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Cold weather shooting gloves

021411

hot loads B==D - - -
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 14, 2011
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Houston, TX
I'm a bitch when the temp drops below 50 degrees F. Can anyone make a recommendation on a thin shooting glove The last time I went shooting in cold weather I couldn't feel my finger and pulled a lot of shots. It was fault for not being prepared. I was recently looking at the OR Aerator Sensor Gloves but it looks like the index finger tip has double coverage. I need more sensitivity.
 
I like the PIG gloves https://www.skdtac.com/category-s/36557.htm , or straight up Nomex flight gloves. Not going to keep you warm for a long time in real cold weather but keeps the chill off enough for shooting, both have great sensitivity. Some of the PIG gloves have unicorn pubi sewn into the fingertips so you can still use a touchscreen device with them on.
 
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Winter golf gloves. The thing to do is let the cold hurt your hands and fingers. After a little bit it will feel like painful useless weights. But if you wait it out long enough your heart will get the message and increase blood flow all the way to your fingers. Just have to be patient. Also, I won't shoot if it so cold that the phlegm in your sinuses freeze up. Shooting in the cold is a whole different discipline. Being in shape also helps a lot. Stay away from the fire. It just makes it worse.
 
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...The thing to do is let the cold hurt your hands and fingers. After a little bit it will feel like painful useless weights. But if you wait it out long enough your heart will get the message and increase blood flow all the way to your fingers....
Depends on your definition of "cold".
 
Non frostbite warning cold. Our problem is we go from warm to cold. Not cold to cold. Wind chill of about 17 degrees is uncomfortable but doable as I described. Don't be stupid and take my advice in cold that will blister then turn your fingers black. People that are not acclimated to cold is natural and will suffer. So, 50 degrees for the OP is cold for him. My limit is if it too cold to sit in an unheated wet and frozen Duck blind and have to take frostbite precautions but I know as long as I'm dry I'm not going to die from the elements.
 
What cold is, is relative to what you're used to, conditioned to, and your health. I spend quite a bit of time outdoors, and down to 20-deg I'm ok without gloves unless the wind is blowing, or I'm coming into contact with snow or handling cold objects. Many Climbers, Alpinist, and Mountaineer's practice for big Winter accents without, or underrated gloves so to condition themselves for more severe conditions. I have a high metabolism, and keep my house between 62 and 65-deg. If it gets over 68-deg in the winter, I feel like I'm burning up. Unless I'm going to be stationary for a long period of time outside, I never wear insulated clothing. When Snowmobiling, I just wear a single synthetic (polyolifin) shirt, and a heavy nylon shell. As long as I'm active, I'm good to almost zero degrees.
If I do wear gloves while shooting, I use the Nomex Flight Gloves.
 
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I'm a bitch when the temp drops below 50 degrees F. Can anyone make a recommendation on a thin shooting glove The last time I went shooting in cold weather I couldn't feel my finger and pulled a lot of shots. It was fault for not being prepared. I was recently looking at the OR Aerator Sensor Gloves but it looks like the index finger tip has double coverage. I need more sensitivity.

I use mechanix work gloves unless it get in the teens or below or it’s real wet.
 
I use a cold weather Mechanix glove with the first knuckle joint slit at the crease of the inside face. This allows me to poke my bare index finder out to pull the trigger.
Whatever you get, be sure that it's not compressive, at all. Any compression on the level of a surgical glove can greatly, measurably, reduce blood flow to your fingers.
50 Deg F is not that cold and might be a sign of a circulatory issue like Reynauds or similar. Might want to get that checked out by a physician.
 
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I lived a good part of my younger days in the same area as the OP. 50 degrees is a fairly cold day. People wear heavy coats and thermals when it gets in the 40s. Where I've been the last 27 years it gets in the teens in the winter with a once a year Blizzard and over 100 in the summer. There is no spring or fall to speak of. It is the wind in the winter on the high Plains that will get you in trouble in the winter. A high of 15 and winds gusting at 25 is a bitch in the shade.
 
Trying to wear gloves that will truly/actually help keep your hands warm *and* allow for ease of shooting is impossible. The best way to go is purchase the chemical packet that warm themselves up to around 110 degrees. Put them in your gloves, if you aren't shooting handguns, or put them in your coat pocket, or do both, and use accordingly.
 
