What's with the gloves?

[jeepnik]

Soft pasty tender sweaty hands?
Shooting guns hurts them.

And besides, all the 'Trained Operators' wear them on TV & YouTube.
Even in the shower, and in bed!

rc

Or old arthritic busted up hands. But then, that's pretty much something younger folks will never get, cuz you've actually got to do some work to get them.

 

[tipoc]

I don't wear gloves when I shoot. Since I normally don't walk around wearing gloves as a part of daily life I don't use them to shoot.

Occasionally it's cold enough (or I'm someplace where it's that cold) to warrant the use of gloves, so I occasionally practice with gloves on especially long gun. If I need to shoot a gun while wearing gloves it's good to not get flummoxed by them.

I don't regularly shoot guns that hurt my hands so much that I need gloves to prevent that. I either shoot them less or shoot something else. Not much hurts my hands anyway. If shooting 100 rounds of something through a J frame hurts me I shoot less of it. There is no benefit to shooting something that hurts, your shooting deteriorates quickly. If it starts hurting I stop and fix the problem or do something else.

I don't leave metal things of mine sitting in the hot sun uncovered. I don't stand in the noon day sun (unless someone pays me to) neither do my guns. I leave that for Englishmen and sportsmen.

I don't get blisters from shooting. If I did it would be because I was doing something wrong, bad technique, improper grip or had the wrong grips, etc.

I've worked 43 years in industry and my hands and other parts have bleed, or been pricked and sliced most of the days of those years. Small nicks and cuts and burns and blisters, etc. Blisters burst and become calluses. Gloves are sometimes needed (welding gloves, gloves when moving pieces of steel, lifting up trash, loading a pallet or parts) but mostly they are an encumbrance and dangerous around machinery (drills, lathes etc.). They are a nuisance to me around handguns as well. I only use them if I'm cold enough to be bundled up.

If my hand is sweaty I wipe it on my pants leg. I bring band aids and tape to the range.

Some wear gloves to prevent small blemishes from effecting the appearance of their hands. Others because the roughness or warmth of the gun distracts them. Some because their sweat makes the piece slippery. They do what they like and I have no opinion on what they do.

Some for style. I think many for that. Some times I see a gun and can tell the fella will put on gloves when he shoots.

If a person has hands that are damaged by injury, illness or the wear and tear of life and needs gloves to shoot with, I understand. Someday I may join them and have to do that.

I expect to see a set of "Hello Kitty" shooting gloves soon. Maybe I'll get a pair.

tipoc

 

[Kynoch]

I don't wear gloves when I shoot. Since I normally don't walk around wearing gloves as a part of daily life I don't use them to shoot.

Occasionally it's cold enough (or I'm someplace where it's that cold) to warrant the use of gloves, so I occasionally practice with gloves on especially long gun. If I need to shoot a gun while wearing gloves it's good to not get flummoxed by them.

I don't regularly shoot guns that hurt my hands so much that I need gloves to prevent that. I either shoot them less or shoot something else. Not much hurts my hands anyway. If shooting 100 rounds of something through a J frame hurts me I shoot less of it. There is no benefit to shooting something that hurts, your shooting deteriorates quickly. If it starts hurting I stop and fix the problem or do something else.

I don't leave metal things of mine sitting in the hot sun uncovered. I don't stand in the noon day sun (unless someone pays me to) neither do my guns. I leave that for Englishmen and sportsmen.

I don't get blisters from shooting. If I did it would be because I was doing something wrong, bad technique, improper grip or had the wrong grips, etc.

I've worked 43 years in industry and my hands and other parts have bleed, or been pricked and sliced most of the days of those years. Small nicks and cuts and burns and blisters, etc. Blisters burst and become calluses. Gloves are sometimes needed (welding gloves, gloves when moving pieces of steel, lifting up trash, loading a pallet or parts) but mostly they are an encumbrance and dangerous around machinery (drills, lathes etc.). They are a nuisance to me around handguns as well. I only use them if I'm cold enough to be bundled up.

