Boots

[Oregon Bill]

Looking hard at the Model 1861 Artillery boot from Fugawee as a good civilian generic for 1840s-1860s. I have a pair of Fugawee half boots for late 18th century that are pretty decent, so hoping these are as well made or better. Any experience, fellow Plainsmen?

[Major 2]

I'm more than satisfied with both my Monticello & my Congress Gaiters .

[Tsalagidave]

I strongly recommend contacting Bob Serio at Missouri Boot and Shoe.  Always a nice guy and his product is first rate, custom fit.

-Dave

[Oregon Bill]

Thankee, Dave.

[BlackHillsScout]

Has anyone succumbed to having rubber soles put on their boots?
I remember not being able to wear hobnails in some historical sites and then slipping on the grass etc. and my soles were pretty worn.

Did the Plainsman Society make a ruling in this regard? I don't remember.

[Niederlander]

I don't know about the Plainsmen, but we encourage it in G.A.F.  It may not be authentic, but it beats the crap out of people sliding on grass and falling with loaded firearms.  A lot of us are old enough that we get injured fairly easily when we fall, as well.

[Tsalagidave]

For period events, I recommend hobnails.  If done correctly, they are perfectly comfortable, safe, and period correct.  I have a problem with modern shoes only if you are attempting to have a historically accurate event.   If this is merely themed shooting, I am okay with costumes of your favorite westerns regardless of how fanciful.  For those events, I'd have no problem with showing up in my modern "Cowboy" rancher gear (Modern Ranch shirt, Wrangler Jeans, Ariat Boots and a modern Stetson and an Arvo Ojala holster.)

However, I do completely agree with Niederlander that safety should be the primary concern in a live fire exercise.  For that reason, the event coordinators should be held to their obligation in providing a shooting course that is as free from slip/fall hazards as common sense permits.  For everything else such as mountain man live shoots, or primitive hunting, I've found period moccasins or hobnails to be an adequate countermeasure.

-Dave

[1961MJS]

Hi Dave

I wore Missouri Boot and Shoe for Muster this year and they worked well.  I also wore those Stacy (not Ashley) Madison high top boots that I had rubber soles put on.  The rubber soles worked best.  I ordered a second pair of boots from Missouri Boot and Shoe to wear under jeans, and had those done in Rubber soles.  They're close to ready, but I'm pretty sure they'll work out fine.

Later

[Blair]

We use to do a thing called a "trail walk". It was a lot of fun and I very much enjoyed running these.
I would always do a shoot through myself before the event to see what problems there might be.
Wet and/or slippery conditions for the participants was always a consideration.
As a result of this test, I would ask the participants "not to run" through the coarse. Many would be very upset with me for suggesting such a thing. And I would tell them that it was for "safety" reasons! That explanation did not often work.
We might have 100 or more participant signed up for the event, first come first served. With only three guys running it. Which meant these guys were going to have to run through the event with the participant over a three day weekend.
Also many participants that didn't do as well as they thought they should wanted to re shoot the event. This was okay by me but they had to go to the end of the line. This also didn't set well with some of the Gamer types.
Everyone that signed up disserved a chance to shoot the coarse in order they signed up.

Just as a side note here, I always had a rubber heel plate (at least) put on my historic foot wear.
My best,
Blair

[Oregon Bill]

Wish hobnails were more kind to interior flooring.

[Tsalagidave]

When I started writing "historic how-to" articles for people interested in proverbially walking in "other people's boots" my philosophy changed. I think that the rubber soles accommodate many of the foot problems that some members have. I believe it is something that can be pointed out to the public as atypical but necessary for the benefit of the interpreter.

A lot of good historians have been driven from the living history hobby because they just aren't 24 anymore. When you look at the original frontiersmen, they were mostly young with the occasional "old timer" among them who managed to stay lean, mean, and free from rheumatic complaint.  Many did die doing it but for most, it was just something you did young before settling down to a more stable life.

What I'm getting at is although I have always believed in strict authenticity standards, keeping the culture alive is personally more important to me.  Almost all of us (me included) are now statistically older than the typical plainsman was so if our age can be tolerated, I'm not against people taking measures to keep from aggravating existing medical conditions.

I was recently speaking with some Civil War campaigners and even among the young guys, I warned them that most of them were not in the physical shape to replicate some of the elements of hard campaigning. Fat thighs chafe on a +9 mile hike. Spinal discs compress under heavy packs when your back muscles aren't conditioned to bear an appropriate load. For those just going barefoot, if your feet are not already hardened and you are overweight, this is a disastrously bad idea for anything but a casual walk in the park during fair weather. Philosophically, authenticity cannot be 100% exact but my experience in doing living history is that the public is pretty forgiving if you make provisions for any medical issue that is eating at you. Your health comes first.

-Dave

[Major 2]

Posted by: BlackHillsScout

Has anyone succumbed to having rubber soles put on their boots?
I remember not being able to wear hobnails in some historical sites and then slipping on the grass etc. and my soles were pretty worn.

Did the Plainsman Society make a ruling in this regard? I don't remember.

Posted by Niederlander

I don't know about the Plainsmen, but we encourage it in G.A.F.  It may not be authentic, but it beats the crap out of people sliding on grass and falling with loaded firearms.  A lot of us are old enough that we get injured fairly easily when we fall, as well.


Well, in a word , " yes " afraid so.... I have the Fugawee Congress Gators ...all leather , train wreak just waiting to be fall me !
and my cavalry boots all leather,  same caution needed....


so..... as my knees worsened and my longiviity has elongated and I moved away from 19th century living history & reenacting to more live fire matches, non-slip seemed the wiser choice .... OK  there I said it , " but slipping with a loaded gun,  I avoid with all candor .

[Tsalagidave]

I'd have to agree on the live fire element as well. I get the emphasis on accuracy down to the minute details for living history but for themed live-fire, there are a lot of modern safety features that shooters must comply with in addition to rubber soles so I would not gripe about rubber soles in this case either.

-Dave

[Major 2]

Yes Sir...for over 35 years "emphasis on accuracy down to the minute details for living history"
and still enjoy the notion... and the fond memories.   

[Navy Six]

I finally put rubber soles on a pair of boots used at SASS matches. Hated to do it  but it does make a difference. I am a bit older now and my feet used to be "screaming" at the end of a match. Now, with the rubber soles, my feet are "just loudly complaining"

[1961MJS]

HI

I have a pair of Cavalry boots with leather soles and heels, but with a steel Horseshoe plate on the heels.  I also have a second pair of 12 inch high boots with full modern sole and heels to wear around town, both are from Missouri Boot and Shoe.  I have a pair of higher class brogans from Missouri boot and shoe with Modern bottoms and a really old pair of brogans with the heel plates, but no hobnails.  The cavalry boots are tough to climb up a grassy hill with.

Later

[Oregon Bill]

Hats off to all who are pursuing the authenticity trail here.
I ended up with a pair of 16-inch Boulet Shooter's Boots from Wild West Mercantile, but the task before me was representing the 1870s and 1880s period at Oliver Lee State Park here in south-central New Mexico. Had always heard good things about this Canadian bootmaker. I had been wearing packers.