Mud Scraping Tool?

[BowhunterXC]

The farmers here in Ohio, like to do their fall plowing and it makes for a difficult trek across a muddy field. Often I'll end up with 5 lbs. of mud caked to the bottom and edges of my boots. Then it gets transferred to my tree stand, climbing sticks, etc. I had thought of a large wooden cooking spoon, a putty knife and a number of other wide scraping tools.

What do you guys recommend for a Mud Scraping Tool, that would be easy to carry and get the job done?

 

[TK161BOONER]

Not sure what’s to recommend, but I will take a extra pair of shoes and regular or wool socks with me to the stand based on where I’m hunting…especially when walking through mud for really wet or frost covered CRP, having a clean dry pair of lowa boots to swap out at the stand makes life much easier. Also I’ll throw my wet muddy boots in a Kifaru ultralight pullout and is left at the base of the tree and switch them out for the walk back.

 

[gameflogger]

You could try these

 

[Blacksmith]

If you are hunting the same stand over, drive a 2 x 2 stake in the ground. Scrape the sides of your boots off w/it, and clean the bottoms on the top of the stake. Don't forget it when you move your stand or someone will strain themselves trying to figure out what it is. It would be easier to just carry a knife though.

 

[Jtaylor]

Plastic bread sacks or grocery bags tied up with shoelaces or those reusable grocery bags tied up then just slip them off at the base of the tree. The plastic bags are loud and slick though so a cloth bag with a cinch at the top would be best. Once they dry the mud can just be knocked off on the side of a tree or ground, etc.
I've never used them for hunting but we do this if we forget rubber boots or overshoes going in and out of hog barns into the pickup, etc.

 

[HuskerInIowa]

The farmers here in Ohio, like to do their fall plowing and it makes for a difficult trek across a muddy field. Often I'll end up with 5 lbs. of mud caked to the bottom and edges of my boots. Then it gets transferred to my tree stand, climbing sticks, etc. I had thought of a large wooden cooking spoon, a putty knife and a number of other wide scraping tools.

What do you guys recommend for a Mud Scraping Tool, that would be easy to carry and get the job done?

I just find a log when I get to the wood line and scrape it off. Stick if I wanna get picky and really get the cracks. No need to carry more stuff than you already do.

 

[Iron_llama]

I don't care for them, personally, but one of my farmer friends swears by the galoshes he can buckle over his work boots. It seems Amazon has a plethora of overshoes and galoshes. I'd probably go that route rather than changing boots (and stinking up the tree I want to climb) in the field.

 

[woodsdog2]

How about the Wiggy’s waders?

 

[Jammintree]

Snow shoes!

 

[TK161BOONER]

I don't care for them, personally, but one of my farmer friends swears by the galoshes he can buckle over his work boots. It seems Amazon has a plethora of overshoes and galoshes. I'd probably go that route rather than changing boots (and stinking up the tree I want to climb) in the field.

Yes,but either way boots or overshoes will leave scent at the base of your tree, just because it’s rubber on the outside doesn’t mean it won’t stink on the inside… That is why I use a Kifaru pullout or you can used a garbage bag to put your shoes in to cut down on scent. Besides what are you going to do with hot (from walking in and your feet sweating from the rubber keeping your feet from breathing) mud covered overshoes ? They ain’t going in you SYS hauler or backpack up in the tree LOL, they will be setting at the bottom of your tree causing scent.

 

[Iron_llama]

Yes,but either way boots or overshoes will leave scent at the base of your tree, just because it’s rubber on the outside doesn’t mean it won’t stink on the inside… That is why I use a Kifaru pullout or you can used a garbage bag to put your shoes in to cut down on scent. Besides what are you going to do with hot (from walking in and your feet sweating from the rubber keeping your feet from breathing) mud covered overshoes ? They ain’t going in you SYS hauler or backpack up in the tree LOL, they will be setting at the bottom of your tree causing scent.

I guess it would depend on the setup. If you're crossing muddy, plowed fields and setting up right on the edge of the field, you'd probably have to leave your overshoes near your tree. If your setup is a few hundred yards away from where you muck up your boots, you could cache your overshoes (and probably some other gear) at the field edge and make your final stalk in to your tree without all that stuff.

I wonder if a spray bottle with water, combined with a putty knife, would do a good enough job of cleaning your boots. One place I used to hunt, I had to cross a small stream near the parking area. I always swished my boots in the mud in an effort to rinse away any off-odors they may have picked up and replace them with neutral mud scent. It wasn't sticky, clay mud and didn't add any weight to my boots. I wonder if maybe there's a water source, maybe an irrigation ditch, OP could clean his boots in after crossing the field?

 

[raisins]

If I had this issue, I'd be tempted to carry ultralight boots to climb in and arctic shield boot blankets to put over them once in the tree. And leave muddy boots at the tree base.