Shooting Platform

[CZforlife]

Looking for your guys opinions on this one. What type of footware do you guys feel most comfortable shooting in. I know some who shoot bare foot, while some who shoot only in boots. What do you guys do the majority of your competive shooting in?

Baby Huey

[Jason]

I usually shoot in either South Pole skate shoes (very flat bottoms and very stable) when it's warm enough, or flat-bottomed boots when it's too cold. I've seen some very good scores shot in very curved running shoes, but I don't think they helped. The shooter was just good enough to shoot well in spite of his/her footwear.

[Daddio!]

I usually shoot in either South Pole skate shoes (very flat bottoms and very stable) when it's warm enough, or flat-bottomed boots when it's too cold. I've seen some very good scores shot in very curved running shoes, but I don't think they helped. The shooter was just good enough to shoot well in spite of his/her footwear.

The skate shoes are a great idea. My 13 year old boy, who now has the same shoe size as his Dad, just got a new pair of skate shoes. Maybe I should throw them on and see how they feel.

[Brian M]

Coming from the precision shooting world (I'm a past state champion in both smallbore target and air rifle, currently working up the ranks nationally in air pistol), if ankle support is allowed, you want to take advantage of it. Below are dedicated precision shooting boots (about $200 worth)



If you want to do it on the cheap, then 3-pole cross-country skiing shoes/boots have been used (which come in both insulated and non-insulated):



Don't care about ankle support (or can't use it like us pistol shooters), and the best Cheap option out there are Converse Chuck Taylors (or the generic equivalent):



I've also heard of some pistol shooters using bowling shoes, deck shoes, and flip-flops (remember, air pistol ~ no hot brass )



Having a flat sole is only half the battle, the other half (and why skate shoes aren't the best option) is the insole padding. If the shoe is flat on the ground but your foot moves around thanks to the ample/plush insole, then you get none of the benefit of the flat sole. Good footware is an aid, but good skill will far outstrip footware without issue. The guy who's ranked 3rd in the country in air pistol, shoots in ratty old sneakers that are no where near flat on the bottom. Personally, when I get a chance to shoot silhouette again, I'll be wearing hiking boots that provide ankle support as I feel that ankle support trumps flat soles, and my boots insole has been smashed nearly flat from 4 months of hiking around Alaska back in '09.

[Finprof]

A lot of guys wear landscaper boots- the ones with flat soles and no treads with a normal leather boot upper. You can buy them for $50 and wear them in the garden. I seem to remember a rule against precision shooting boots like the Anschutz-style 10-meter boots shown above. I have have never seen anyone on the line in them for a silhouette match.

[boats]

Shoes are a under rated shooting accessoryn in Silhouette. See guys all the time using something springy and rocky or different shoes evey time they shoot. I wear flat sole ankle high work boots. No agressive tread and well broken in. Only thing I use them for is shooting offhand nothing else

There is a clothing rule 3.12 . It does not specificly mention dedicated shooting boots like the ones used in International competiton. It does say "anything with artifical stiffining" 3.18 has something to say about it too.

As match director I would spot a pair of Anschutz boots or other sport specialty shoes right off and not allow them. Some places you could get away with it but best to use equipment that is without question any match you are likely to shoot. Ever look at the pictures of Tubb in his books, Regular hunting boots no doubt selected to be stable without risking a rule problem

Boats

[lone ringer]

Some things to consider when buying shoes or boots for shooting.
Thorough out the years I have seen some shooters using shooting boots like the ones International 10 meter and 3 position shooters use but modified a bit so as not have the square tip at the end and for whatever reason they were never challenged. I went as far as getting some shooting boots for me and they are great as long as I did not have to walk on them so I got rid of them quick.

At our local matches we have to reset our own targets so it is to our advantage to wear a good pair of shoes or hiking boots. Last month I forgot my hiking boots because I was in a hurry to leave for a local match where we shoot one HP in the morning and two SB matches in the afternoon. So I shot on my rubber "shoes for crews" that do not have nearly as much support as my hiking boots and by the end of the second match my feet were so sore that one of my younger shooting pals offered to reset my targets for the third and last match of the day.

Also know that at Nationals and other large matches we are on our feet for 12 hours every day so take that into consideration when choosing shoes or boots for shooting.

[Mt_Medic31]

My station boots are Danner Acadias. Lots of ankle support and flap bottomed, besides the Vibram sole. I think they work great for shooting, and comfortable for all day wear. I personally notice a difference in stability between them and tennis shoes. If I wasn't into other projects I would proly buy some shooting boots like mentioned above.

[AZRifle]

There is a clothing rule 3.12 . It does not specificly mention dedicated shooting boots like the ones used in International competiton. It does say "anything with artifical stiffining" 3.18 has something to say about it too.

