# Rubber Boots: Muck, Irish Setter, LaCrosse, etc.?



## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

So I've always used leather boots for hunting. Whether that be a PAC type with rubber bottom halves or full leather with synthetic panels like my current Danner Pronghorns.

Either way, when hunting in the rain or stepping in the creek my feet end up wet. Typically right where the tongue attaches near the toe, sometimes on a side seam or near the laces, etc. 

Gore-Tex !? Yeah right! More like Crap-Tex. The Keen-Dry system is slightly better but still cannot keep up in a cold Utah October downpour or spring snow melt slush fest! 

So, I am now considering buying some rubber boots for hunting in such conditions. What are your experiences hunting in Utah (Wasatch Mtns., Manti, etc.) with rubber "Muck" boots? 

Are they typically warm enough when worn with decent wool socks? Do they slip and slide when traversing dead fall or wet logs? Do they hold up on the rocks? Do they actually stay dry when caught in the rain, stepping in a creek or other? Ankle support for the steep stuff with weight on your back? Able to sit down indian style or are they too stiff?

Educate me please! I know they make models with varying levels of insulation but my concern is the wet. Stay dry stay warm is my motto. I went rabbit hunting this Saturday and had wet feet almost immediately due to the melting snow in the sun and after stepping in a creek which was actually a dirt road with a river on it from the snow melt.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I have... and it all depends on the boot. One pair I have are to thin and get uncomfortable really quick. I have a 2nd heavier pair I got at walmart of all places that have been really comfortable, and were around $20. I've looked for more since then but never seen that type back in stock. Pity, I've got 3 years on this pair so far, and they are worn almost daily. The thin pair I've had for 22 years ironically. Get them bigger so you can put on thick socks if you need the heat. If you are planning to go long distances they do not breathe so you need to rotate dry socks when you feel them getting wet.

If they are too stiff to flex, it can be a big problem on hills. I stuck some Dr Scholl's inserts in them and the worked better. It is NOT a solution if you are hiking a long ways, but again, it all comes down to the specific boot. Alot of people hunt in Alaska in big heavy rubber hip waders... I did that too. Hiking sucked on steep hills... but in retrospect no worse than hiking across that crappy muskeg.

Certainly better choices... but if you are going rabbit hunting after a week of rain, yup... they are great.

-DallanC


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I have waders but do not plan to use them for hunting...ever.

If I were to take the plunge, I'd try to find something with < 400g of insulation but no more than that because I can always add socks. Both the Wasatch and Manti units I hunt are steep so hills will be an issue as will hiking uphill unfortunately.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I don't wear them big game hunting, but I do wear them in the winter months duck/goose hunting after the freeze. There are some really good muck boots out there with insulation, buckles and laces. The boots I wear are more of a farm muck boot with no insulation. I wear a thick Carhartt arctic sock and never get cold feet. They also help snug the boots to my feet and make walking long distance much better. Muck boots are great!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I think these are my more comfortable pair. Never really gotten cold in them yet (but I dont use them for long periods in subzero weather

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Genfoot-Men-s-Brown-Dairy-Boots/24034004

Here's the hip waders I also use, they are fairly indestructible even when brush busting:

http://www.mackspw.com/Item--i-LAC1...hs1qkbWBBuQ_e3J5xNRylfnqgvqCtRDH-2hoCVeDw_wcB

-DallanC


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## toymanator (Dec 29, 2010)

I have a pair of Muck Brand boots, the model I have is insulated. I use them everyday for chores around the ranch. After having used them for two years they look almost new today if I hosed them off. On Saturday I wore them in a river that was 18" deep. (my boots are 3/4 calf) I didn't have any socks on and can honestly tell you in the hour and a half I was running my chainsaw while standing in the river, my feet didn't get wet once. I hike on the mountain in the snow with them, etc. They are great boots, but they are heavy. 

Obviously the model I wear are more farm type than the hunting models. But they keep my feet dry, I mentioned I wasn't wearing socks, I often just throw them on because if I have socks on, my feet get hot. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Muck brand hunting boot.


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## Winglish (Mar 28, 2015)

+1 on Muck brand rubber boots. I have a pair that I have been wearing for over a decade now. I have taken them hunting on numerous waterfowl and upland hunts as well as just working around home. I think they are great!


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Doesn't seem to be many of you that have used them for a big game hunt in Utah.

They market them heavily to those whitetail and turkey hunters that typically walk on flat lands, through fields and to their tree stands. I was hoping for some testimonial on their practicality on Utah type terrain which is anything but flat most of the time.

I may just have to bite the bullet and be the pioneer in western big game hunting/muck boot use.


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## CAExpat (Oct 27, 2013)

I've worn my mucks hunting the hills and would not do it again. I prefer a lot of support and they just don't have it. While warm and very durable, the climbing and side-hilling lead to blisters very quick. I'm going with some pacs this year and hope that helps. I like to go up late in the year for a cows and I need a good winter boot; I think the pac will be the best compromise.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I have a pair of Muck Wetland boots that I wear in the winter to shovel snow and to ice fish (or any other winter activity). These are very nice for what I use them, and are comfortable to walk around in all day long on level to fairly level ground. 

I would not dream of hiking around big game hunting in these. They would get so hot and while I've hiked up and down smaller hills in them and they've been good, I just can't imagine using them in my normal big game situations all day.


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## Christine (Mar 13, 2013)

When I lived in illannoy we all wore rubber boots for hunting. I had a few cheap pairs and then settled on LaCrosse alpha burleys. They were fine for hiking in a mile or so with a climber on my back... but we're talking CRP fields, with the occasional ravine and river bottom for terrain. 
After two or three seasons the rubber would crack where the ankle flexes on the rubber boots. 
I fear they would only last one season in the mountains. 

The neoprene ones got too tore up by all the multi-flora rose and other brambles where I hunted but would probably be better out here.

Even with heavy socks all the rubber boots fit sloppy on my feet. (I sounded like a plunger walking around with the Cabela's branded boots -kerplunk,kerplunk,kerplunk. ) 
The lacrosse fit the best but I still wouldn't want to wear them if I had to do much steep stuff or side-hilling.


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## Christine (Mar 13, 2013)

I will add, until they cracked... my feet did stay warm and dry. In that pic, I arrowed that buck right as a downpour came in. Took four of us a few hours to get him out of that ravine... and my feet were the only thing dry.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I'm going to head to Cabelas tomorrow and see if I can't spend some of my in-store credit or birthday money on a decent pair of rubber boots. Maybe hiking around the mountains in them is not the way to go but they should work fine if I stay on the flat stuff when it's raining.

I HATE hunting in the rain anyways!


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Don't forget a pair of waterproof pants too. Those waterproof boots hold in the water as well as they hold it out.


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## CAExpat (Oct 27, 2013)

If you didn't end up liking the Mucks, Xtratuf are supposed to be very good as well. I've never tried them, and despite the sole seemingly lacking sufficient grip they are well respected.


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Tried on every pair at Cabelas...even the women's. All of them rubbed on the back of my heel which would undoubtedly cause some blistering or discomfort. None offered even a little ankle support.

I will find an Irish Setter dealer and sample their exo-fit ankle grip system and if that fails I guess I'll look into PAC boots again.


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