pistol shooting gloves

[stonebuster]

Two months ago I had extensive right hand surgery due to a rheumatoid disease. I'd like to get back to shooting regularly again but want to minimize further damage to my hand. Shooting 50 rounds of 38 specials through a 43 ounce GP-100 didn't seem to be a problem. The next trip I tried 158gr 357 mags and hand swelled up pretty badly so no more of those for quite a while. That's why I'm considering a shooter's glove that will absorb some recoil but not be too bulky. I'm considering cutting the fingers off some deerskin gloves I have. Any suggestions on gloves that may help would be appreciated.

 

[Jack B.]

I have found gloves don't really help much with recoil at least in my case. I've used gloves to protect my hands and fingers from hard edges on some guns. One that comes to mind is the square trigger guard on a Ruger Super Blackhawk. It used to tear up the knuckle on one of my fingers. I have found that the grips are the key to mitigating recoil. Gloves might help some.

 

[CRP82]

I can’t speak to the glove, but have a couple of questions and a similar experience to share.

First the questions. Where are you at as far as healing and physical therapy? You may need to stick to lighter recoil loads for a while longer. Also, have you asked the doctor? They may be able to give you an idea of when you should be able to get back to normal activities.

My story. I had a major shoulder surgery about 10 years ago. I had to work my recoil sensitivity back up after this. I started with a 243 just to see how things felt. The butt pad rested right on the incision area when I shouldered a long gun. I waited probably 8-9 months before shooting. I had surgery in July, was in a sling for 3 months, and then it was winter and I knew I would miss hunting that year. I didn’t shoot anything until the next spring. I did ask the doc, he said I should be okay, but start easy just to be sure. I didn’t feel and pain or discomfort when shooting the 243, but my range of motion was a little different, and as I mentioned, I was a bit sensitive to recoil. The 243 was ok, so I tried my 30-06. After 3 rounds I was done. This has since been a thing of the past, but it took some time and practice.

Good luck on the surgery recovery.

 

[bannockburn]

stonebuster

Might try looking online for gloves like those from Caldwell or Pro-Aim which claim to offer some measure of recoil reduction in their designs and materials used in their construction.

 

[stonebuster]

I can’t speak to the glove, but have a couple of questions and a similar experience to share.

First the questions. Where are you at as far as healing and physical therapy? You may need to stick to lighter recoil loads for a while longer. Also, have you asked the doctor? They may be able to give you an idea of when you should be able to get back to normal activities.

My story. I had a major shoulder surgery about 10 years ago. I had to work my recoil sensitivity back up after this. I started with a 243 just to see how things felt. The butt pad rested right on the incision area when I shouldered a long gun. I waited probably 8-9 months before shooting. I had surgery in July, was in a sling for 3 months, and then it was winter and I knew I would miss hunting that year. I didn’t shoot anything until the next spring. I did ask the doc, he said I should be okay, but start easy just to be sure. I didn’t feel and pain or discomfort when shooting the 243, but my range of motion was a little different, and as I mentioned, I was a bit sensitive to recoil. The 243 was ok, so I tried my 30-06. After 3 rounds I was done. This has since been a thing of the past, but it took some time and practice.

Good luck on the surgery recovery.

I'm about 6 weeks into PTherapy and probably looking at least another month. Doc says it's going to be as good as it's going to get by next Christmas. I guess I need to be more patient and stick to the 22LR revolver for the range for a while. I guess it was wishfull thinking that a glove would help much but there's a silver lining to the situation. About six months ago a friend of mine was showing me his extensive gun collection and then started showing me his bb guns(about 40). I thought "why is he showing me bb guns?" He liked to go in his yard and do some plinking sometimes. I picked up a very realistic metal snub nose bb revolver w/swing out cylinder and adjustable sights and have been getting my "fix" in my back yard lately. Pretty cheap fun at 2400 rounds for $9.

 

[.308 Norma]

right hand

Back when my wife and I were heavily into IHMSA, she competed in the "Revolver Class" with a Super Blackhawk 44 Mag, and she wore a left-handed batter's glove with the trigger finger cut out of it. Now I don't know much about baseball, but I know that a left-handed batter's glove has a little padding in the palm, and it goes on the right hand. I know that because my wife is right-handed and shoots right-handed.
At any rate, when we were shooting IHMSA, through practice a couple of times a week and attending a match at least once a month, a left-handed batter's gloves didn't last Mrs. .308 Norma very long at all. She'd quickly wear a hole in the side of the thumb because her Super Blackhawk "rolled up" during recoil. A piece of cloth tape wrapped around the thumb of the glove would extend its life for a couple of more shooting sessions, but that's about all.
My wife eventually did develop carpal tunnel syndrome, but that happened 20 years after we quit the silhouette game. And it was caused by 20,000+ hours on a computer keyboard, not shooting a 44 Magnum. So Workman's Comp picked up the bill.