As match director I would spot a pair of Anschutz boots or other sport specialty shoes right off and not allow them. Some places you could get away with it but best to use equipment that is without question any match you are likely to shoot. Ever look at the pictures of Tubb in his books, Regular hunting boots no doubt selected to be stable without risking a rule problem

Boats

I wear the shooting boots. My wife bought them for me for my birthday because I have a scrambled leg from a motorcycle accident and was left with bad knees and one ligament to my right ankle. I was concerned it they were legal or not for Rifle Silhouette and specifically wrote to the NRA about it. I was responded to by Greg Conner himself stating that not only were they legal, he has personally worn them. I would be willing to bet that Tubb was not wearing a Hardscrabble vest either but, they are just as legal.

As far as an overall contribution to the subject, in most cases, unless you are semi-handicapped like my self, the expensive boots are not worth what you will get out of them. What you do not want is a soft cushioned rubber tennis shoe or hicking boot that has nice soft rubber and/or a rounded sole. Although it will make it more confortable to waear on a long day, you will be making a "slight" sacrafice to those with fairly stiff and flat soled boots. Just the same as you would not want to stand on a round ball while trying to shoot, it is the same principles on why you do not want to stand on rounded soles. There is no resistance in the fron/back direction . To a lesser extent, you would not want to stand on a large foam mattress and try and shoot these small targets offhand, the more cusion the soles have the bigger the mattress you are standing on. We are not talking about a great amouint overall in either case but we are n ot talkinmg about a great amount of movement to miss even a Pig target, yet alone a Turkey.

To add to what Tony was saying too, now that I am babbling on haha!..... It is something to think of as well as far as overall confort over a long day. If you are hot/tired and your feet are hurting in the late afternoon, you will be handicapped as well.

Jerry

[jneihouse]

Wasn't going to tell anyone, but let's give something to the newer shooters....one word, google it. Osiris

Kitty

[boats]

Lot of ways to get to the same place. Advice is clear you need the right shoe for offhand work. It makes a difference.

Boats

[jjp]

Wasn't going to tell anyone, but let's give something to the newer shooters....one word, google it. Osiris

Kitty

Those are cool looking. I'm going to have to try some of them out. Thanks for the info.

[CZforlife]

Boats, what about a nice boat shoe to shoot out of!

[jneihouse]

This is probably more iinfo that anyone really wants, but that's never stopped me before We are working with a local Orthotics shop on an Idea that occurrred to me when I was visiting with Steve Boelter about the bedding on the new Cat Nip gun he just built for us....Steve and I had also talked about footwear when he flew in to the Southern Nationals to test some of the things that I had had him working on for the past several months....the shoes he brought had a slight "bow" to them, ie, not perfectly flat on the bottom as I prefer for a shooting shoe. He was having trouble getting perfectly still and I felt the shoe was the culprit. I suggested he borrow a page from Innocent Marys book and shoot barefoot. Problem solved....No more rocking motion...All these things kind of jelled into an idea of creating a "bedding" layer in a good, flat bottom shoe. This creates, if not a perfect, then at least a very close to perfect transition between the foot structure and the shoe and the surface that you are standing on...Of course all this goes out the window at Ridgeway PA, or Zwolle, LA, or other places that you cant get a flat surface to stand on. Anyway, long story short, the Orthotics company is interested in the concept, but the accountant in me is saying that it's most likely not something that could be marketed except where a person could come in an get impressions made of their feet. Of course, if it works well the results could be replicated by any good Orthotics company. Provided they are willing to spend the time with your and you have the coin to pay for the time they spend...I have the luxury of them being a client of mine and they are super supportive of the shooting sports.

Kitty

[lone ringer]

Conard Bernhard and Keith Cairns from WA. had the most unusual shoe wear for shooting that I have ever seen. They would take a pair of military boots to a shoe repair shop and request the hill be removed from it and more sole material added on, then they would grind it in a way where the inside of the sole would be thinner than the outside so that when they would spread their legs to shoot their feet would feel perfectly flat and perpendicular to the ground they were standing on. I remember Conard making a comment regarding shooting at Ridgway, PA he said he liked the idea shooting in the loose gravel because he could very easily dig with his feet down to the ground to find the shooting position he liked best. As a point of interest I will mention that Conard one day shot three 40X40 and one 39X40 with his Standard and hunting SB rifles. I have not seen Keith for a while but I venture to say he still uses his boots. Talk to him about them when you see him at Pe Ell next weekend.
Another friend of mine from Mexico used to make holes in the firing lines that had packed dirt to try to find the perfect level place for his feet.