What's the deal with the gloves?

[gunman42782]

Am I the only one that notices almost all the "operators" on youtube wear gloves when shooting? I am not talking about shooting heavy stuff, I get why a person would wear gloves shooting a .454 Casull, but why in the world would you wear them shooting a 9mm? It's almost required equipment on youtube, along with tatoos and a beard! LOL. Funny, I have been shooting for 50 years now, and the only times I ever wear gloves is when it's cold and I am deer hunting!

 

[357SP101]

I would assume the more successful "influencers" get their palms greased by the makers of the gear they wear on camera.

 

[arfmel]

My mom was an operator, back in the 1940s, for Bell Telephone. I don't know if she wore gloves or not. Pretty sure she didn't have a beard.

 

[Ride1949]

Gotta be "tacticool" ya know.

 

[el caminero]

Bob munden told me it was for traction. I later read he can put such a yank on the grip, sometimes the bullets uncase themselves, but it wasent mentioned if they were wax or lead.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Gotta have the newest and grooviest.
I am sure some of them are from sponsors.

It's tuff being a shooter these days.
You have to keep up.

 

[el caminero]

Dont recall gloves on demolition, kentucky, hickock, autumn, or that holy gunguy

 

[kmoore]

I don't have the answer but will say when training for SWAT team type stuff one should practice firearms shooting with the tactical equipment on that they normally wear. That would include helmets, goggles, gloves, radio, load carrying vest with full equipment and at night include NVGs etc.
A few guys used to want to shoot service guns with gloves on to qualify. That was a NO unless they wore them in winter, and the shoot was in winter. (My, PD range rules).
To do new gun tests etc on you tube, I think its about sponsors of equipment or, if it looks coolio then some will do it even if they don't understand the advantage/ disadvantage of the gloves or other equipment.

 

[GunnyGene]

I'll usually wear a glove on my right hand with the fore finger cut off when I'm shooting more than a mag or 2 with my 1911 (non beavertail) to avoid bleeding. My skin is a lot thinner than it used to be and I take blood thinners for a cardio problem. Got nothing to do with 'tacticool', or looks.

 

[protoolman]

Whenever I shoot a gun in the winter I have to quick bite the finger and pull the glove off with my teeth. I can't stand a glove on when I'm trying to do anything where I need "feel". Mechanics gloves are another joke, how the heck can you thread a nut without dropping it when you have gloves on. With a gun my finger would get stuck in the trigger guard. Maybe my fingers are too fat!

 

[Yaworski]

Gotta be "tacticool" ya know.

That's it.

 

[375hh1973]

I learned to shoot skeet in the winter.

Seeing how shooting is 95% mental and the other half is physical, I prefer to wear gloves year around when I shoot shotguns. Just a mental thing, I know, but hey its what I prefer.

Nike batting gloves work for me.

 

[Dan in MI]

When competing I wore gloves due to sweat and the loss of grip.

Regarding the mechanic comment. I believe it is supposed to help prevent carpal tunnel from air tools.

 

[mr surveyor]

I don't wear gloves when I'm in a potential self defense situation .... why would I pretend to train with gloves?



jd

 

[Hertervillian]

Whenever I shoot a gun in the winter I have to quick bite the finger and pull the glove off with my teeth. I can't stand a glove on when I'm trying to do anything where I need "feel". Mechanics gloves are another joke, how the heck can you thread a nut without dropping it when you have gloves on. With a gun my finger would get stuck in the trigger guard. Maybe my fingers are too fat!

I work in gloves all day every day, I can pick loose change off the floor, sort paperwork, pretty much anything else that needs done. It’s just something you get used to doing. I swap between thin goatskin and the mechanic gloves.

 

[Jim Walsh]

Must admit to wearing one glove when shooting my .44 mag Ruger Blackhawk. Plus I grip very tightly or the recoil drives the trigger guard into my fingers. A S&W model 29 has a better grip design and no glove is necessary…but as we all know no two hands are alike. Plus the age factor rears it's ugly head.

 

[davevabch]

I wear gloves in the winter. Why? Because my hands get cold. I also wear gloves in the winter when hunting. I wear gloves when I go to the outdoor range in winter and I will shoot with gloves. Why? My hands get cold and yes, I get pain from recoil on certain guns.I have never considered myself as tacticool unless some here think jeans and Flannel shirts are. But maybe I am wrong. I wear shooting gloves and dang, maybe I was wrong all this time and am tacticool. And all along, I was thinking I was a Fudd.

 

[el caminero]

I wear gloves in the winter. Why? Because my hands get cold. I also wear gloves in the winter when hunting. I wear gloves when I go to the outdoor range in winter and I will shoot with gloves. Why? My hands get cold and yes, I get pain from recoil on certain guns.I have never considered myself at tacticool unless some here thing jeans and Flannel shirts are. But maybe I am wrong. I wear shooting gloves and dang, maybe I was wrong all this time and am tacticool. And all along, I was thinking I was a Fudd.

I wear gloves. A lot. I even have specific gloves for jobs. I have modified gloves specifically for driving the big one. I dont wear my fuelup gloves driving, or handling clean cargo. I have one last pair of shooting gloves i havent used since that isnt my job anymore. A pair for snowshovelling, one for lawnmowing, one for winter driving the pov (a pair in each vehicle) and one per each for changing tires...karma can be nice, i have changed far more tires for other people than for myself.

