Shooting gloves

[Kurt Ratzlaff]

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in a post that I bought some new shooting gloves for upland bird hunting. Shooting gloves, you might say? What the heck? And yes, I say, shooting gloves! Check out my shooting glove journey and then let all of us know what you wear for shooting gloves, or why you don’t! And, by the way, if you want to go to a fun sporting clays shoot in the KC area, check out https://www.backcountryhunters.org/2023_ks_bha_clay_shoot-lenexa

I literally wear shooting gloves anytime I am out hunting. Shooting sporting clays? No. But I tend to hunt places that have a lot of things that can cut you up pretty easily. Barb wire fences, tree branches, whatever. I also like to run my hands through the tall grasses that I hunt in. I just like it. Those darn things will give you a million little annoying cuts! So I wear gloves. Warm or cold. Getting over a fence is a million times easier if you have gloves on. You get it now. I wear gloves when I hunt. I haven’t always, but I have for a long time. Let’s take a look back…

Ahhh, my trusty Orvis Uplanders! These guys have hunted with me for a long, long time. If you look closely, a couple of fingertips are now cut off. They started off full fingered. A couple more are about to be cut off. They haven’t yet been oiled up after the season, but that will happen now. When oiled, they turn a beautiful rich dark brown color. These gloves have lasted 20 years, maybe more. Awesome with a capital A. But I have to face the fact that my time with them is pretty limited. They are not designed to keep your hands warm, but they do well enough that I still wear these most of the time on bird hunts from September through January. But there are days when you need a little warmth…

These are my 15 year old Cabela’s shooting gloves. I received them as a present and they were supposed to make me look good at sporting clays shoots. But like I said, I don’t wear gloves to shoot clays. So they sat in a box until one cold day when I ran across them and thought, wait, they have a tiny bit of lining! Maybe they are warmer than the Uplanders. I tried them and loved them for cold days! So they have come on most of my bird hunting trips for well over 10 years. Unfortunately, the leather is now starting to shrink. Three times this last season, a bird got up in front of me while wearing these gloves, I shot and missed (not unusual) and then didn’t get a second shot because my finger was constricted by the finger of the glove and I didn’t release the trigger far enough to engage the second barrel. All that adds up to no follow up shot! Not something you normally have to think about. And three times? Not good. So, they are being moved to some other purpose. Thank you to those gloves for keeping my hands warm on cold days, but we’ll see ya later.

I decided I was going to update my glove situation since I needed a replacement. Or two. While I was looking around, one of my favorite companies broke out a whole new system of gloves. Stone Glacier is primarily a big game hunting company that started with packs and has methodically worked more items into their production. The all-around shooting glove they introduced caught my eye. The Mirka Shooting Glove soon landed on my doorstep:

Totally different, right? Well, kinda. The design and fit is very similar to the Cabela’s Shooting gloves when they were new. Obviously nylon instead of leather. And yeah, can’t imagine those little pull tabs will last very long. But I went for it. One big problem I have is finding gloves that are large enough for my hands. These XLs are actually large enough! Thanks goodness. And they are super, super flexible. Stone Glacier says you can shoot a bow with them. I’ve never found a glove I like for that, so I’m very doubtful about that. Pull a shotgun or rifle trigger wearing these? Yes, no question. We’ll see on the bow. Also, these appear to be replacements for the Uplanders. No warmth factor at all here. But I don’t often need more than the Uplanders while bird hunting. I do already appreciate the extra little piece of leather on the side of the palm. And one thing about SG is they have a great customer service reputation. Like Walton’s! The folks that work at SG are legit and understand hunting. So I’ll give these a shot. And I’ll report back here. I’ll try not to wait 10 years!

So what do you wear? And be careful if you say you don’t need shooting gloves because your hands are tough. It might just mean you don’t hunt enough!

[processhead]

Kurt Ratzlaff
Those pictures of your gloves say it all!

