are you practicing for the cold?

T

troy_mclure

New member
draw and shoot with your winter gloves?

i live in louisania, but im currently up in ohio for the holidays. its way cold up here, and i decided i had better practice with my coat, gloves.

needless to say the gloves made it verry difficult to draw, and even worse to get off a quick shot.

im used to shooting with motorcycle, and tactical gloves, but these winter gloves are killing me.

if the gloves are warm enough to keep your hands out of your pockets they are too bulky to shoot good.
 
When I know that I will be outside Winter shooting, I have gloves for that purpose.

Otherwise, you would be surprised just how quickly you can shed gloves when properly motivated. Part of the practiced draw is shedding gloves on the way to the holster.

I don't bother trying to shoot guns with my regular Winter type gloves, finger would not fit into any of my trigger guards safely.

And even at -50 F you still have at least a minute before bare skin will be in danger of frostbite! Personal experience allows for longer.

Have fun and stay warm!
 
Good subject. My problem isn't so much proper clothing as it is the motivation to go outside and actually practice :D. We don't have an indoor range within a reasonable distance (that I know of), and yesterday morning, the windchill here was 25 degrees below zero. I might've gotten off two or three magazines before I lost feeling in my hands. Not worth the time and trouble to drive to the range.

I've tried Thinsulite "shooter's gloves", in which the index finger either has very little insulation or none at all. That, the most crucial finger of the bunch, looses feeling in no time. Other gloves are just too thick for the trigger guard on most of my handguns.

Anyone have any other solutions?

Also, another question. I'm wondering if extreme cold affects lubricants and firearms with very tight tolerances like my Les Baer 1911? Is performance affected?
 
in a previously perfect functioning 1911 i had a few failures to extract about a month ago when it first got below freezing, that was lithium grease, and possibly too much on the lugs. the extractor was pulling them out of the chamber but not with enough force to flick them off the ejector. like 3 times in one trip, which it had never done before stopped using grease, and started using breakfree clp, no problems since. probably wont use grease again for a while.

numb trigger finger yesterday with gloves on after about 8 shots. it was about 7 degrees. no answers for that one except keeping my hands in my pockets worked and the gloves didnt. seems like the tighter the gloves, the worse they work for me. the cold is no fun but ill keep going out in it, just wont be staying as long.:D
 
I only shoot out doors, and I live in NEPA so the snow and cold get kind of bad here. My new light weight yet effective Northface jacket makes it a lot easier though. It is wind proof which is key. And conceals my PM-9 quite nicely in its pocket. However the only gloves I use in the winter are very snug fitting "Under Armor" like material so getting them in the trigger guard and having proper feel is no problem.

I turned a few heads over Thanksgiving break when it seemed like people were bringing out the friends and family to the range. I was clad all in black (for no reason) but I had on black BDU pants, with Underarmor under them, boots, grey and black Northface jacket, black gloves, and I think what did me in was the black one hole hood I got from the surplus store. I don't mean to dress Tacticool, but man that thing is fleece lined, breathable, tight fitting, big enough hole to not obstruct my view or my eye protection, and most importantly WARM. I don't view the range as a fashion show so I wear what works, if it happened to make me look like a crazy guy... I can live with it.:D

I will admit shooting in the cold snow and wind demands a great deal of concentration not to be shaking all over the place.
 
Another thing I might add is even in the extreme cold I only ever had one problem I blamed on lubricant. I was deer hunting in a rather cold winter up here and I had my Remington model 600 (yes 600 not 700), went to shoot, and heard a click, and watched the deer prance off. Opened the bolt there was no dent in the primer, I cycled in a new round and took aim at a thick tree, same thing. I went home and it seemed that the cheap lubricant I used seemed to gum up some in the bolt.

Anymore I use Eezox (spelling?) which drys... dry to touch. It does a nice job and haven't had a problem with anything since. I am pleased with this product.
 
when i was in korea we had all kinds of weapons probs in the winter(-20 to -40) ive found a dab of motor oil will keep all the friction parts moving, even weather cold enough that when you pick up your gun it sticks to your hand.
 
I little off topic, but after many years hunting duck and deer in extreme cold, I have come to realize that my 25 different gloves really dont work as shooting gloves. I have army/navy surplus wool gloves, snow gloves, driving gloves, insulated gloves, gardening gloves etc and all fail as a shooting glove. I usually keep my shooting hand in my jacket pocket and when game appears I shoulder and fire my weapon and never notice the cold. I do the same at the range during the cold with the added benefit of cuping my fired gun in my hand for warmth.
 
Back when I lived in the frozen north, I had a pair o hunting gloves that worked well.
They were fully insulated on the trigger finger, unlike the shooters gloves capt charlie had. The trick part was a zipper on the side of th finger. To shoot you pulled your finger ou of the sleepingbag like finger and slipped it into the trigger guard.
Needed a second hand to gert it back in, but it came out on its own.
Don't know if they still carry them, but I bought them from "The Sportsmans Guide".
The best advice? Find someplace warmer :P
 
Gloves, hmm...oh, you mean those fabric deals people pull over their hands? I guess I'm out of the habit of wearing them, living smack-dab in the middle of Texas and being a whitewater slalom racer and kayak polo player (meaning, I prefer bare hands on my paddle with the lower limit on temps/water being when hands start going numb...can't remember last time I even used pogies.)

So, no...but I do need to ask the Texas Tactical match director if he can get any night shoots going again. Gotta remember, 70% of all violent crime occurs at night. (And change the batteries in my Surefire!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!
 
I'm not much for gloves in general. If its real cold out, I'll wear a thin pair of leather gloves while driving (that steering wheel gets cold!) but I usually don't have them on outside of the car. If I did have to draw with them, they are pretty thin and should work ok, but I definately should practice some.
Actually, I just never really wear gloves at all. Even doing construction and heavy labor, I always found them more of a bane than a boone. They actually generally caused more blisters than bare handed work; plus I find the added dexterity without the gloves to be a big help.


As far as winter clothing; my coat is easily drawn out of the way just as my lighter ones from spring/fall. Actually, those are typically the coats I wear in the dead of winter. The most I'd have to worry about is a heavy sweater to move aside, which actually seems easier than some of my light shirts.

All in all..... I can always use more practice! :D
 
LL Bean sells (or used to) unlined deer skin dress gloves that are tight fitting and made of thin leather. I have had mine for probably 20 years. They don't impair my ability to shoot any of my handguns and they are warm enough in central Ohio. I dress them with a little Glove Luggie every year and they will probably outlast me.
 
I practice a fair bit with my thinsulate lined leather duty gloves, but it is still better to shed them. If I am going to a call I usually slip the glove off my right hand while approaching the scene. I can stick it in my jacket pocket which keeps it from freezing and still allows a quick draw if need be. The most annoying thing with wearing gloves with my triple retention safariland duty holster is the inability to "feel" the snaps releasing. Even though they do release, it eats into my confidence a little not feeling it.

As far as lubricants freezing, I stuck my 1911 in condition 1, lubed with Wilson Ultima lube grease on rails and lugs on the snow for over an hour in -50 weather. Went outside, picked it up, and fired it till empty with no malfunction. I was a little surprised, as I have had my AR-15 freeze up at -30 to -40 degree weather with Militec Lube.
 
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