atek3 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) I read all the threads relating to cold-weather gloves and the responses seemed to fall into a few categories. 1) Wear heavy gloves, take them off to shoot. 2) Wear medium gloves, accept some loss of dexterity. 3) wear light gloves, accept having cold fingers. 4) Move some place that doesn't get so cold. At the SHOT show I saw some electric gloves. very cool, but not ideal for shooting. All the gloves had equal insulation on all the fingers and equal padding surroundin the fingers. Why not make a pair of electric gloves that had less insulation on the pads of the index finger and thumb. and made up for it with heating elements behind the finger. The gloves would have wires that ran up your sleeves to a LiON power source and would be controlable by an electronic rheostat. Basically you'd have great dexterity and warm fingers. Assuming they were priced in the same range as regular electrified gloves, would anyone be interested? atek3 Edited February 5, 2008 by atek3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Of course, but then that sounds like the Holy Grail of gloves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I tried shooting with gloves and it didn't work out so well. I would say get some nice heavier ones and use hand warmers- then take them off to shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad glocker Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Hand warmes for sure never had any luck with gloves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Best thing to do would be #4!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipscbob Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I use handwarmers in the winter. The worst it gets here in california, though, is a chilly 45 or so on a really cold winter day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) I like to keep some essential parts of my body warm. For me, bald guy, I wear a beanie and a scarf. This keeps me pretty warm entirely, which also helps to keep my hands warmer. To specifically keep my hands warm, I use handwarmers. #4 rocks! Edited February 5, 2008 by spook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 An indoor range with heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 An indoor range with heat. Yeah- but it still isn't "warm" in there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 An indoor range with heat. Yeah- but it still isn't "warm" in there!! It is if you stay back at 25yds... why do you think I've been shooting most of my practice from 25? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 For me, the cold weather solution is to wear gauntlet-style mitts with skintight cotton gloves inside. At the LAMR I toss the mitts and carry on. My guns have lots of grip tape so there is no worry that the cotton gloves won't stick. The difficulty is re-adjusting my grip as the cotton glove grip tape method works almost too well. Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I think what Spook said is very relevant. When the body core gets cold, it "pushes" colder blood out to the extremities so it can keep the part that will actually allow you to live (the body core) warmer. Wool hats, long underwear, and I am a huge advocate of UnderArmour coldgear (or other compression if you prefer other brands). The trick is to keep the core warm. Wear the gloves as well obviously. But unless a stage description has mandated it, I've never shot with a glove. Didn't matter how cold my paws were. I'm with spook (and I'm not bald). Keeping the core warm is the top priority. Then focus on the hands and fingers as needed. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 85 today in San Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 85 today in San Antonio Ahh, the non-wardrobe based solution. 85? Damn, we didn't break 65 today. Burrrrrrr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atek3 Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 Shooting matches is important but I'm mostly concerned about practicing when it's wicked cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledge Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Buy a decent pair of gloves or mittens made for snowmobiling. We shoot up here regularly in 5 degree weather, and I don't remember my hands ever being that cold. Just unglove right about the time the RO is yelling next shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Mad Glocker and Glen touch on what I have concerns about - gloves change your grip on the gun, your feel of the trigger, the effective length of the trigger and its break, and how the gun moves in the hand, as well as a million other things I'm sure I haven't imagined yet. Perhaps its different for folks with big hands, but with small hands I have trouble with all above w/o anything covering my hands. To minimize problems I go bare handed. Of course, in California I might get wet occasionally, but have no concerns about freezing flesh to steel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinkroe Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I wear gloves before the shooting and take them off while shooting. [joke mode on] If your hands get cold while you are shooting then you are not shooting fast enough. I find that a gun can make an excellent hand warmer when shot fast enough. [joke mode off/] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineshootah Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Buy a decent pair of gloves or mittens made for snowmobiling. We shoot up here regularly in 5 degree weather, and I don't remember my hands ever being that cold. Just unglove right about the time the RO is yelling next shooter. +1 strip off the gloves / mittens before LAMR and leave you hat ON while you shoot. Mittens are much better for heat retention than gloves, looking for something for practice, that is the tough question. What are you wearing for other clothing? Hat, shirt, jacket, shoes? Adding some clothing in one area might help with the overall "staying warm" equation. 5 degees? What? Was there a heatwave I wasn't aware of Ledge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMS42 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 In cold weather I used to keep my pistol bagged with a hand warmer next to the front strap. Other hand warmers were in my pockets to keep my hands warm. The front strap of the pistol stayed warm long enough to get me through LAMR and the start whisle (pre-timer days). I don't do cold anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchange Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 +1 to the UA Coldgear. With a t-shirt and fleece over it. Long underwear under the jeans, heavy wool socks under the boots. I used to do the handwarmers-in-mittens thing but a couple of months ago I got a Mr Heater Portable Buddy propane heater and that thing is a GODSEND for keeping fingers from freezing while loading mags! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVZ Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I never shoot with gloves, jacket, coat etc. on. Always take them off when I am the shooter for safetey and consistancy. Gloves can really be a pain in a-- when doing duties especialy brassing and taping. A couple of years ago I bought one of the "pouches" used by NFL quartebacks. Put a couple of handwarmers inside and your hands will be sweating. Very easy to do duties and when your turn to shoot just spin it around behind you out of the way MVZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el pres Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I do the bundle up then strip down at who's next but I'm getting sick of it and thinking about option #4 !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atek3 Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 nice to hear some responses, let me do some testing and develop a prototype and I'll come back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tuley Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I have a pair of these. They have Thinsulate and Gore-Tex, so they definitely have the "warm & dry" part covered. Well, I think it's those ... mine are at least five years old and have neoprene-only for the thumb and index finger. They do the job fairly well---the insulated fingers are very warm (for gloves that aren't gauntlets), and the thumb and forefinger have decent dexterity, and some warmth (but they do get cold faster than the others). You do get a noticable drop from bare hands/cotton gloves, but also a noticable improvement from my other Cabela's hunting gloves (fully insulated). A little pricey, I guess; I didn't know because I was a teenager at the time and lucky enough to have my dad buying me whatever gear he thought I should have. Anyway, I have to agree with everyone who said the priority is a warm core. Keep that up, and the rest should follow pretty easily. -- John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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