Back in April 2021, “Women’s Outdoor News” asked me to review a pair of hunting boots, the Irish Setter Wingshooter. Originally, I was searching for casual everyday wear boots for walking the sporting clay course. While visiting my local stores, I learned that most carry an exceptional line of men’s options and the few women’s options are more fashionable than they are practical. Boot shopping is never easy for me; I have what I refer to as Flintstone feet. I also have surgical screws in both feet, having broken both in a childhood accident. As an adult, I had bone removed to reset the alignment of my feet. You can imagine that I am very picky about fit, comfort, arch of movement, and insulation in the cold seasons.
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Before I committed to wearing these boots, I went to a store to check them out. There were two pairs of hiking boots made by this company I leaned toward, but they were backordered for several months. The representative offered some suitable suggestions, then she typed several key words into the search option: Women’s upland boots. Two things you should know: I had no idea there were specific boots dedicated to upland hunting, and felt completely baffled to learn that a women’s version existed! This became a deal maker. Pheasant season was over, but there were game farm fields I needed to walk and upcoming mentor events I would be assisting with, so these boots looked to be a great “fit” right away.
Two weeks later, I received a pair of Irish Setter Wingshooter boots. Immeditaly, I loved the rich color of the genuine, full grain leather and the contrasting laces. My first thought was they looked heavy, so immediately I was concerned about how fatigued I would be in the field. And, how long would they take to break in? After trying them on, they felt incredibly comfortable and of “medium weight.” Bonus – I did not need to break them in.
From April 2021 until January 30, 2022, I walked through miles of fields and even broke my personal rule, wearing them several times to work. Thanks to Smartwatches, I can honestly state I have walked more than 300 miles in these boots collectively.
A few features I like about the Irish Settter Wingshooter boot:
Here are a few features Irish Setter boasts:
Unfortunately, unless by the time this review post and their inventory changes, the boots are sold out. BUT, I highly recommend contacting Red Wing Shoes customer service. They will go above and beyond to contact brick and mortar retailers to locate hard-to-find items.
Now that pheasant season is a wrap for 2021-22, I’ll be cleaning, conditioning and storing these for next season. But, I could wear them daily until then and they’d still be the most comfortable pair I own!
See Irish Setter Wingshooter boots. MSRP: $189.99.
Sharenda Birts is the Director of Community Affairs and one of the 4 founding members of wildHERness, a diverse group of outdoorswomen passionate about providing females with a connection to the outdoors through workshops, events, mentoring and community service. Her passion for the outdoors began when she began to learn how to safely handle a firearm and clean it. She does not come from a family background of firearms or outdoorsman and did not have any exposure to the outdoors until she joined a sporting clays league that persuaded her to attend a pheasant hunt. Although Sharenda is a new hunter, she is passionate about sharing her adventures to inspire other city born-and-raised minority women – with the message that they, too, can learn how to explore the outdoors, no matter what their ages. Sharenda is an NRA certified pistol, shotgun, and metallic cartridge reloading instructor who comes from a background with 25 years in the banking and equity investment industry. She also admits to being addicted to clay sports, along with upland and waterfowl hunting. Sharenda’s gearing up for angling and fly-tying in the near future. View all posts by Sharenda Birts