If my hand is sweaty I wipe it on my pants leg. I bring band aids and tape to the range.

Some wear gloves to prevent small blemishes from effecting the appearance of their hands. Others because the roughness or warmth of the gun distracts them. Some because their sweat makes the piece slippery. They do what they like and I have no opinion on what they do.

Some for style. I think many for that. Some times I see a gun and can tell the fella will put on gloves when he shoots.

If a person has hands that are damaged by injury, illness or the wear and tear of life and needs gloves to shoot with, I understand. Someday I may join them and have to do that.

I expect to see a set of "Hello Kitty" shooting gloves soon. Maybe I'll get a pair.

tipoc

Your comment is interesting in that the only firearm I own that hurts my hands to shoot is a Seecamp .380 -- one of two daily carry firearms I own.

Then again in a competitive shooting environment, protection is but one reason more and more shooters are wearing gloves.

Training for any firearm can be both with and without gloves. Effective training should include a huge plethora of options and combinations.

 

[MrCleanOK]

I used to shoot in gloves in order to "train as I fight" in my occupation. Now that I'm a civilian I will likely shoot bare handed more often.

 

[Khaot1c]

It's a personal option for sure. Kind of like using them while playing golf or lifting weights at the gym. If the weather is right and I'm just keeping it light then going without gloves is fine and that describes nearly all of my range time.
Still, there are some days when I feel like "playing" a little longer or the weather is such that I need a little help in the grip department. That's when the gloves come out.

To me it's not about looking tacticool but being comfortable and maximizing my time. I have a pair of some light-weight gloves branded by Beretta that I leave in my range bag. I pull em' out when I need them. When I head out on cold/rainy days I have other options I go through but for almost all of what I do, those Beretta "shooting gloves" work all-right for me.
Playing a bit of golf from time to time, I've even taken a pair of Footjoy "raingrip" or "wintergrip" gloves. The price is right and I still have some dexterity and enough feel to keep rounds on target.

 

[C0untZer0]

I wear a glove on my right hand when shooting my R9 because it thumps my trigger finger, but I think I can get by without it. I used to put a lot more rounds through it at the range and now I just shoot a magazine and it is at the end of my range session.

I also just bought batter's gloves, no expensive "operators" gloves for me

 

[RustyShackelford]

Gloves; safety, armed professionals....

I don't normally wear gloves at the range but I might get a quality set for training/marksmanship. I've had cuts & minor burns from hot barrels/bright sun.
To me, it's not a "Johnny Cool" or "tactical" issue either.
I worked with a federal police officer in the 1990s who had part of his thumb bit off. He took a full medical retirement shortly after the event.
In a recent incident near my city, a state trooper got his hands seriously cut up by a vehicle's auto glass while extracting a female victim from a crash scene.

To invest in a good pair of police or milspec gloves if you work as a armed professional is a smart idea. The materials & styles have improved greatly in the past 14 years or so.

 

[Sol]

I've used a pair of gloves before...

Microflex diamond grip gloves, only once or twice.

If you think you get judged for wearing the hard knuckle tactical gloves, wait until you show up with a pair of rubber gloves!

Grippy, disposable, non powdered and it keeps your hands clean. They are relativley heat resistant too. I wouldn't recommend grabbing anything extremely hot but they work.

 

[Gun Geezer]

Due to medical "issues", the docs tell me I am in a high risk of skin cancers. The sun is my enemy thus, I am always covered up. Wear gloves mostly, but some times sun block.

A brimmed hat and long sleeves between noon and 6 pm.

When shooting clays, I wear gloves cause my hands sweat so much I don't get a good grip.

All those reasons. Plus, all the operators wear them.

 

[mljdeckard]

I was issued some thin Nomex flight gloves, and I was required to wear them in pre-mob training on the ranges. Thin enough to stull be able to run the gun, but they provide fireproof protection. Now I wear them when I ride my ATV, and I can fight with them on if I have to.

