I wear a size 11 1/2 in Meindls, but size 12 in everything else. I bought a pair of 11 1/2 Bushmasters from a different vendor a couple weeks ago at a great clearance price $100. I figured it would be 50/50 on whether they fit or not. Sure enough, the 11 1/2 were way to tight but that wasn't unexpected. The Meindl Perfekt Hunters that I normally use have a huge toebox compared to the Zamberlans. I plan on sending the Bushmasters down to road to someone else whenever I get around to posting them sometime.
About two weeks ago, I ordered the Zamberlan 980's (20% off) and Crispi Hunters from Midway both in size 12 after my experience with the Bushmasters. The Crispi hunters were a little too tight in the toe box of one foot so those went back to Midway and I kept the Zamberlan 980's. They feel pretty comfortable, but there is not a lot of room in the boot. I just got them out of the box yesterday and only did a 2 mile walk on them, but I'm not sure about adding an aftermarket sole to them. Granted, these aren't the Bushmasters that you are asking about, but with the 980's I think I would be more comfortable going up a 1/2 size if I was going to go with an aftermarket sole, but there is no 12 1/2 in Zamberlan. so moral of the story is that you should be good with your normal shoe size, but go up if you are in between sizes or if you might add an aftermarket sole.
