Grip Hunting

Hunting Boots For New Zealand

There is a broad range of hunting opportunities in New Zealand, from gentle bush clad flatlands to the high alpine mountains of the Southern Alps. Most of the hunting in New Zealand is good old-fashioned free-range foot hunting, stalking through hunting terrain in search of meat for the table or a trophy to take home. Mostly, it is physically demanding on the hunter and incredibly demanding of his equipment, in particular, the hunting boots.

I consider a good pair of boots equally as important as a suitable rifle. Like your rifle, boots need to suit to the particular hunting environment; they need be strong and reliable. And, if you are hunting for an alpine trophy in the Southern Alps they must be able to withstand a lot of use in potentially very, very rough terrain.

There are a number of top quality brands of boots available, with models that are particularly suitable for the New Zealand countryside. You should be aware of the main, important aspects. The hunting boots must be rugged, with a minimum of external stitching that can rub and fail. Working as a guide, we have seen many different boots used for hunting in New Zealand and many of them simply are not designed to withstand the work or conditions of a multi-day hunt. The most noticeable point of failure is in boots designed where several components are stitched together to form the main part of the boot. It is always the stitching that lets go! To reduce or eliminate boot failure because of wear on the stitching, simply choose a good quality boot designed and built with a one-piece leather upper.

For some reason, most of the unsuitable boots used in New Zealand come from North America. Europeans have a long history of hunting and, as a consequence, manufacture high quality hunting boots, many of which are the best suited to New Zealand conditions. Meindl, Lowa, Raichle, Koflach, and Sportive are several of the recognized brands of boot particularly suited to hunting in New Zealand. Choose one of the alpine models, with a Goretex type membrane in the lining. With all these boots though, regardless of the quality it is important that they fit well, are comfortable, have been worn a number of times prior to your hunt and are broken in to your feet.

Another important feature is that hunting boots must have a heel and good chunky grip on the soles. The bush and alpine regions of New Zealand inevitably are wet or damp underfoot and a prominent heel and good grip on the sole will ensure that you are able to maintain traction when going either up or downhill. For alpine type hunting, in general, the stiffer the boot sole, the easier the climbing. It is preferable that boots for alpine hunting have at least a shank, preferably full. For bush stalking stags and bucks a stiff sole boot is not as important as a “quiet” boot. If your hunting is to be confined to the bush or the lowlands then one of the more flexible footwear options may be more suitable.

Your boots will get wet! Regardless of how good your boots are or what eveer the manufacturers claims, your boots will get wet at some point whilst hunting in New Zealand. Be prepared and expect to have to put on wet boots on some mornings. So, when looking to purchase boots for hunting in New Zealand not only should they be comfortable and broken in, but make sure they’re suitable for our very rugged conditions.

About the Author

Sara Leadbetter is an experienced Internet Marketer based in New Zealand. This article was written about the well known hunting guide Al Kircher, from
Fishing And Hunting Guide NZ
who regularly guides
hunting trips
in the wilds of the rugged South Island of New Zealand.

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