 

[tipoc]

I don't normally wear gloves at the range but I might get a quality set for training/marksmanship. I've had cuts & minor burns from hot barrels/bright sun.
To me, it's not a "Johnny Cool" or "tactical" issue either.
I worked with a federal police officer in the 1990s who had part of his thumb bit off. He took a full medical retirement shortly after the event.
In a recent incident near my city, a state trooper got his hands seriously cut up by a vehicle's auto glass while extracting a female victim from a crash scene.

To invest in a good pair of police or milspec gloves if you work as a armed professional is a smart idea. The materials & styles have improved greatly in the past 14 years or so.

I worked with a fella for many years and our lockers were across from each other. I noticed that every day he wore two pair of underwear. I said nothing for about 5 years. One day I asked him about it. I said "It's none of my business, and you don't have to say nothing, but I noticed...do you have a medical condition or something?..."

He said no. He was just concerned that he might wet his pants some day and didn't want it to show through. I said OK and asked if he'd ever done that before, wet his pants and if it was a medical thing. He said no, he'd never done it but one day he might and didn't want to be embarrassed. OK. Nothing I could say to that. Nice guy. I never went over to his house after that though.

Every day chefs and cooks go into kitchens in restaurants and cut themselves with knives, and broken glass, burn their paws with hot grease, splash boiling water on themselves, etc. This happens daily in the back of the house where you don't see. They only wear a glove or use an oven mitt when grabbing something out the oven or directly from the fire. Otherwise no gloves. Gloves get in the way and collect dirt and grease.

Fewer folk work with their hands I suppose. The minor wear and tear of life becomes unbearable and extraordinary.

tipoc

 

[Kynoch]

I worked with a fella for many years and our lockers were across from each other. I noticed that every day he wore two pair of underwear. I said nothing for about 5 years. One day I asked him about it. I said "It's none of my business, and you don't have to say nothing, but I noticed...do you have a medical condition or something?..."

He said no. He was just concerned that he might wet his pants some day and didn't want it to show through. I said OK and asked if he'd ever done that before, wet his pants and if it was a medical thing. He said no, he'd never done it but one day he might and didn't want to be embarrassed. OK. Nothing I could say to that. Nice guy. I never went over to his house after that though.

Every day chefs and cooks go into kitchens in restaurants and cut themselves with knives, and broken glass, burn their paws with hot grease, splash boiling water on themselves, etc. This happens daily in the back of the house where you don't see. They only wear a glove or use an oven mitt when grabbing something out the oven or directly from the fire. Otherwise no gloves. Gloves get in the way and collect dirt and grease.

Fewer folk work with their hands I suppose. The minor wear and tear of life becomes unbearable and extraordinary.

tipoc

Twenty years ago, mechanics, technicians, those that worked in tire shops, etc. rarely wore gloves. Now almost all do. Partially for physical protection. Partially because they want to help keep carcinogens off their hands, partially because gloves have become so much better in recent years and partially because the he-man syndrome related to wearing gloves is slowly dying out.

 

[orionengnr]

My hands have had a hard life of mostly manual labor, 57 years so far. My lifelong "hobbies" have (and continue to) add a lot more wear and tear.

In the last ten years or so I have noticed increasingly regular pain in my hands and wrists. Shooting a .357 Scandium J-frame with "real" .357s was the straw that broke the camel's wrist. I bought a set of bicycle gloves to tame that beast (and ended up getting rid of it).

I still keep those gloves in my range bag, and have used them on occasion since then (usually with a scandium j-frame, LCP or the equivalent) although in the last couple years, where they really come in handy is when I am introducing a first-time shooter to the sport. Most recently, I took the petite female daughter of a recently-deceased friend to the range with my Ruger MkII, and she brought her newly-inherited 938. She was fine with the MkII, but the gloves really helped her adapt to the snap of the 938. She also used them when shooting Kimber Pro Eclipse, which she tackled before the 938. She really shot the 1911 pretty well, and is leaning toward carrying the 938 (given some more range time).