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I spent most of my life working outdoors in Maine through some utterly brutal cold. It is amazing how realtive cold is to different folks. Some of it is acclimation and some is how your brain processes cold. After years of doing it I can ignore ridiculous amounts of cold but have built in alarms when it gets dangerous.

As far as numbess goes that is acclimation and a tough one if its your trigger finger. Some thin gloves and hot hands (chemistal heat packs) in your jacket pockets is my advice. Try to acclimate a bit, then warm as needed.
 
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Mittens that can flip open into a glove or expose a trigger finger will be the warmest. Neoprene gloves will be warm too, but they make your hands sweat like a motherfucker. Warm nevertheless, best for putting hands in cold water. For just "warm enough" and it's not literally subfreezing out, I use these surplus gloves, green, a lot like pilot gloves but with more leather and a warmer liner. Also Goretex. Tag just says "military gloves" so I guess they're for pilots and shooters. But it doesn't make your fingers big, the fit really, really well and you can maintain manipulation.
 
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I'm also a wussy when it comes to my hands and feet getting cold. I still have some military flight gloves with the fingers cut out. That way I can handle ammunition or adjust my scope, adjust the bipod etc...

I also have a hand muffler that I wear around my waste when hunting or put in front of me if I have to lie prone on the ground for a long time.

I'v also got some of the cotton camo gloves that have the non-slip material in the palms and cut the finger tips off. To keep the cut fabric at the fingertips from fraying, I got this stuff to apply along the cut edges of the fingertips.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dritz-Fray-check/19757805

Cotton camo gloves with non-slip material is cheap and you can always use a muffler for the hands. I've been doing this for years and shoot in all sorts of cold weather.
 
Now one of those companies needs to engineer a thin, two layer glove liner with that chemical between the two layers. That would be balls.

Throw aways? Yup, that would work.

The other option is this, but do not try to stick these in your gloves or down your pants.

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I was a climber/tree trimmer for the power company in my youth. If you have never trudged down a powerline at 6:30 AM with your day’s gear through 2 feet of snow in -20 deg temps, you haven’t lived. Man that was cold. ?

On the first climb the trick was to spike up the first tree as fast as you could and get tied in before your hands stopped working. Then you would take your gloves off , stuff them inside your jacket, then bare hands down your pants as you hung there. When they warmed back up my hands would stay warm and near impervious to cold as long as I kept working.

My nick name on the crew was “fire starter” . As soon as we had some limbs down, I’d pile them up and set them ablaze. You could feel the heat in the trees but I did melt some phonelines a bit ?
 

I used those up here in the bush, they work good for shooting. I had to layer them under those ultra thick air force mittens starting at -15*F, but in summer they work real good. Only winter prob is the short cuff allowing snow in, for which I switched to the nomex long-cuff style with much better results. Strangely, found real good results with those long-cuff knitted amarid cut-resist gloves with the nitrile palms. Was out sawing up the countryside one day and a shooting situation arose, so used them as an improvisation and was real surprised at how well they worked for those endeavors.

Having spent the middle years of my life in the Middle East, I sometimes find Hawaii cold...

Here too. Back in another life I used to run miles and miles over there at 120*F+ mid-day sun/heat, lost like 15 pounds in sweat per excursion, lol. Now I struggle at 80*F rofl.
 
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I’m a bitch when it comes to my hands also. My fingers just stop working if they get too cold.

I use Arc’teryx Venta gloves and pair them with a set of either down mittens when it’s REALLY fucking cold and not wet or some Fission gloves if I’m expecting it to be wet and cold.

Pairing gloves and cycling an outer set over an inner set whenever you’re not shooting is a good way to keep your digits toasty.
 
Lol I’m sitting here on a block of ice with a numb left ass cheek, treating a bout of Piriformis syndrome and the subsequent sciatica....?

You haven't met my ex-wife. She's been out of town for the last few days, traveling around the country. The black arrow in the map below shows her approximate location as she's been moving in a southerly direction.

I hope you get well soon.

December-11-weather-snow-Thursday-5-AM.jpeg
 
Something that really helps me is placing a body warmer with adhesive on top of a base layer at the outer portion of the wrist. Helps warm the blood and really keeps hands warmer. If using multiple layers, foot warmers work ok but may swell up as they get to much air.
 
I use these for the temps you describe. They stretch, are THIN, and hug your hand well. With that being said they are pretty grippy. You would have to try them and see if that's something that helps you or not.
I have another pair that aren't as stretchy but have a smooth Palm ( slightly thicker too). They provide a different grip style on the weapon.

