What's with the gloves?

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Well... <shucks>...

I wear flying gloves every day, because I fly fighters and we need to wear gloves (thus sayeth the DOD). Come to find after years of it that I prefer wearing them. All of the little nicks on the back of my hands from rubbing aginst this hot thing and that sharp thing are no longer a constant source of irritation. Not to mention that yesteray, for example, in the Mojave, static air temperatures were well over 100 and an IR thermometer shot against the grey aircraft skin showed a skin temperature of over 160. Hot enough to burn you when climbing aboard and strapping in. Gloves are required.

One thing that we are now allowed to do is to fly with gloves that have the fingertips of the thumb thru middle finger removed. Makes use of touch screens possible and increases fine dexterity....but I digress.

Shooting... well... when running things like belt fed MG's, you are operating a piece of hot moving machinery. You get dirty and things are hot and sharp. Sweaty hands are soft, and it's easy to tear off a chunk. Ditto shooting cap and ball pistols in the desert like I plan to do Saturday. So I wear my old flying gloves with the fingertips cut off. When running drills with AR's etc it's similar at a lower level of scale. When shooting a .22 on an indoor range, well... it's more sterile and why bother? Let the mission dictate the tool.


Willie

.
 
I'm kind of weird, I like to wear them shotguning but nothing else.
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No, that's not weird at all, especially when shooting SxS shotguns. With a properly placed supporting hand, the palm is on the forend and the fingers touch the barrel! You'd only be able to shoot a few rounds if you didn't have gloves.

Lou
 
I've worn a set of fingerless weight-lifting gloves while shooting for well over 10 years. As others have mentioned, the gloves help with recoil, hot barrels, etc. They work, whether cool or not.
 
1John1:9 said:
I just don't see the need. I live in the southeast and shoot outside. It gets hot and humid here, but not the blazing sun like the southwest.

I've never tried the expensive ones, so maybe they're better, but with cheaper gloves, the gun feels drastically different in my hand. I'm in the camp that believes it would be better to train with what you'd actually use in a real life "situation", as much as possible. But, I'm not going without ear protection, thank you. I need my hearing. My guns don't hurt my hands though. I wonder how many glove wearers are also using very tactile grips, like an FN or a HK USP?
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I have shot some butt kicking handguns and gloves helped a bunch. I had a Blackhawk in 45LC that had a bad habit of beating my finger with the trigger guard. The recoil really wasn't that bad, but there wasn't enough room for my chunky hand.
 
Blisters!

I get them in the web of my hand. A glove prevents this. Simple, nothing fancy. Cheap weightlifting gloves work just as well as more expensive "shooting gloves" whatever those are.
 
I would wear gloves when shooting if I found some that were both thin enough not to hinder my ability to operate the weapon, and grippy enough to actually be of some benefit. I've never found gloves that meet both of those requirements, and so I don't wear gloves when I shoot. If I could find some that meet both requirements, I would 100% certainly buy and use them every time I shoot.

Powdered latex gloves like those used in a medical setting meet both requirements, but they tear so easily they just become a nuisance.
 
I like wearing gloves when shooting shotguns. They provide a little extra grip when working a pump when hands get sweaty. And they really make it more comfortable and thus faster (for me) to load without having to worry about tearing my thumb up.
 
Center fire said:
I'm seeing more and more folks wearing gloves at the ranges. I could understand using them during the colder months but I'm seeing folks use them throughout spring and summer. Why the increase in the use of gloves?
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I used to wear thin Italian drivers gloves in order not to leave finger prints on spent cases while I reloaded the magazines. Now that I take bunch of pre-loaded magazines to the range I no longer wear gloves.
 
Prevent lead exposure? I don't wear them, but I have thought about it. After 2-3 hundred rounds, (and picking up the brass) my hands are filthy black with powder mess.

Russellc
 
Well, having originated from a Northern state that actually has some bugger-all cold months, I can see wanting to practice with gloves.

When I got in the Navy, I discovered the leather uniform gloves actually let my trigger finger into the trigger guard on a 1911. I need the snug fit gloves, however.

