of the overshoes. Much quicker than it sounds.
I think the overshoes were called miners rubber shoes. I would get the stuff in trading post like Ft. St. John.
It was not quite barefoot, but not far from it.
My feet were just too good at finding stinging insects, broken glass, thorns, etc. no barefoot for me any more, I learned my lesson the hard way.
I have used 5 Fingers on multiple occasions with good success. I don't take them on backpack hunting trips anymore just because of the weight and size, but still use them for day trips. You still feel every rock and twig, etc., but it keeps your feet from being cut....at least I have never cut my feet in them.
I wonder how many guys have taken their boots off and then couldn't find them?? Right at last light I bropped my pack while I was crawling in in a herd. After dark everything looks the same. Had a heck of a time finding it.
I've taken my shoes off and put on a pair of thick socks for a stalk on deer.
I hunted some elk with socks on once I a very dry year where it was super crunchy.
The LL Bean Maine Hunting Shoe (rubber bottom boot) is very quiet. I wear them bear stalking, stalking elk, etc. Even wore them sheep hunting in Colorado a lot, killing both rams with them on. They aren't are good back packing boot or ultimate rocky terrain boot though. It takes several pairs of wool socks to make my last pair fit perfectly. Bean will put new bottoms on them for a fair price too, keeping the cost low, or at least did a few years ago.
I have "Bear's feet", wading shoe felt soles, etc but do prefer the Bean Maine Hunting Shoe to these options when your stalking.......no barefoot options for this tenderfoot.
I read an article once about a guy who wore the five finger things elk hunting. He liked them, and you can't argue with his success. He does very well based on the pictures I've seen.
I very briefly considered them, until I realized that if I saw myself wearing them, I would have To kick my own ass.
I like moccasins, tried the 5 fingers but it's hard to wear socks with them and it can be a little cold in the mornings. I always wear the mocs when hunting the semi desert terrain for elk/mule deer. You just have to be carefull going down grassy hillsides! I always take a few spills, thinking of putting some goop strips on the bottom this year.
If you're trying it in the breaks can I watch?
Socks many times, but not barefoot. Wouldn't be opposed to trying it but it would definitely be risky as I always seem to find a hidden little cactus gem while on a stock. I'd really like to get a pair of moccasins though. These would be perfect!
Am I the only one who thought mowing grass barefoot was odd? I weedeat in my underwear but mowing grass barefoot is crazy.
When I was in my teens I stalked groundhogs with a bow barefoot all the time. By the end of summer I'd be pretty tough. It slows you down and you can go freaky quiet.
What you need is the book by Bilbo Baggins 'Iron Hard Soles in 21 Days' ;-)
The bottom of my feet are like leather. I can walk on gravel and walk my bird dog quite often in barefeet. I may try it this year while hunting if a stalk opportunity comes up. Shawn
Like Paul, as a boy I hardly ever wore shoes. I could run through grassburrs and just sit down and pull 'em out when I got across a patch. I ain't that tough anymore.
I have really enjoyed listening to the reponses. They have pretty much run the gamut. Some of my favorites, and I am paraphrasing--
"Not for me hillbilly."
"Waste of a thread."
"I would have to kick my own ass if I saw me wearing those five finger shoes."
The Bilbo Baggins reference from Barty.
And my favorite--"I use the weedwhacker in my underwear."
All good stuff.
Thanks, Mike.
I use these for whitetail stillhunt/stalk hunting in midwest woodlots if it's reasonably dry in above freezing weather. Converse hightops. One size larger than my normal shoe size so I can wear an extra pair of heavy socks.
Somebody had to put a picture... in Australia - do what the Australians do!
I often squirrel hunt barefoot in early season
I have been looking for the perfect stalking shoe. No luck. I have a costume boot maker that is going to make me a pair of moccasins. What I did not like about the moccasins that are out there is they are slick when wet. I tried gluing felt on LLBean boots and I like how the worked but they wouldn't stay on.
He is making these out of elk hide with a felt sole sewed on. He had a pair that he used for years to fish with. They are water proof. Wade the creeks no problem. I will post some pictures when I get them. He said the end of June or middle of July.
Poison. look up what we call "tabi" or a pair of tabis, they are made for walking on the reefs. Many kinds have felt bottoms.
My hunting partner hunts in them a lot, but he has pretty tough feet. Cactus and mesquite thorns go right through them though. And I wouldn't want to pack into the mountains with them as they have little to no support. But for pure stalking in warm to moderate weather they are hard to beat.
A lot of aussies in the northern territory don't wear shoes....but man do they have ugly feet.
Our young buck Aussie guide tells a story of a very hot young gal working on one of the stations- "absolutely stunning", he said....I will make sure you guys get a look at her.
"But one thing" he says, "Whatever you do don't look at her feet!"
so of course we meet the gal and he was right....gorgeous gal.....but then you just have to glance down to see what he is talking about .....and there are the two most hideous feet you have ever seen. Long curved yellow toe nails.....sort of a cross between a raptors bumpy skin and talons and a 90 yr old womans feet- right out of horror story those were- nasty!
Not a problem Bruce.... socks are easy... getting em to wear that bag over the head however.....
Wouldn't use them on a hunt but 5 Fingers helped solve a major foot issue I had -plantar faciitis. Modern footwear is great but they make our feet weak. The more rigid the support, the more susceptible we are to developing foot issues. Of course, there are more socially normalized minimalist options for folks who are somewhat ill-adapted to the logical.;)
http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-2190367.html
Don't try it if you have peripheral neuropathy. If I am not very carefull and go outside barefoot, I can seriously cut my feet and not know it.
Next week, I am having a sandbur surgically removed from my right foot. It has been imbedded in the ball of foot for almost a year and I did not know it. Obviously, I have very little feeling in the soles of my feet.
Interesting Bowriter. Is that the same as what you get with diabetes? A guy I work with left the gym and got to his car and found his keys in the shoes he was wearing. Never felt a thing. Pretty crazy. And dangerous. Personally I wouldn't hunt barefoot west of Myrtle Beach but I'm a tenderfoot.
I've glued carpet padding into shoes. Makes the shoes silent. More protective than bare feet thou
Barefoot to hunt Elk ?? You have got to be friggin kidding me !!
What will they come up with next ????
