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"I am interested in a pair of Grand Slam Sheep Hunter Boots. Also I would like to comment on your Bullhide Snake Boots. I bought my first pair in 1973 while living in Central Florida. Having hunted and grown up in South Texas, I was aware of Rattlesnakes, but not Cottonmouths. One coon hunt in Central Florida convinced me to buy a pair of your Bullhides. I was opening Oshman's stores in Florida so I called Ralph Fabricus and he fixed me up. We also started selling the Snakeboot in the stores. After a couple of trips to the Florida swamps, I was a good salesman for the Bullhides. I sent the boots back three times for resoling, repair, and restitching during the 70's. The palmettos and water were tough on my favorite hunting boots. Finally, Ralph suggested that I buy another pair, (he told me he wanted to show these boots to customers that weren't quite sold). I moved back to Texas in 1980 and have used the new pair in a much drier climate. I was walking in a sawgrass flat next to the Nueces River before daylight in 1984 and had a rattlesnake strike my right leg at my ankle. I thought I had stepped on the end of a log. After I had settled down to start to rattle up a buck that I knew was in the area, I noticed my right boot had two large and long cuts in it. I knew immediately what had happened and almost got sick to my stomach. I backtracked my way back to my jeep hoping to find that snake and kill him. No such luck. I have been leery of that path ever since. Have killed several young snakes in the area since, but never the one that gave my Bullhides the personality that they have carried since that cool morning in mid December '84. Many hunters have inquired about the cuts in my boot and it has become a great campfire story for all the short boot wearers that have yet to encounter a rattle snake strike. These Bullhides have hunted in every county in North America because it is my most comfortable boot, even though they are heavy. They provide great ankle support as well as protection against the elements. Thanks for the comfort and the security all these years!" - Mike Owen “I ordered a pair of your snake proof boots and agreed to pay the rush delivery charge because I wanted them by September 21st to wear shooting huns and sharptails. They arrived on time and fit like the proverbial glove. I wore them on the 22nd of September and yesterday, the 23rd, I stepped on a ‘buzz tail’. My partner told me the snake hit my left leg two times before I jumped away. It heard it hit the boot. That rattler's tail now adorns my hat. So this is to say thank you for making such a well made, comfortable and protective product.” - Ralph Peters “I had a chance two afternoons ago to need the Snake Boots that I got from you. I was hiking in the Sierras when I very suddenly almost stepped on a grayish brown/green rattler- probably a Mohave Green- about 2-1/2 feet long- which is decidedly the most venomous of American rattlers. I was probably on the edge of his striking distance and stepped back suddenly. He didn’t strike. It was a big surprise for both of us. Having the Russell Snake Boots on kept my adrenaline rush down to survivable levels and probably kept me from wetting myself! Boy what a surprise.” - John Aldridge |
