Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Which Boots for Pheasant Hunting - Waterproof

Just wondering which boots you prefer. I'm going to KS this December, so I expect cold days and plenty of dew in the mornings. I'm thinking leather might not be waterproof enough, and I don't want to wear rubber boots if they can be avoided. So, which boots should I look at. Price is not a consideration. Thanks for your replies.

I've used Danner Grouse (https://www.danner.com/men/hunt/grouse-8-brown.html) boots for the past 5 or so years and they're perfect for pheasant hunting in my area. Plus, they are USA made.

For anything but hunting big game in the mountains, I like the Danner Hood Winter Light:

https://www.danner.com/catalog/prod...E-KDG6wIVAe21Ch28-gAzEAAYASAAEgJAmfD_BwE

Thanks for the replies.

I presume you're not exactly roughshooting on this trip. No need to over think this. Any boots you'd wear at home will likely be plenty good. I have a pair of Meindl hikers I wear most often. Keens or Merrills would be fine as well. They're light and water proof and if I need more I step up to a pair of stitch down 8" Danners and more than that is Schnee pacs. You are unlikely to need more than the hikers and if you took gaiters along just in case, I'd think nothing more would be necessary.

Gumleaf boots
You'll never go back to leather.

95% of my upland hunting is western Kansas pheasants. Typically so dry you can’t even spit. Also have hunted more than once where $20 at the car wash was a good start.

The only time I wear rubber anything is when it is actually raining or just finished. Dew on the grass doesn’t effect my leather boots.

I’ve worn out Danner Pronghorns. They were comfortable for sure. But only held up a few seasons.

Current main boot is an American made Danner, all leather, no insulation, discontinued, but similar to Grouse Hunter. It’s held up well for several years.

If it’s completely dry, I’ll wear my work boots, Thorogood moc toe wedge sole. No insulation. No gore Tex. No issues.

I won’t wear less than a 9” boot. 6” boots don’t have enough height and enough gusseted tongue to keep weed seeds out of my socks.

Thanks men. Going to look at some danners in the days ahead.

If the boot is "waterproof" enough to keep out water it's going to be "waterproof" enough to keep in persperation. No matter what you do your feet are going to get wet. I wear whatever boot is comfortable and lightweight as fatigue is more of an issue than dampness to me.

Most of my synthetic boots have Gore-Tex or similar material but that is not something I look for. Leather boots get a treatment of Sno-seal as it helps protect against weathering. If it's fairly dry I wear two pairs of thin moisture wicking socks or if wetter a pair of the moisture wicks and a thin Gore-Tex sock. Doubling socks provides protection from blisters and abrasions which can be had with poorly conditioned leather boots. The Gore-Tex socks don't exclude moisture but it does ease in making it a little less noticeable at first. No matter what, I have at least one extra set up of socks to switch into at some point. Generally, that is the halfway point but if it is warm and sunny I'll switch socks when I switch dogs or hunting spots. Leave the worn pair someplace they get the sun so they can dry and I'll switch back into them at the next break. Depending on how wet the areas you are hunting, one can even dry wet boots out in a few hours.

Almost forgot- as mentioned tall boots and gaiters are very helpful too. They help shed wetness and debris as well as prevent fraying of pants cuff season and cuts and tears to the shins of both pants and legs. Keep extra laces or a length of thin par accord or leather handy as some gaiters clip onto the bottom of the laces to prevent the gaiters from ridining up. This clip can wear through laces if there is a rough edge. The laces can also be used to replace the strap that goes around the foot to hold the gaiters down when that wears out.

If it is relatiavely dry then most times it will be Solomon 4D 3gtx...most comfortable boot I've found so far...

Wet or cold then one of the new fitted rubber boots...either Muck or Lacrosse Alphaburley...un or insulated depending on how cold...

I live and hunt in Kansas. I wear Danner Pronghorns for all my quail and pheasant hunts. Haven't had a problem with moisture.

Be careful on the Kansas "roads" after snowmelt or heavy rain!

I like the Muck Wetland model. I use them for everything from deer hunting to small game. Easy to take on and off and fairly lightweight.

I hunt in snow the most and personally would not wear rubber boots though I have Schnees pac’s. I wear the relatively inexpensive Rocky Mountain Hikers from Cabelas (though I do not shop Cabelas anymore) for from mule deer and elk to pheasants on the plains. I’m on my third pair in about fifteen years. They are Gore-Tex lined but uninsulated.

I don’t find the lug Vibram soles any disadvantage on the prairie soils as is often stated.

I rarely get cold feet but do have a pair of the much more expensive Browning kangaroo skin upland boots — very light though insulated and GT lined — but rarely wear them though they are also comfortable.

I find good gaitors will greatly lower the temps your feet can tolerate; in fact, they are almost too warm for me unless I’m in deep snow and in the -20* and lower temp range.

But feet are important and what works for each varies widely.

I actually wore snake boots last year in South Dakota. I wore them a bit loose and they worked great.

