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Yankees are a frugal lot and no doubt there are those of you not from these northern areas who also try to save a dollar or two by not buying the most expensive brand. We all try to cut corners and I have particularly on boots. I can state with certainty that I have had cheap boots that chaff, leak, wear out quickly and are as heavy as anvils. I’m not sure what it is but boots stamped "Made in China" and my American feet have a definite language barrier. One pair of upland boots that I remember with disdain had a layer of material that quickly wicked moisture. The problem was it wicked the moisture from the outside of the boot to the inside. That the early morning dew was inside my boots soaking my socks. I once tried to refresh the treads of the soles with a hacksaw of another pair I liked and created a series of ridges. Those ridges acted like skis on the side of a snowy hill. Ass end over a tea kettle I believe is the expression. So I cashed in my Cabelas points a bought a pair of Browning 10” Kangaroo Featherweight Uninsulated Boots. BTW: Due to state law, these boots cannot be shipped to California.
Some of the stats are:
- Upper: Kangaroo leather with a sharkskin toe cap
- Sole: oil resitant Vibram
- Average weight: 2.8 lbs./pair
- Linings: GORE-TEX, Cambrelle, and Dryz
- Laces: waxed nylon
- Eyelets: metal tubes
Here’s what I found when I opened the box.
Not sure what John Browning's contribution was to boot design...
...but if he did design boots I'm sure we'd be walking around in 1911s or 1886s or what the year he designed them.
Fancy tissue paper for rugged boots.
Green kangaroo leather backed by a Gore-Tex lining.
Shark skin toe. If the kangaroo was from the outback was the shark from the great barrier reef?
Insert foot here.
The boot's soul--I mean sole.
Branding is everything--when raising cattle or selling products.
I sure do want to thank Josephine.
As much as they are comfortable and light weight, after a day in the woods it sure feels good to kick 'em off and sit back for a while.
We received an email from Men’s Vogue recently concerning the November issue, which is on newsstands now. Though you might not consider Men’s Vogue a sporting magazine—it depends on your definition of sporting—this issue touts the upland sporting life with a cheeky piece about how they hunt pheasant and other upland birds across the pond. Tweed is de rigor and preferable your grandfather’s tweed. And the mustier smelling the better. Of course the Brits and Scots make up for their foul, I mean fowl, clothing with their guns. Dare I say best quality Purdeys with a few bespoke Holloway & Naughton guns thrown in. The Italians make their presence a la Rizzini and Fabbri, with nary a Browning, Remington, or Kimber to be seen. Do take a look, however, at those side-by-sides and under/overs (know as an over-and-under here in the US) and if that isn't art you need a nice sip of single malt to clear your head. So if you’d like to gear up for the remainder of hunting season the issue also includes wares from some of the finest purveyors of hunting kits—for when you fancy gunning UK-style.
You've read that the turkey hunting is great up north (
It wasn’t what your grandfather would call a tradition turkey shoot, but the NWTF's Still Target Championship. The NWTF conceived the shoot 16 years ago as a way to help turkey hunters better understand point of aim and point of impact with their turkey guns. This shoot judged competitors on their ability to shoot stationary targets exactly 40 yards away. The winner was determined by the number of pellets shot into a three-inch circle. Back in my turkey shoot days we paid the entry fee and were handed a 12 or 20 gauge field load of #8 shot. From 40 yards we fired at cardboard squares with an X draw across it. The winner was the shooter with a pellet at the center of the X. As the winner you had a choice of a frozen turkey or a canned ham.
