Your. Most irritating piece of hunting gear... Mine gloves

My body

I like Mechanix gloves The cold gear fast fit ($29.oo I think) fit right I could palm a basketball when I was 12yoa so gloves that fit are hard to find.
My cold weather gear doesn’t get a workout like yours. I have a wonderful camo jacket that I got to wear hunting one day this past season.

Give these a shot, they seem popular up here among construction workers. Below zero they aren’t adequate, but above 10 degrees or higher they are great and cheap too. Not much dexterity loss.https://www.riggingwarehouse.com/59...term=4583589113267507&utm_content=Ad group #1

You need a warmer hat and jacket.

A little biology lesson. Your body will naturally try to keep you core warm in cold weather. That is your internal organs and brain. If your core temperature starts to drop the body naturally restricts blood flow to the hands and feet in order to keep the core warmer. Once that starts happening it doesn't matter how much insulation you have on your hands and feet. If blood flow is restricted the hands and feet get cold

If your body's core temperature starts to rise it will increase blood flow to the hands and feet to help cool the core. If your hands and feet are cold you need to do a better job of warming the core. The head and neck are the most vulnerable and often overlooked. You lose a lot of heat there. Your head may not feel cold because your body is sacrificing blood flow from your hands and feet to keep your head warm.

I realize that hunting in GA I'm not exposed to low temps as often as folks in other places, but it does get into the teens and single digits here too and I've hunted in other states. A common mistake is to wear "too much" insulation on the hands and feet. This often is restrictive and further reduces blood flow.

I usually wear a pretty lightweight glove, similar to the mechanics gloves listed above. It is mostly to get a better grip on the rifle or shotgun, protect my hands from brush and prevent heat transfer from the cold steel of the gun to my hands. I don't have any trouble keeping hands warm when moving. When sitting the gloves come off and my hands go into a pocket with a handwarmer.

You didn't ask about boots but I do the same. I've hunted lots in temps in the teens and haven't owned insulated boots in 20 years. A good pair of wool socks seems to do just fine as long as I keep my core warm. If I hunted in deep snow I would probably go with insulated boots. Standing in the snow will transfer heat from your feet into the snow. The only time I've gotten cold feet was when standing in knee deep icy water while duck hunting with insulated waders.

My problem is my waterproof LaCrosse Grange boots. They work well for two years but then start developing leaks where the boots flex. Ten years ago they would hold together at least twice as long and they only cost half as much back then.

LaCrosse seems to be going the way of other brand names and relying on their past reputation while putting out a substandard product now.

Don't often wear them.....but GLASSES have to be the most irritating thing I can think of. Have to adjust the cups on binoculars when wearing them, changes focus distance on scoped guns, generally fog up or get covered with moisture in rain and snow.

Hats are mine. MN firearm season usually involves cold that most would consider severe. The OPs temps might be the daytime high some days. I've got the gloves dialed in, will try to post a link for the OP at the bottom. I have a hard time finding a good, warm, serviceable hat in proper blaze orange. I wear a fur bomber hat, but that is of questionable legality and safety as the flaps are not orange. They used to be jet black which didn't make me too nervous, but the newer ones are a natural fur color !!!. Kind of sketchy putting the flaps up to hear on public land. There used to be a fleece ball cap style, where the dome was heavily lined and the big, floppy earflaps also had a heavy fleece lining. The last good one of those I found was in the late '80s and has long since crossed the rainbow bridge. The new ones I find are sad imitations. Searching for glove links now, stay tuned.
https://www.amazon.com/RefrigiWear-...ocphy=9019624&hvtargid=pla-569555867653&psc=1 This is my liner glove. For general purpose cold down to 20 or so I'll wear just these.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...FoqEGKSpxvluemUIWMRoCMx8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I wear these over the previous mittens below 20 to near zero. They do pretty well, but keeping a hand in a muff or pocket will help. Get them in the largest possible size as the liners are bulky.