I suppose they have "shooters gloves" now, but regardless wearing gloves is a significant change in the feel/handling of a weapon. It needs to be practiced to get comfortable and proficient at it.
 
I don't wear gloves. When I got on a tactical team, I used them a bit (only because they were issued and most of the other guys wore them), but found I just could not adapt to shooting a pistol as proficiently with gloves on. On actual deployments, they're required, but I no longer wear them for shooting and only when necessary otherwise.

My observation is that most folks who wear gloves at the range do so because they've seen others, presumably more tactically minded wearing them, not because they've found they really need them.

I am somewhat amused when I see a guy show up at the local indoor range, put on gloves, shoot a few mags of 9mm and leave after half an hour ...
 
I use them in rifle tac shooting (desert conditions, splintered wood barricades) but not usually for pistols. If you are policing brass, gloves are your friend.

As for IDPA, in winter conditions I tried to 'run what I'd actually wear' usually fingerless rag wool gloves.

You DO operate your piece a little differently with gloves than without.

If you are going to use them I recommend gloves tight fitting enough that you can tie your shoes, load magazines, and pick up small parts. Fox Racing makes some great second-skin fitting durable gloves.
 
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At a week-long training class, I did go out and buy some thin batting gloves after my thumbs got raw from the reloading and I got tired of bleeding from hammer-bite from my 1911 (which is why I only do full beavertail safeties now). That helped to remove the flinching I was developing from the hammerbite.

I don't think gloves are a good thing full-time unless you wear washable gloves. They will pick up & hold plenty of lead gas/dust.
 
CWL said:
At a week-long training class, I did go out and buy some thin batting gloves after my thumbs got raw from the reloading and I got tired of bleeding from hammer-bite from my 1911 (which is why I only do full beavertail safeties now). That helped to remove the flinching I was developing from the hammerbite.

I don't think gloves are a good thing full-time unless you wear washable gloves. They will pick up & hold plenty of lead gas/dust.
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Get an Uplula or HKS magazine loader.

Grip your 1911 a bit lower.

Why didn't you just come to us first? ;)
 
3O years ago, I couldn't go to the local range or Sporting Clays venue without half the folks there wearin' wire rimmed Ray-ban shooting glasses with the over-sized lenses. 10 years or so later they had to have yellow lenses. Another 5 years later and they had a different color lens for every day of the week. Then the Ray-bans went outta style and they had to be Wiley's or Oakley's wrap-arounds and the rainbow colored mirrored lens were the rage. Show up with a $10 pair of Peltor's and folks snickered as you walked past. Wear the old Ray-bans and you're called a "dinosaur". Now it seems gloves are also "required" wear. Shoot a AR or a earth-tone pistol and odds are you are wearing 5-11s. Switch over to your deer rifle, and odds are you'll change gloves too, as the UA's are what "real" hunters wear. While there is a place and legitimate reasons for both eye-wear and gloves while shooting, we all know that for many, they are just dressin' for the gig. Kinda like the bikers that wear their chaps just for the image.
 
Salmoneye said:
Seems to me to be the current 'rage' just like driving gloves were 40 years ago...
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Today's use of gloves in competitive shooting remind me of the use of batting gloves in baseball, 40-50 years ago. At first some players used one glove -- most refused them altogether. Then more and more used one glove and a few used two.

Now most use two batting gloves in MLB. They do provide an advantage...
 
RussellC said:
Prevent lead exposure? I don't wear them, but I have thought about it. After 2-3 hundred rounds, (and picking up the brass) my hands are filthy black with powder mess.

Russellc
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Something you may want to consider. I carry with me a bottle of D Lead. It is a lanolin based hand cleaner that removes lead and other fouling on your hand from shooting. No water is needed just paper towels to remove the cleaner.

I picked up a bottle for around $5 or $6 at my shooting range. Here is a link for those interested.

https://www.esca-tech.com/ProductDetail.php?category=1000&productnum=4460ES

https://www.esca-tech.com/ProductList.php?category=1000
 
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