Hunting is a well-liked sport where they can practice their patience, concentration, observation, reflex, etc., which appeals to many people nowadays. However, most newcomers only focus on improving shooting skills while ignoring the importance of how to keep your feet warm while hunting.
Read also: 4 Best Ways to Keep Your Body Warm While Hunting
How can you concentrate or get a perfect shot while your feet are getting wet and you are shivering due to the cold? Will your hunting trip be great? Will you be happy if there is no correct shot? The answer is clearly “No.” They are the reasons you should learn some basic ways to keep your feet warm before or at least at the same time with shooting skills.
4 Important Tips On How To Keep Your Feet Warm While Hunting?
The following is some helpful information to keep your feet warm while hunting for your reference.
1. Choose the right clothes
First of all, you should prepare suitable clothes for your hunting trip. I will not mention jackets, sweaters or some popular things that you usually wear in the winter as that is obvious. Instead, I would like you to pay more attention to the socks and hunting boots that directly keep your feet warm.
Firstly, to choose the right pair of socks for their hunting trip, you should consider material, size, and weather conditions. Nowadays, there are types of socks, which can make you confused. You can refer to this video to help you choose the best one: Sock Selection For Early Season Hunting Boots
Related to material, please remember moisture is your enemy, so cotton material is the first choice you have to stay away from. Cotton is the material absorbing liquid and moisture faster than wool or synthetic materials. As a result, cotton socks will absorb sweat and hold it like a wet sponge, which will make your feet get moist from inside.
Unlike cotton, wool, especially merino wool and synthetic material, are the best choice you can refer to because both are breathable, wick away moisture and sweat very well to keep your feet dry always.
Regarding size, a tight pair of socks does not make you warmer than a loose one. That you wear a snug pair will only make you uncomfortable and affect the blood circulation, leading to not enough blood circulating the feet to warm up the feet naturally.
Source Amazon.com
Weather conditions will help you choose the type of socks. For instance, in cold weather, one pair of socks made of merino wool or synthetic fabric or a blend of them is the best choice. On the other hand, if your hunting trip happens on hard days, you ought to put on sock liners before wearing wool shock to cover. And if your journey takes place on biting days, electric socks are the best choice to keep your feet warm enough.
After choosing a suitable pair of socks, the next step is preparing the right pair of boots. The right pair of boots will be selected based on the type of socks, what you are hunting, how active you will be.
Usually, boots should be breathable and waterproof, have good traction, and fit loosely. But, again, you should choose boots based on the type of socks to make enough room for socks and your feet to feel comfortable.
2. Use boot covers or wraps
Boot covers or wraps are made of waterproof fabric. They are usually used on rainy days to protect shoes or boots from getting wet. However, you may bring some boot covers or wraps if there is sudden rain on your hunting trip. Moreover, they also protect your hunting boots from getting wet if you traverse feet of a compact snow area.
3. Foot warming packets for direct heat
Foot warming packets are handy on trips that need more heat than a pair of socks and sock liners. You can place them directly in your boots or the outside of socks because some foot warming packets can not contact skin.
Usually, they can keep them warm for quite a long time. In addition, you can use foot warming packets in combination with hand warmers to keep you warm overall.
4. Move your feet to keep your blood flowing
Sometimes, while you are resting, take off the boots, wiggle your feet around, massage your feet and toes to keep in circular motions to keep the blood flowing.
However, do not take off too many times since cold air will fill inside your boots.
5. Keep Your Head Warm
Keeping your head warm will not only help your feet but also your whole body feel warm.
Your head is believed to be the part losing your body heat most. It means even when you put on lots of layers, your body and your feet still get cold if you don’t maintain the head warm enough.
In addition, when you let your head gets cold for a long time, it will have a severe effect on your nerve system. For example, you may suffer from headache, faint or loss of sensation.
An easy way to keep your head warm while hunting is by covering it with beanies made of wool, fleece, sheepskin, or synthetic. A note when choosing beanies is looking for one that covers your ears as well.
Benefits Of Keeping Your Feet Warm While Hunting
To put it simply, the most outstanding benefit and the primary purpose of keeping your feet warm while hunting is to stay alive in the cold weather. Most hunting trips happen in the early morning or overnight in the woods when the weather is cold.
Besides, you typically traverse mud pits, creeks, rivers or sit in wet bushes to wait for prey. In all the above cases, keeping your feet dry is the most significant step in warding off the cold.
You are likely to face up the risk of hypothermia when your feet get wet and cold for a long time. Since there are many sensory nerves in the sole, the cold feeling will spread quickly to all parts of the body. And it is time for you to call it a day before the situation becomes worse.
Conclusion
Always remember these tips on how to keep your feet warm while hunting because it is the most important lesson for those who want to take this sport seriously. It plays an essential part in making a safe hunting trip besides your shooting skills.
Unexpected things will take place if your feet are not kept warm enough. Hypothermia, cold, frostbite are just some of the simple issues that you may confront.
Besides how to keep your feet warm, you should learn about hunting regulations. That will help to avoid breaking the rules accidentally. Below is an article introducing hunting regulations publication for your reference: Hunting Regulations Publication: Important Things You Need To Know