Kurt, I am also a fan of gloves for upland hunting and usually just go with a lightweight leather work glove. Like you, I forego the glove when I am shooting sporting clays.

That first 15 minutes in the first field on a frosty morning usually gets the hands burning from the cold but after than I am good for the rest of the day with my unlined gloves.

I am also a bow hunter and that means wearing a lightweight camo glove that offers some warmth, concealment, and some tactile finger coverings (or no fingers at all) to operate the string release.

I see you have also noticed that the sporting goods stores are always sold out of XL sized hunting gloves.

[Tex_77]

The most important thing is to get those gloves that fit!

via GIPHY

[Jonathon]

Tex_77 You stole my joke! processhead and Kurt Ratzlaff Every time I have brought gloves into the field they last as long as my first miss, which is normally my first shot and then i take them off, because obviously it was the gloves that caused the issue, right!?

[calldoctoday]

Kurt Ratzlaff I could never seem to adapt to the gloves when shooting, I just did not like the feel of it all.

[Ken1261]

Only wear them when I need the warmth. Never done any upland bird hunting, just dove and a few quail. Don’t use them when shooting clays.

[bocephus]

I don’t wear them dove hunting, but I do wear them for every other type, either to protect my hands during upland or warmth for deer and duck hunting.

[Kurt Ratzlaff]

processhead Yeah, what the heck is it with XL gloves? Never have understood that. And on the issue of shooting a bow with gloves, I can’t even use the really lightweight camo liner gloves! I think it has to be a mental issue for me because it just doesn’t make sense. I usually start shooting my bow again in May or June.

[Denny O]

processhead I can find a few XL’s but 2X and 3x are a no go!!

[Idaho Smokey]

I shoot Loudenboomer pistols. TC Contender pistols with interchangeable barrels. I have a 15" barrel in .35 Remmington. This thing kills at both ends. I wear gloves made by PAST when shooting it. This gun has such a violent recoil that the backs of my fingers get beat up and bruised. , and these gloves have padding for the backs of the hand. I wore gloves made for weight lifting when I shot the smaller calibers for NRA Smallbore and Hunter pistol. These had open fingers. All of that being said, I just did a look on line. Bob Allen makes leather shooting gloves in XL- 3XL. They do make good equipment and have been around a long time.

[processhead]

Idaho Smokey Do you use the stock grips on your Contenders?
They can be pretty brutal in the larger centerfire calibers.

Buddy of mine usually installed custom grips to help manage the recoil.

[Idaho Smokey]

processhead I have a set of Pachmayer grips for it. The problem isn’t the recoil into the palm of the hand. These things have a weird shaped trigger guard, and it beats the heck out of the back of your fingers. I watched a guy shooting a 45-70 contender using some handloads. 3 rounds and the bolt that held on the grips bent. That cured me from wanting a 45-70 barrel.

[calldoctoday]

Idaho Smokey I had always wanted to get my sons a Contender each, but the prices went way up on them & never have been able to afford even one. Very nice weapons.

[Idaho Smokey]

calldoctoday I really like the platform. I shot the original Contender not the larger Encore or G2. I found a good deal on a used gun with a .30 Herret barrel. The .30 Herrett is a pain to load for. I picked up a 10" .22 LR barrel, and eventually traded the .30 Herrett for a .32 H&R Mag. That little barrel shot like a lazer out to 100 yards. I ended up doing a dumb trade for a .357 Max barrel that I have never been able to get to shoot worth a darn. Somewhere in there I bought a new frame and barrel in .35 Remington. This set up shoots great. You just don’t want to shoot it a lot. All of this was before Thompson Center sold out to Smith and Wesson and the prices jumped way up.

[calldoctoday]

Idaho Smokey Yes, I liked the Thompsons. A few good numbers there for shooting straight.

[Steven Winscot]

Idaho Smokey I have several frames and 20 barrels. The 357 Herrett and 45-70 are my favorite for hunting.
I use Pachmayr grips and don’t mind the recoil. The bigger the boom the bigger the smile!