 

[bainter1212]

Late to the thread but.....
A whole lot of shooters have soft pink hands from non-manual labor.
I have been fixing machines for 14 years now and my hands are all scarred up and calloused. As a result, they dont really get that sweaty and even an aggressive grip panel doesnt hurt them.
I would protect my hands at work but I havent found gloves that will allow for the dexterity I need (especially gripping and starting small screws).

 

[tipoc]

Twenty years ago, mechanics, technicians, those that worked in tire shops, etc. rarely wore gloves. Now almost all do. Partially for physical protection. Partially because they want to help keep carcinogens off their hands, partially because gloves have become so much better in recent years and partially because the he-man syndrome related to wearing gloves is slowly dying out.

Not where I work. Or where I have worked. Nothing He-man about it. As women work where I do as well as men. It is related to safety. Gloves are used when needed. When not needed they are not used and can be dangerous.

Gloves increase the likelihood of injury around machinery like lathes, mills, drills,grinding wheels, etc.

Protection from dangerous chemicals is another matter altogether.

"Manliness" does not enter into it. There was never a "he man syndrome" related to it that I saw. Rather it was a lack of pretense. Working hands get beat up. The wear and tear to them is commonplace. Hands develop callous'. Working hands are tougher than the hands of professionals.

This of course is beside the point as we are not speaking of employment, of hazardous chemicals, the day to day hazards of construction, welding, machining, assembly, etc. but of going to a gun range for recreation.

If the trigger guard of a gun raps ones fingers, a glove won't fix that problem. A change of grips or another gun might.

If a fella is worried that someone might bite his finger off at the gun range or the gun may explode in his mitts...well OK. Seems an unreasonable fear but...OK

If a person wears gloves because the do-dads hanging off his AR cut and slice his hands, well...

In long competitions gloves can be a blessing.

But they make some things more difficult to do, clearing some malfunctions for example. So practice with them is required.

Use as needed.

But there is a good deal of style involved in this trend. That's not wrong or bad or effeminate. But it's worth recognizing.

That's all I have to say on this subject I've already passed into Grinch terrority.

tipoc

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Or old arthritic busted up hands. But then, that's pretty much something younger folks will never get, cuz you've actually got to do some work to get them.

Same here years of Construction work and silly fist fighting left both my hands with Arthritis by the time I was 40. Gloves make shooting anything more than a 22 fun and not painful.

 

[Anmut]

I wear gloves when the firearm calls for it. Revolvers, nope. Running an AK for an hour, yep.

 

[benzy2]

I simply haven't found a glove that I enjoy using. I'd give it a look if I found one that felt like a benefit, but so far they all haven't fit well enough to not feel like a drawback rather than a benefit. If you like them for any reason enjoy using them. Even the "good" ones have been a bit disappointing for me.

 

[Kynoch]

Not where I work. Or where I have worked. Nothing He-man about it. As women work where I do as well as men. It is related to safety. Gloves are used when needed. When not needed they are not used and can be dangerous.

Gloves increase the likelihood of injury around machinery like lathes, mills, drills,grinding wheels, etc.

Protection from dangerous chemicals is another matter altogether.

"Manliness" does not enter into it. There was never a "he man syndrome" related to it that I saw. Rather it was a lack of pretense. Working hands get beat up. The wear and tear to them is commonplace. Hands develop callous'. Working hands are tougher than the hands of professionals.

This of course is beside the point as we are not speaking of employment, of hazardous chemicals, the day to day hazards of construction, welding, machining, assembly, etc. but of going to a gun range for recreation.

If the trigger guard of a gun raps ones fingers, a glove won't fix that problem. A change of grips or another gun might.