Bring a good set of gaiters too.

I use either my normal Lowa Hunter GTXs (with gaiters if there's snow) and a good coat of wax or just plain muck boots. I've never had an issue with good fitting muck boots on late season pheasant hunts. Grass and seeds may fall in from the top since I tuck my pant legs in, but that's a non-issue, for me at least.

Thanks for the additional comments.

I've had these browning goretex boots for 10 years. I don't use them except for one or two Upland trips a year. I just finished putting some waterproof wax on them, so they darker than they really are.

I wish I could remember what the model is, but boy they are great boots. Not mountain boots, for great for beating around in crp and brush.

I have a pair of wood n’ stream moc toes that have performed extremely well with regard to being waterproof. Traction can be a little sketchy with the wedge sole though. Not sure if you can still find the wood n’ streams but thorogoods replacements (flyways) should be even better. I run their work boots as well and they are top quality.

These are waterproof Oboz. Best hiking shoes made, and some great boots. I have worn Danners and many other brands over the years, but they get left in the closet now.

Time for new boots myself. My 15+ year old Cabela's kangaroo skin ones are pretty much done. They've been resoled multiple times and they're also getting a bit small as I get older. Alas, BP/Cabelas no longer makes anything close to my old boots and Browning also no longer makes their boot that I had years ago.

Do you recall how long the break in was on the Danner Grouse? I see some comments.

I see notes about it being narrow. I'm a 10-D in most of my foot but a pretty wide forefoot. Any advice?

if you have to have Kangaroo, them perhaps LL Bean would be an option. In addition there is Russell. I doubt you will run into many others wearing Russell’s. 😀

I looked at the Bean Roo' boots but the reviews were really bad with both quality and waterproofness. Surprised as I have generally had very good experiences with Bean stuff. My bird vest is Bean and getting pretty ragged but it's 25 years old!

I have a pair of Russell dress chukkas and they're OK but the wait and the time to break them in was forever! They're comfortable now but I swear I must have worn them to work for a year before they felt good.

Tried the Kangaroo boots once a long time ago..Great to walk in....however found them lacking for ankle stability on uneven ground.

Mentioned earlier, the fit and support of the Lacrosse alphaburley type boots have improved tremendously. The come with and without insulation....if there is any chance of wet or snow they have become my first choice and have found nothing warmer. Nor do you have to worry about drying them out. A pair of extra socks handles any situation where your feet sweet.

Had to go thru a cattail area last year and just sloshed thru with the high Lacrosse. With leather I would have been over the tops.

There was very little break-in needed, they were pretty comfortable right away. The only issue I had was a weird squeak/click that developed with each step. I had no problem with the width either-depending on the maker, I'm either a 12 or 13 D.

Might be instructive for you to learn that thousands of SD pheasants are shot every year by people wearing white New Balance cross trainers

Thanks for the inputs folks. I've got some rubber boots and looked at the fitted rubber and they're mostly pretty heavy.

Did they ever stop squeak/clicking?

One can break-in Danner Grouse boots by wearing them to bed once.....

Yes the fitted rubber boots can be heavy...depending on the amount of insulation. The uninsulated ones are reasonable....

Make sense. Now, if you told me to wear them to bed and then click my heels and wish I was home again, why that would be nonsense.

Just "finally" broke in a pair of Crispi boots.....They almost won.

Years ago, I had a Danner Grouse boot and it broke in on the first trip...But I have to admit, I just looked at the most recent interation....and the reviews mention they don't break-in out of the box....

Ahhhh, this is soooo hard, but, but....Seems as if I was wrong.....There it's out and done....

For most of my bird hunting I wear either a pair of Merrells (early season) or a pair of Under Armour boots. I these realize these are not traditional boots like Danners or the old green, Browning featherweights but for most of the bird hunting I do, they serve me well. The Under Armour deer stalker boots in particular, are exceptionally nice. They come in two weights with 400 or 800 gram thin-sulate and gore-text liners. The insoles have a very good arch, ankle and heel support and the boot's sole is is quite rigid and supportive as well. The outer shell of the boot is a leather and cordura blend, and they show virtually no signs of wear despite the fact that I have worn them for, 3 going on 4 seasons now. At the end of the day my feet are dry and not tired or sore from wearing ill fitting, leaky, water logged boots. Without a doubt, the Under Armour boots are the nicest, driest, lightest weight and comfortable boot I have ever worn and I would not hesitate to buy them again.
For what it's worth, I hunt in the very upper N.W. corner of ND and temperatures here are sometimes well into the sub-zero range while I'm hunting.

Is the Under Armor one this one? UA Hunting boot I don't see one called the deer stalker on their site.