 

[davevabch]

I wear gloves. A lot. I even have specific gloves for jobs. I have modified gloves specifically for driving the big one. I dont wear my fuelup gloves driving, or handling clean cargo. I have one last pair of shooting gloves i havent used since that isnt my job anymore. A pair for snowshovelling, one for lawnmowing, one for winter driving the pov (a pair in each vehicle) and one per each for changing tires...karma can be nice, i have changed far more tires for other people than for myself.

Gloves are a tool. For shooting, work etc. They are a accessory that goes into my range bag.

 

[Mobuck]

I wear gloves most of the time to protect the thin regenerated(?) skin of my hands. I don't normally wear gloves while shooting unless it's cold but don't find the wearing to be detrimental to performance most of the time although it's nearly impossible to refill magazines (especially 22 rimfire) with gloves on. I do some checking to make sure the gloves I wear don't conflict with hand to grip or trigger contact.
My 'take' on the wearing of gloves 'at the range' is that it's a bit of the 'wannabe' spec ops sort of thing. If that makes the shooter feel good, I'm not going to be overly critical.

 

[Sam Summey]

Am I the only one that notices almost all the "operators" on youtube wear gloves when shooting? I am not talking about shooting heavy stuff, I get why a person would wear gloves shooting a .454 Casull, but why in the world would you wear them shooting a 9mm? It's almost required equipment on youtube, along with tatoos and a beard! LOL. Funny, I have been shooting for 50 years now, and the only times I ever wear gloves is when it's cold and I am deer hunting!

The "Tactical Demonstrators" are really "Tactical Models" who are only used in advertisements, so gloves either look "cool" or they are trying to protect their "tactical" manicures.

 

[Rat76]

I'll usually wear a glove on my right hand with the fore finger cut off when I'm shooting more than a mag or 2 with my 1911 (non beavertail) to avoid bleeding. My skin is a lot thinner than it used to be and I take blood thinners for a cardio problem. Got nothing to do with 'tacticool', or looks.

Yep, me too.

 

[rcs9250]

I shoot year round, outdoors. I DO NOT shoot at indoor ranges, too many idiots.

In the winter at my gun club outdoor range we fortunately have 120V outlets so I take a small heater to warm my hands when loading magazines or my Ruger Single Ten .22LR. If it’s really cold or there’s wind I will sometimes wear real thin gloves like joggers wear. NE Ohio can be chilly in winter.

The youtube pretend operators are a piece of work. Yep, I sit around the house with plate carriers, tactical helmet with flip up night vision and tactical gloves waiting for a bad guy to barge in to say hello.
I was in my local Range USA one day and one of the associates comes up to me to ask if I needed help. He was all dressed out in his tacticool. I asked him if he was an operator on leave or something.

 

[Rclark]

For shooting, I never have. Never even thought about using gloves. A personal thing I am sure... Only time is in cold weather, or work gloves where blisters, burning, or splinters is a possibility. Just me though. Don't do the 'you-tube' following shooters. Rather just go out shooting .

 

[Sam Summey]

At 76 years old I have found that those triggers with the flippy trigger thingy begin to irritate my index finger above 70 rounds of enjoyment.

 

[gnappi]

I think it's because they see gloves on TV police swat members and think it looks tacticool.

 

[Randyzzz]

As a guy who spent a lot of time with a wrench in his hands, or a welding torch for that matter, I have gotten to believe in gloves as a part of my working wear. For wrenching it’s those thin nitrile gloves to keep my hands from being permanently grease stained. They have become a second skin. Welding- welding gloves of course, but I managed to find some thinner ones years back. I hate those heavy insulated ones and I didn’t need them for the work I did.

Shooting? I seldom wear gloves. I have a pair of watersports gloves, marketed for jet-ski riders. They have no finger tips, a bit of padding in the palms, and thin neoprene backs. The work great for heavy magnums. My only complaint is that they are extremely difficult to get off…

 

[stonebuster]

A light pair of fingerless bicycle gloves with thin gel padding in palm helps my arthritic 74yr old hands from flaring up. Slightly embarrassing & definitely not "tacticool" in my case.

 

[Jeepnik]

Never wore gloves until I was in the service. We wore nomex flight gloves under or leather of silver firefighting gloves.

Still, I didn't wear them for "regular" work. Oh if I had to handle hot stuff or chemicals I wore gloves. But I never liked the lack of feeling they imparted.

So today my hands are mostly one big scar, especially the backs and knuckles. The palms and fingers are callused. And I don't have any finger prints. Frankly these old paws kind of scare younger folks. Even had a doctor ask what happened, before insisting I get a tetanus shot.

All that aside, I only wore a glove (PAST) once while shooting. The glove was borrowed as was the .454 revolver.

One more note. When it gets cold out I do wear gloves these days. Years of abuse have resulted in enough damage that my hands ache when cold.

 

[Ride1949]

I think it would be pretty safe to say the OP wasn't asking about work gloves or winter gloves, but the "tacticool" gloves worn by the wannabe SWAT or Special Operations units.