It's just something you'll have to test out

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/und..._6SHE6n5aKIIYwJEmkS_icyRKA-n5O_UaAnRnEALw_wcB
 
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The under armor ones are on the left. The manzellas are on the right. The manzellas have a smooth trigger finger and are slightly thicker and warmer. You can see the rubber ish parts in the underarmors as well.
 

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I'm 60 now and for the last 10 years painfully cold fingers has become an issue. I was an avid off-road motorcycle rider/racer fall to spring in Oregon frequently riding in temps from 25-45* until 5 years ago, I was also a year round competitive golfer in Oregon.

This is a condition I appear to have at this point: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/raynauds-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20363571

I shot for an hour and a half last week at the range, ambient was 38* and I had disposable handwarmers in my pockets. In the 20-25 minutes of putting gear away and not occasionally using the handwarmers this is what my fingers looked like after a 25 minute drive home in a warm car:
i-gB88bB6-M.jpg


It's become a real PITA keeping my fingers warm enough to function in colder temps as I age.

One trick I used when riding on road motorcycles was to wear latex exam gloves under my primary riding gloves and that prove to provide the best insulation and still retain good dexterity. I always kept a pair stashed on my road bikes.

I'm going to try some FootJoy or Nike all weather golf gloves with latex liners for my shooting set up next. The golf gloves have thermal properties, come in a wide range of sizes including length and allow good feel.

When your fingers get so cold and painful that you literally cannot use them it's not a good situation.

I also have decent work gloves with latex liners stash in my cars for emergencies.

Hope this helps.
 
I bought these when our local Gander Mountain was going out of business. I'd not step foot in there, given their retail prices, but 80% off was hard to pass up. Anyway. They are a glomitt style, with a cut first finger and thumb. Not very heavy, but easy to carry and they cut the chill out of the air. And, they are light enough that you can keep them on and jam your hands into pants pockets or jacket pockets to stay warm. You can also stuff a chemical heat pack into the pocket where the mitten shell stores when not in use. I wish I had bought all of these they had, but now I cannot find them even on line...
IMG_1967.JPGIMG_1968.JPGIMG_1969.JPGIMG_1970.JPGIMG_1971.JPG
 
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You haven't met my ex-wife. She's been out of town for the last few days, traveling around the country. The black arrow in the map below shows her approximate location as she's been moving in a southerly direction.

I hope you get well soon.

December-11-weather-snow-Thursday-5-AM.jpeg

Jesus she must be related to my exwife.

Thanks man. Climbing accident 20+ years ago. Had to hold the robe on a falling idiot and get him off a cliff. I didnt let go........
 
I bought these when our local Gander Mountain was going out of business. I'd not step foot in there, given their retail prices, but 80% off was hard to pass up. Anyway. They are a glomitt style, with a cut first finger and thumb. Not very heavy, but easy to carry and they cut the chill out of the air. And, they are light enough that you can keep them on and jam your hands into pants pockets or jacket pockets to stay warm. You can also stuff a chemical heat pack into the pocket where the mitten shell stores when not in use. I wish I had bought all of these they had, but now I cannot find them even on line...
View attachment 6984867View attachment 6984869View attachment 6984873View attachment 6984875View attachment 6984877
Oh man those look perfect too.
 
I bought these when our local Gander Mountain was going out of business. I'd not step foot in there, given their retail prices, but 80% off was hard to pass up. Anyway. They are a glomitt style, with a cut first finger and thumb. Not very heavy, but easy to carry and they cut the chill out of the air. And, they are light enough that you can keep them on and jam your hands into pants pockets or jacket pockets to stay warm. You can also stuff a chemical heat pack into the pocket where the mitten shell stores when not in use. I wish I had bought all of these they had, but now I cannot find them even on line...
View attachment 6984867View attachment 6984869View attachment 6984873View attachment 6984875View attachment 6984877
These look pretty sweet - Any idea on the model # etc? I know you said you cant find them online but ill still try and find them
 
@Lowlight is a fan of looking like a homeless bum with his "standing by the burn barrel" gloves on.

One day, i just want frank to wear his old BDU coat, homeless gloves, sweat pants, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth with a dunkin donuts coffee cup in one of his online training vids. We deserve the whole ensemble.