Most of my bird hunting is in moderate or warm weather these days but with our move to NH coming closer at a good rate, grouse in the north woods is certainly my focus! I doubt I'll ever be the hard core bird hunter of my youth chasing pheasants in the midwest regardless of the weather so uninsulated is my preference and just wearing the right socks. I have a pair of uninsulated rubber Cabelas boots that have served me well on a couple of Newfie moose hunts and I love my feet stay warm in them almost regardless of weather but not the greatest for walking on the sides of hills.

Ah well. Will likely take a shot with the Danners and add to a boot collection that my wife already mocks. "you also have two sets of wading boots!" "Well, yes Hon it's like this....."

The UA boot I have is actually the "Brow Tine", not the "Deer Stalker".
My mistake, had to look it up to confirm.

Sounds like maybe you should take a look at the Danner Pronghorn....Which was actually the boot I was thinking about and not the Danner Grouse Boot...I kept thinking, "no that boot broke in out of the box"...It was the Pronghorn...

They did after I spent a good part of a turkey hunt walking up through a creek that was running pretty good with spring runoff. An hour slogging through water cured the squeak/click.

I don't mind a stiff, all leather boot for hunting so use Meindl Vakuums for everything. They fit me very well. If I was looking just for an upland boot, I'd be looking at the Comfort Fit or Ultralight Hunter.

https://meindlusa.com/collections/mens-collection/Men's

Thanks for the advice - Went with the Pronghorn. Looks like a good fit and only 3.5 ounces heavier than most of "featherweight" bird boots out there.

Thinking back how comfortable they were, I just ordered a pair.

Been using stiffer boots for sometime now...it should be interesting to see how the pronghorn works out.

I'd never advocate someone getting a cheap pair of boots, or boots that you'd not be happy with but I am not seeing "pheasant boots" as a huge deal. If a guy doesn't want leather than there are some synthetic options, but they're more limited and IME, not really needed barring some oddball medical issue.

Pheasant hunting normally involves getting out of a vehicle, walking 1-2 miles down some canal banks, fencelines, cattail patches or crop rows. Get back in vehicle and go to next spot. I've taken a boat to river islands and crossed shallow rivers in waders, then put my boots back on and hunted the thick riverbank Russian Olive and willow areas....but have never put much thought into which boot to wear, aside from not wearing tennis shoes. If I am in mucky areas I wear muck boots (rubber or neoprene). It isn't like a guy will be hiking miles into the backcountry in snow and ice.

Carry on I guess....but I'd put all of this effort and mental gymnastics into how and where to find unpressured birds, than what boots to wear to get to them.

I have a pair of insulated Danner Pronghorn boots. I highly recommend you order a size larger than your usual size IF you're planning to wear a sock liner plus 1-2 pairs of warm socks (wool, etc).

There's likely not a wild pheasant within 800 miles of me so I have been applying no pressure to them. I think the CF is full of us that are stuck (for now) in places that don't give us the opportunity to chase as much as we like so we end up over researching and discussing. I'm also cheap so these boots are replacing two others and they will get used for a lot of other stuff and I want them to last for as long as my others have.

Heck if we all got to hunt as much as we wanted I doubt the CF would exist much! It's sure to blame for me having multiple centerfire rifles in .243, .257, 6.5, .270, 7mm and .30 when truthfully they'll all kill anything I'll ever hunt.

For a couple of decades I’ve found the relatively cheap Cabala Mountain Hikers work very well for me from the mountain west to pheasants over flat but rough ground. I’m on my fourth pair all long pre-Bass Pro.

My alternate pair are the Browning (were they the Ultralights?) kangaroo hide boots; I don’t see them listed anymore. These are going on over twenty years and they will see me through to the end of my pheasant hunting barring a house fire.

Generally, it’s a safe bet to never scrimp on some stuff — binoc’s, boots, suits, shotguns, and wine. But occasionally, it works. The Cabala’s boots don’t last as long but my feet like them. I don’t even know if they sell them anymore.

Unless you hunt in a high and dry climate I would suggest Gore-Tex and stay light regardless.

ETA: Brownings just like TR’s except a couple inches shorter.

Understand where you are coming from...and when younger I could hunt in worn out bad boots....Unfortunately, many times old feet tend to tell you when they don't like what they are walking around in....old ankles may need more stabilization....and the knees are most times happier when the feet are happier......Good fitting boots become more important.....

I just wear my Scarpas that you couldn't exactly call bird hunting boots. If it gets cold enough, the Schnees pack boots will come out but dang the thought of walking 7 miles in those is not good. The Scarpas are super stiff and I step in badger holes all the time. They've saved me a few sprains so far.

George, I had a pair of those Kangaroo boots years ago. They were actually very nice till I wore them out. I could see those for long jaunts.

I certainly am not advocating to not have good ankle support or that worn out boots would be fine. Cold and wet feet are not fun, especially late season and I have knees that may as well be 30 years older than the rest of me. I'm just saying that boots would be low on my list of things to put much thought into, for the hunt the OP is planning to do. Maybe he already has the where to go part figured out...I dunno.

Good luck to the OP in Kansas, with whatever boot he chooses.