I won't use up space going into the circumstances involved in my wearing a brand-new pair of boots on a pheasant hunt when, in these very pages, I have in the past preached the importance of hunting in boots that have been thoroughly broken in before they are worn in the field.

The reasons are not important. What is important is the fact that I actually broke in a pair of Danner Pronghorn GTX boots while hunting, and my feet felt great after three solid days of walking through South Dakota corn country. It is not something I recommend with any boot and will admit that I did not walk as many miles during those three days as I have been known to, but my experience does serve to indicate how kind and gentle to the feet the new Danner boots can be.

The Pronghorns I am wearing weigh precisely 3-¼ pounds on my postal scale and contain no insulation. Other models with 200-, 400-, 800- or 1,200 grams of Thinsulate are available. Women's styles are available only with 200- or 1,200 grams.

A GORE-TEX membrane sandwiched between the inner liner and a combination of leather and synthetic fabric on the outside of the boot keep out water while allowing perspiration vapor from the feet to escape to the outdoors. The heel and toe are covered with a layer of extremely durable material that prevents the leather in those areas from becoming scuffed while wading through miles of rocks and briar patches.

The Mountain Goat outsole is called that because of its ability to stick to rocks and boulders like, well, the feet of a mountain goat, and that makes the boot an excellent choice for hunting chukar in the cliffs and rockslides that scheming bird calls home. The Pronghorn is available in D and EE widths and sizes ranging from 7 to 16. Women's sizes run from 5 to 11.