 

[bannockburn]

stonebuster

I picked up a very realistic metal snub nose bb revolver w/swing out cylinder and adjustable sights and have been getting my "fix" in my back yard lately. Pretty cheap fun at 2400 rounds for $9.

Pretty much the same reason I got a Remington 1911RAC only I like to plink with it down in the basement!

 

[gunlaw]

Years ago I bought a PAST shooting glove. Very comfortable. Great padding. I they still make these give em a try.

 

[stonebuster]

Thanks everyone for the tips on the gloves. When I get ready to shoot at the range again, other then 22LR, I'll experiment with these glove suggestions. Until then I'll keep shooting this plinker.

 

[bannockburn]

stonebuster

Good choice, for the time being!

 

[Jack B.]

Thanks everyone for the tips on the gloves. When I get ready to shoot at the range again, other then 22LR, I'll experiment with these glove suggestions. Until then I'll keep shooting this plinker. View attachment 776529

I have one of those with the long barrel and a friend bought a brand new case of Crosman Powerlet CO2 cartridge's at an estate sale and gave them to me. It's a barrel of fun. Have to be careful with it as it looks lake a real 357 magnum revolver. Easy to mistake it for the real thing.

 

[weblance]

I have found gloves don't really help much with recoil

I don't agree. Gloves help me 100% when shooting something powerful, and lightweight. My EDC is a Kahr CM45, and thats a brutal little pistol to shoot a box of 50 through at the range. I found bicycle gloves, with open fingertips and a padded palm, to be very effective. The open fingertips are great for trigger feel, and loading magazines.

 

[stonebuster]

I don't agree. Gloves help me 100% when shooting something powerful, and lightweight. My EDC is a Kahr CM45, and thats a brutal little pistol to shoot a box of 50 through at the range. I found bicycle gloves, with open fingertips and a padded palm, to be very effective. The open fingertips are great for trigger feel, and loading magazines.

My physical therapist recommended the bike gloves for when I split wood using a sledge after my hand gave me problems last week. Now that I have a second vote for the bike gloves, I'm going to try them. I found these gloves that have the padding right where I need it. They're not bulky, fit tight and feel good when I grip the revolver. Haven't shot with them yet. Thanks for the tip. I'm still going to take it slow though.

 

[Varminterror]

Motorcycle gloves, cycling gloves, shooting gloves, football lineman gloves, Mechanix M-Pact gloves... I own them all for their respective purposes, so I've used them all, and have been satisfied with them.

The problem with shooting gloves is the human hand. We bury the grip frame in the "crease" of our palm, where added padding would create bulk. Hence the design we see in ANY type of padded palm glove - there's padding across the pads, and not in the creases - which means the grip is sandwiched between padding, but there's really not any padding directly in the path of the recoil. Especially for high recoiling revolvers where the brunt of the muzzle flip is borne by the web between index and thumb. Spreading the impact to this area is pretty straight forward, but adding that padding is a challenge, as it's an incredibly mobile part of the body - making padding which protects well AND moves well is a real challenge.

I'm a leatherworker, so I have made my own shooting gloves, experimenting with adding that padding - form cut and molded - to the crease of the palm, fitting the curvature of the hand and the grip. It's about as ungainly as can be when NOT shooting, since it's effectively an orthotic, and it doesn't want to flatten, but it DOES protect the hand incredibly well.

 

[stonebuster]

I tried the bike gloves at the range today shooting 38 specials out of GP-100 and they worked out great. Not the least bit bulky and padded enough in the areas I needed to protect(where surgical incisions are). I added a section of an old neoprene dive glove middle finger to protect my middle finger knuckle from getting beat up on the trigger guard. I actually shot much better than usual today. It was well worth the $30 for the bike gloves, I just wish they would have sold me two right ones. Thanks for the tip, weblance and the rest of the replies also.

 

[weblance]

Glad it worked out for you.

That picture of your hand makes the hair on my neck stand up !!

 

[Jack B.]

View attachment 776879 View attachment 776880
My physical therapist recommended the bike gloves for when I split wood using a sledge after my hand gave me problems last week. Now that I have a second vote for the bike gloves, I'm going to try them. I found these gloves that have the padding right where I need it. They're not bulky, fit tight and feel good when I grip the revolver. Haven't shot with them yet. Thanks for the tip. I'm still going to take it slow though.

What brand are they? Looks like a lot of good padding. I think I would like to try them out.

 

[stonebuster]

What brand are they? Looks like a lot of good padding. I think I would like to try them out.

The tag on glove says "Specialized" body geometry gel. I have large hands and the XL fits well but couldn't be any smaller. I found them in a local bicycle shop. It may have helped my wrist too since my ungloved left hand wrist was a little sore after 100 rounds. The piece of neoprene dive glove really helps my middle finger knuckle from getting beat up on the trigger guard of my GP especially when shooting magnums.