Pant legs in or out....

j-bird

Moderator
So I wear a pair of muck boots 99% of the time I deer hunt.... I was wondering...for those of us that use some sort of tall rubber type boot....do you pull your pant leg over the boot or do you tuck it inside your boot when hunting?? And do you have a conscious reason why?
 
in. Because I don't want my pant leg to be dragging thru the woods leaving scent.

that said, my mucks are red with gutting blood from earlier escapades, so I'm not saying my ideas are founded in fact.
 
Pants are in bibs are left out because my bibs have more material. No real reason for tucking them in, half the time they aren't tucked just bunched up on top.
 
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Tucked in rubber boots - I wear rubber boots when it is wet. I dont want my pants legs soaking wet. Leather boots - pants outside
 
Out because I don't line the way they go on my boots I always rub a little evercalm on the bottom where hem meets boot. Idk if it helps but, my Sunday morning hunt I walk a sandy road to my stand and when I came back for lunch a deer had followed my path exactly. There were hoof prints in every other step all the way almost back to the cabin. Did the scent help idk but it clearly didn't hurt.
 
In Louisiana, I put them in because I wore rubber boots for wading through water. When cold, and in the stand, I'd untuck them for the extra warmth. But, in Kentucky, I'm switching to hiking boots and not tucking them in. I hate rubber boots unless I'm walking through mud and water.
 
Base layers inside, outer layer outside.
 
Any base layers go inside (which I assume is somewhat obvious) and whatever my out layer is always goes on the outside of my rubber boots. I generally walk through a lot of CRP and other cover getting to my stands and I’d end up with a boot full of twigs, leaves, stickers, etc if I had my pants tucked into my boots.
 
Waking to the stand, tucked in. After in the stand, I drop them to the outside. 1. I think this helps scent control keeping smells inside and the neoprene/rubber smell from the boot inside the clothing. 2. I find it to be a little warmer as well.
Tucked in walking because it’s less surface to spread scent on your walk in and keeps mud and water off the clothes.
 
My pant legs are all too long (or I'm short - you decide). So I tuck and...

I also have those small bungee cords that I use to keep them from dragging.
I tuck when the weather is bad/muddy conditions.
 
Out for me to hold scent it.
however the last two summer afternoons I took them off when I got on stand because my toes were swimming.
 
Pants are in bibs are left out because my bibs have more material. No real reason for tucking them in, have the time they aren;t tucked just bunched up on top.
Exactly. Pants/uninsulated bibs go in. My thick insulated bibs I wear from mid season on, have to stay out because they’re just too bulky. Would like to tuck everything for scent control reasons (pant cuffs dragging on the ground) but just won’t work with heavy clothes.
 
Base layers inside, outer layer outside.

This.

Keeps scent in and ticks and bits of forest out.
 
Depends on where I am hunting. Going through water I tuck. I am more comfortable with them out so if I am hunting dry ground I leave them out.
 
In if wearing pants and wading creeks and wet ground. Out if wearing bibs just because there is too much material to tuck in. I make sure I buy muck type boots that have zippers at the top so I have some lee-way for comfort.
 
Waking to the stand, tucked in. After in the stand, I drop them to the outside. 1. I think this helps scent control keeping smells inside and the neoprene/rubber smell from the boot inside the clothing. 2. I find it to be a little warmer as well.
Tucked in walking because it’s less surface to spread scent on your walk in and keeps mud and water off the clothes.

+1. This is exactly what I do, and for the same exact same reasons.
 
So I wear a pair of muck boots 99% of the time I deer hunt.... I was wondering...for those of us that use some sort of tall rubber type boot....do you pull your pant leg over the boot or do you tuck it inside your boot when hunting?? And do you have a conscious reason why?

I tuck mine in the boots. Rubber does not transfer scent like clothing. This minimizes the scent trail I leave on low growing vegetation.
 
Out because I don't line the way they go on my boots I always rub a little evercalm on the bottom where hem meets boot. Idk if it helps but, my Sunday morning hunt I walk a sandy road to my stand and when I came back for lunch a deer had followed my path exactly. There were hoof prints in every other step all the way almost back to the cabin. Did the scent help idk but it clearly didn't hurt.

Evercalm works. I inadvertently made a doe bedding area by rubbing Evercalm on the trees around my stand. The goal was just to keep deer calm so I could get a shot on them, but they came in and bedded down. The following year I found a couple dozen beds in the area. Prior to that is was just a travel corridor.
 
Interesting that no one has talked about the chimney effect when tucking your pants in. Supposedly scent molecules are forced out the top of your boot as you walk.
Myself, I keep my clothes and boots clean and isolated from regular odors, not taking them inside the house. I have zero problems with deer picking up my trail, none whatsoever.
 
I choose tuck pants into boots to protect my feet from mud, insects and other foreign objects. Beside that, I have read an article about tuck pants into boots military style, this magazine mentions 3 methods to tuck pants into boots. Therefore, tucking jeans into boots has a special style in addition to providing protection.
 
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