Ugh. So I went to the tack store last night to try on some tall field boots. I am trying to figure out my sizes/brand preferences for show stuff so I cna gradually buy it piece by piece. I had a feeling that the boots would be the hard part because we had such a hard time finding half chaps. I had no idea. I wear a size 6.5, 7 in shoes. Usually I wear a 7 in fashion boots. My calf measures 15 inches around, which isn't abnormal I don't think. They aren't fat my any means, just muscle. We couldn't find a pair that would go around my calf for the life of me! We tried pull ons, zip backs, full calf, medium wide, etc. The full was too small and the wide was too big.What am I going to do? Has anyone had a similar problem? Are there certain brands that won't cost me a second mortgage that I should look at? I really can't afford custom boots. 

 I had the same problem with my old pair of field boots. I couldn't afford customs either so I bought the wide and had to double up on socks. At one point, I wrapped my leg witha an ace bandage. I eventually  lost enough muscle and/or fat to fit into a regular. 

I know exactly what you're going through.  The best you can do without going custom is to just try a ton of different brands because they all fit differently... but that's not to say it will be any cheaper than going custom!  I ended up settling on a pair of $600 boots because they were the only ones that fit!

 Good luck!!!

 My calves have always been pretty muscular so I don't know that I'm ever going to lose any of that...especially since riding involves so much calf muscle. The doubling up on socks might have to be viable option.

 They thing that stinks is we have one real tack shop in the area. Everything else is super tiny. And this place only carries certain brands, and the most expensive versions of each brand (they don't want people to know they have the option of a great brand at a lower price). So in order to try stuff on I would have to order and return them online until I found something. Yuk. I'll try some of the small shops and maybe they will have some used boots that are stretched a bit. Maybe that would help. I just don't want to pay $600. Yikes!

Keep in mind too - that with tall boots, they will be quite snug to fit properly. You can also get boots stretched a little bit to help fit if need be as well. I'm not sure how stretching would work with zippered boots as I'm still old school and don't like the zippered boots! :)

 good luck at the other stores. $600 is crazy. I only paid $175 for mine, brand new.

 I know they are supposed to be snug but we couldn't get the zipper past the middle of my calf. Same with the pull ons. I really want zippered boots for the ease of getting in and out of them.

 Thanks. If I can find some for $175 I will be a happy lady. Can I ask what brand yours are?

 Devon-Aire. They are very comfy. I was just looking in the Dover Saddlery book and they have Oviation field boots $129.90 or 149.90 with back zipper. The chart for these boots say Size 6- 6.5 / x-wide 15". These might be your best bet. They also say for the 7-7.5 would be 15 5/8" wide. You can check on their site but I'm not sure if the will show the chart or not. hope this helps.

 Ok. Thanks.

 Look at these: http://www.shopatron.com/product/part_number=657/406.0
 

They have elastic next to the zipper, that might be the answer. The ones I tried on didn't have elastic at all. Thanks Dukey for recommending this brand!

 I'll second the Devon-Aires.  I also have a large calf that isn't going to get any smaller and the Nouvelle field boots are the only ones that fit!  These boots have a small elastic gusset at the top (on the inside, so it can't be seen) to help the top of the boot fit a bit better, after the wide calf.  I got them through Stateline, but I don't remember the exact price.  $130, maybe?  They aren't the top of the line in quality, but have served me very well.

I  couldn't find it online, but I think the Stateline catalog has a chart of the various brands and the calf sizes.  I wanted to get a pair of Ariats, but they didn't have a large enough calf!  Bummer.  So, I had to opt for the less expensive ones.  But hey, they fit!

Good luck in your search. 

 QH,great idea. I just checked and they do, but they are $530+.