If a fella is worried that someone might bite his finger off at the gun range or the gun may explode in his mitts...well OK. Seems an unreasonable fear but...OK

If a person wears gloves because the do-dads hanging off his AR cut and slice his hands, well...

In long competitions gloves can be a blessing.

But they make some things more difficult to do, clearing some malfunctions for example. So practice with them is required.

Use as needed.

But there is a good deal of style involved in this trend. That's not wrong or bad or effeminate. But it's worth recognizing.

That's all I have to say on this subject I've already passed into Grinch terrority.

tipoc

You'll note that I did not include machinists/machine operators. It's axiomatic that wearing gloves around machinery -- particularly rotating machinery can be extremely dangerous. It's bad practice.

 

[Kynoch]

Same here years of Construction work and silly fist fighting left both my hands with Arthritis by the time I was 40. Gloves make shooting anything more than a 22 fun and not painful.

One summer during college I worked in a lumber yard. My hands went from somewhat soft to extremely tough. Working bare-handed was definitely expected amongst the full-timers. I would also wake up at night was that "pins and needles" feeling and numbness in my hands as if they were asleep and just waking up. Trauma like that after 4 months wasn't cool.

When the boss offered me a part time job during the year, the first thing I did was go inside of the store and buy the thickest set of leather gloves they had on hand (no pun.)

 

[mikemyers]

Has anyone considered that the gloves may not be to protect the shooter from the gun, but the other way 'round?
Most people apparently have hands and fingers that send "tremors" to the gun, which will react to them and move.

From page 82 of "The Perfect Pistol Shot" by Albert H League III:

"Collegiate air rifle competitors wear heavy shooting jackets and gloves. These garments offered padded protection, but to whom - or what? ........ what these competitors are protecting is the air rifle. They are trying to prevent the influence of heartbeat and respiration on that rifle."
​

I have no idea if this applies to handgun shooting, but it seemed like something to consider.

 

[Revoliver]

The wife has very delicate hands. She can and does get blisters and shredded skin after a few cylinders of shooting. A fingerless 'workout' glove solved that.

I only use a pair of coyote brown Camelbak heat grip ct gloves when temperatures are either very cold or very hot.

 

[benzy2]

Mike, you also have to consider that position rifle shooters are using a sling, one that is typically as tight as possible. A good shooting mitt/glove relieves a bit of pain from the sling, keeps circulation from cutting off, as well as removes pulse transmission. Those gloves are nothing like what is being considered here. Its a specialty item for specialty shooting, just like their coats, pants, and shoes. Maybe a form fitting glove reduces pulse transmission from a handgun, but without a sling I'd be interested to see how much pulse is actually affecting sight picture as well as how much a thin glove actually removes it. It's really only a concern for the slow fire target shooting, and even then I question it when talking about handguns.

 

[Comrade Mike]

Has anyone considered that the gloves may not be to protect the shooter from the gun, but the other way 'round?

Most people apparently have hands and fingers that send "tremors" to the gun, which will react to them and move.

From page 82 of "The Perfect Pistol Shot" by Albert H League III:



"Collegiate air rifle competitors wear heavy shooting jackets and gloves. These garments offered padded protection, but to whom - or what? ........ what these competitors are protecting is the air rifle. They are trying to prevent the influence of heartbeat and respiration on that rifle."

​

I have no idea if this applies to handgun shooting, but it seemed like something to consider.

The gloves we wear for precision shooting would hinder your handgun skills considerably.

 

[boom boom]

Fire a Walther PPK .380 and find out why (hint: can you say slide bite?).

No, somewhat more seriously, one issue for me is lessening the amount of lead on my skin to remove, a second is securely holding my gun despite hot range temps that cause me to sweat a gallon, and third, when I am practicing with snubs, magnums, etc. and firing a lot of rounds, it enables me to keep my hands from being as fatigued from recoil. Fatigued hands lead to lousy shooting and can cause you to flinch.