TargetTalk

Hello and good morning to all. I will be shopping for my son, he is currently using a loaned pair of Anschutz easy boots. He is 16 and i think his feet has stop growing he has size 13 feet and I don't have a problem buying him a new pair. I hear a lot about Thune but are the best I am very open to suggestions, the other question is what if any customer support from the big mfg.

Thanks

Can you try all brands? It's the same as regular shoes, just see it they fit. Customer support is not really something I would take in mind: shoes last easily for several years. They are really strong.

Boots are really something that should be tried on, if at all possible. Wide feet, arches, ankle height, all make a big difference in comfort and support. I shot with the Anschutz 133 boots for years as a junior, and never realized how much they stunk until I tried something else. The original Sauers felt like I was standing on a wooden dowel, the new ones felt great. He's going to spend a lot of time standing and kneeling on these, so you really need to get it right.

If you really can't try them on, then my suggestion would be to find the ones with the flattest heel. Thunes are good, the Sauer Perfect II's have a wide toe box which is nice and have a fat foot like me.

Echo WarWagon ... need to try on the boots

One of the best vendors that will really help you out is Neal Stepp of International Shooters Service (ISS) in Ft Worth.
Give him a call .... he will ship to you so that you can try on several different brands.

http://www.iss-internationalshootersservice.com/

(make sure you have some time to talk when you call him, Neal likes to chat!)

Our kids have purchased clothing, boots, rifles, etc from Neal ... a great guy

Its quite important to get boots correctly fitted, i.e, specifically not tight, the foot needs room to move to maintain ballance. You need at least 1cm clearance from toe to boot.
We use Kurt Thune, and Kustermann. Kustermann will make special colours at no extra cost, just time, my wife has purple Kustermanns!
Good Shooting
Robin

Robin is absolutely right about a good fitting boot, you must give your toe [big] space at least one 1 cm to the front of the boot. Boots should never be laced up tight, but actually slightly slack and wear thermal cooling socks.

Boots differ from make to make and some have a higher heel than others.The higher heel boots can push your stance more on to the ball of your foot where as the low heel boots keep your Centre of gravity more between the ball and heel which is exactly where you want it for standing.

Also some boots have more flexible soles that others [New regulations may be insisting on greater flexibility]. The stiffest and lowest heel boots are the Swiss Corami and really do keep your weight over the heel plus you can lock the lace tension at each eyelet.
Kurt Thune are also good for this as are some later Kusterman, but Gehmann and some Anschutz are a bit high in the heel [later models may be lower] and a tad more flexible. My favourite boot is the German Truttman, but they are hard to get. Whichever, boot you end up with, I recommend the sole straightening spanner/clamp to be used when you are not wearing the boot, this keeps the sole flat.

JSB

Thanks for the great info. I have a meeting at a shoot in PA. to have my son try on some Corami.

I shoot standing only and use Swiss Coramis. I've been using them for about 6 months. They have good arch support and a low heal. I shoot right handed and my right boot (back foot) sometimes feels sore on the outside ridge towards my small toe after a long practice session but they offer good support. The fix in this case was to change out the inner sole on that boot with a Dr. Scholls pillow sole which is flat. The boots come with an inner and outer sole kit. After some adjusting they are comfortable. They are not cheap but they are high quality. Thune and Gehmann are used by some of the shooters at my club with good results.

We able to try on KT, Corami and sauer. And the way my sons foot is its like a 1x4 to begin with. The Sauers were the winner for fit on his foot. .... practice time here we come. Guys thanks for all the info!

Can't speak about the Corami boots but they custom fit me with pistol shoes over the Internet and they fit beautifully when I got them. They were great people to deal with.