You say you're not afraid to pay for comfort, lets test that theory. https://www.usafoxx.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=86_76&product_id=157
I wear a set of these for extreme cold. Single digits or lower. No liner needed to -20 or better. I've ridden snowmobile over 30 miles in sub-zero with dead hand warmers and didn't lose fingers with these. You'll never have cold hands.

troy fairweather said:

My body

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Mine too.

Particularly my right ankle. Six years ago, I fell and broke it in 3 places while out pheasant hunting - on Thanksgiving morning, no less. The surgeon pinned it back together, and it healed okay, but now it scolds me for what I did to it every time there’s a storm coming.

So, I might as well be out hunting if there’s a season open. If there’s a storm coming, the arthritis in my right ankle is going act up regardless of whether I’m enjoying myself in the outdoors, or staying home and thinking about it.

.308 Norma said:

Mine too.

Particularly my right ankle. Six years ago, I fell and broke it in 3 places while our pheasant hunting - on Thanksgiving morning, no less. The surgeon pinned it back together, and it healed okay, but now it scolds me for what I did to it every time there’s a storm coming.

So, I might as well be out hunting if there’s a season open. If there’s a storm coming, the arthritis in my right ankle is going act up regardless of whether I’m enjoying myself in the outdoors, or staying home and thinking about it.

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mine is mostly my knees and back, tho my colitis is acting up lately really bad. I'm way to heavy for most stuff I do but could never seen to loose any weight. My ankles are weak to I really messed both up over ten years ago, nothing broken I knew of but so bad no walking for weeks.

troy fairweather said:

My body

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This is the one piece that constantly fails me in the field. I learned long ago good hats, good, gloves, and good boots go a long way to keeping one warm in a cold Minnesota or WIsconsin winter.

I forgot to mention, an old trapper taught me a good trick when your hands get numb; beat your hands together, clapping them on the backs and fronts pretty hard. It increases blood flow, much like the doctor spanking a newborn baby. It hurts, but works awesome.

Gloves used to be my problem in winter until I switched to mittens. Mittens keep my hands warm and I just take them off when I have to make a shot.

ms6852 said:

Gloves used to be my problem in winter until I switched to mittens. Mittens keep my hands warm and I just take them off when I have to make a shot.

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I like the fingerless mittens, keep warm but quick to pull the flap for shooting or any other reason you need your fingers.

I switched to mittens with a trigger finger 10 years ago and never looked back. If trigger finger gets cold just move it in with other fingers they work great. Plus there is enough room for a hand warmer inside if it gets really cold.

I have a folding camp stool I use at times in the blind. If you don't sit just right that thing bites like a pit bull.

Pop up blinds that are falling apart but I keep using them until they fall down. Some serious McGivering with tape, gorilla glue,zip ties, 550 cord, etc. to keep them serviceable. I started patching the roofs with camo tarps from harbor freight.

To the OP, if you have not yet found gloves or mittens that will keep your hands warm, I doubt you will find any that will do so and be acceptable for hunting. My hands typically don't get cold if I'm walking, but they do when I sit all day. In those situations, no mitten or glove has worked for me. I guarantee you will never have cold hands again if you do the following.

First buy an insulated hand muff that straps around your waist. Something like this: https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...PLA&utm_source=Bing&utm_campaign=CI&gclsrc=ds

I am not endorsing that particular hand muff, its just the first one that I could easily find on an internet search. Many companies make them.

Then you buy either the chemical handwarmer packs, or if you really need more warmth, you buy a Zippo hand warmer, like this: https://www.zippo.com/collections/hand-warmers/products/12hour-realtree-hand-warmer

Your hands will never be cold again and it won't matter what gloves you choose to use. I use thin gloves that are easy to take on/off. In fact, you will have to be careful to not let your hands get so warm that they sweat if you use the Zippo. When I use the Zippo, I typically have the heater going in the hand muff and put my gloves in there with it. Then I keep my hands inside the muff as well. Hands are perfectly toasty. Then I just slip on the gloves if I want to take my hands out of the muff. Sometimes I keep the gloves on and put my hands in the muff as necessary.

The other advantage to this approach is you can adjust easily. Only a little cold - just put your hands in the muff as necessary. Colder - put a chemical handwarmer in the muff and put your hands in as necessary. Very cold - use the Zippo in the hand muff and put your hands in as necessary. Extremely cold - use the Zippo and keep your hands in there until you need to take a shot. Any colder than that - stay home.

On the subject of gloves- "back in the day" (when good gloves for hunting/shooting were the holy grail) me and others would sometimes take the warm glove off our shooting hand (once in the stand), and replace it with a "lesser" glove, like those dark brown "jersey gloves" made out of the type of material as a cheap sweat shirt. A pair was about $2 at a hardware store. We would then do our best to keep that hand in a pocket or stuck inside the jacket to stay warm, until we needed to fire. Not ideal, but it worked "ok".
During one deployment to afg that started in the winter, my unit purchased for us Carhart work gloves that were tan leather with heavy duty nylon, and lined with thinsulate. Afg is the worst environment on the planet in terms of weather, terrain, and everything else. I used those gloves that trip until the weather warmed up, and used them on a few other deployments over there, as well as extensive hunting use. They look well used, but they still work today. Prior to getting those gloves, it was normal for each of us to completely destroy 2-3 pairs of gloves every deployment. I was able to effectively use every weapon we had wearing them, hang charges, use communications gear, and anything else I needed to do. The only area where they fall short is that they aren't waterproof and take a long time to dry.

PonyKiller said:

For me, its gloves.. I have yet to find a set of gloves that I've been even remotely satisfied in during the January permit season in jersey. Granted January in jersey is no picnic, the last few years it's been single digits or teens and fighting a breeze. The running joke in the family is what's

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I'm in your boat, in that I have to replace 3 hunting hats and 5 pairs of gloves, not due to lack of protection, or being worn out, or not keeping me warm enough, but to someone needing them more than I did. They all grew legs and walked away. Maybe they decided to escape my hunting gear, jacket pockets and run away from home. Either way I need new gear.

FL-NC said:

On the subject of gloves- "back in the day" (when good gloves for hunting/shooting were the holy grail) me and others would sometimes take the warm glove off our shooting hand (once in the stand), and replace it with a "lesser" glove, like those dark brown "jersey gloves" made out of the type of material as a cheap sweat shirt. A pair was about $2 at a hardware store. We would then do our best to keep that hand in a pocket or stuck inside the jacket to stay warm, until we needed to fire. Not ideal, but it worked "ok".
During one deployment to afg that started in the winter, my unit purchased for us Carhart work gloves that were tan leather with heavy duty nylon, and lined with thinsulate. Afg is the worst environment on the planet in terms of weather, terrain, and everything else. I used those gloves that trip until the weather warmed up, and used them on a few other deployments over there, as well as extensive hunting use. They look well used, but they still work today. Prior to getting those gloves, it was normal for each of us to completely destroy 2-3 pairs of gloves every deployment. I was able to effectively use every weapon we had wearing them, hang charges, use communications gear, and anything else I needed to do. The only area where they fall short is that they aren't waterproof and take a long time to dry.

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Not being waterproof seems like a significant drawback, but not terrible as long as you can have a second pair. As I wrote earlier, my hands rarely get cold while hiking into my stand, so often I won't put gloves on until after I get in the stand. That way my gloves aren't sweaty or wet from rain or snow (for example on the ladder up to the treestand). If it is cold enough that I have to wear gloves on the way to the stand and the gloves get wet, I change to a dry pair when I get to the stand.

I buy the goretex lined mittens, problem solved.

My Danner boots have let me down. They fit and are comfortable but I can feel cold air going through then when I ride my ATV. They have cordura that lets the air go through the goretex. My old all leather ones were great.

A stocking cap or face mask doesn't work well while wearing glasses either. There has to be a better way to keep your glasses from fogging.