Does anyone here use gloves to mitigate recoil?

[C. Latch]

The title pretty much says it all. I'm wanting a way to make 'heavy' loads in my ruger .45 Colt a bit more bearable.

I don't mind recoil when practicing or plinking or when hunting, but during load development (from the bench) I've found that I can hold the gun properly and recoil begins to hurt, or I can hold it in a death grip and group sizes begin to open up. Neither are desirable.

I bought a cheap set of gloves ($6 at Harbor Freight) and after customizing the thumbs and trigger finger with a pair of scissors, they feel pretty good and I *think* they'll help some, but I'm open to suggestions or other insight.

[tazman]

Years ago I tried gloves with a Ruger blackhawk 44mag as I couldn't stand the pain. The grips were a bit small in my hand and the gun tried to turn upon firing. The gloves made me clumsier than I already am and ruined any control that I had. I gave up on that pistol and got a S&W 29. Didn't matter, I couldn't handle it either.
I stick to 38/357 and 9mm these days.

[lefty o]

i never have, but you have to do what works for you. not everyone tolerates recoil the same way. 44's, 454's, 500's smoking hot loads none ever really bothered me, but if you need gloves, use them. its not a tough guy competition.

[sidecarmike]

I had that trouble with my Contender in .35 Remington. I tried various gloves, including gel filled bicycle fingerless. Finally an old guy at the range convinced me that the grips were the wrong size for my hand. He was right. An oversized wooden grip with a thumb rest and finger bumps did more than anything.
99126

Later we did the same thing to my wife's Blackhawk for her. Look for something like this.

99127

[CastingFool]

I don't use gloves when I shoot my 45LC RBH. I bought it used with Pachmayr grips. Helps take the sting out of heavy loads. I loaded some 255 gr bullets at 1200 fps, and the recoil wasn't bad. My hand did sting a little after dropping the hammer on 50 of them.

[BCRider]

Getting the right grips is the way to go. I strongly suspect that if gloves are going to help it's because the gloves add some bulk to the grips and the gun then simply fits your hand better.

When I first started shooting my Ruger Super Blackhawk the skinny stock grips had the gun slamming the trigger guard back into my middle finger. I was getting ready to buy the horrid looking grips that fill in that area and totally convert the look of the gun when I thought I'd have a go at making up some fatter cowboy style grips. The fatter grip spread the energy out into more of my hand and prevented the gun jumping back as much. It still rolls up in my grip a little but my middle finger comes away with no scars.

These grips are the stock length and I have to hook my pinky under the butt. The recoil now bites the edge of the butt into my pinky. So the next set will be extended in depth with a set back shoulder and finger groove that fits how my pinky wants to curl down and under the butt of the frame. Then the gun will be good to go with those "Ruger only" max power loads if I want to try it.

Pictures to show you what I mean. Compare the grips to the frame on mine and your gun and you'll get a feel for how much fatter my grips are.
9913399134

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I have small hands. I have always had trouble with baseball bat, motorcycle, power tool and revolver grip vibrations. So I use a leather glove. That "Buzzzzzz" does not get to my knuckles or wrist with the glove. So give it a try.. may or may not help.
Mike in Peru

[osteodoc08]

I've used a pair of padded light yellow leather gloves. Forget which leather type. I cut the trigger finger off. It helped but ended up buying grips that fit my hand. You've gotta try them out. You'll eventually find one that "fits like a glove". [smilie=1:

[ClemY]

When I am shooting warm loads in one of my .500 S&Ws I find padded bicycling gloves work nicely to take the sting out of the recoil. Makes things much more pleasant.

[ShooterAZ]

I just put a set of Hogue Monogrips in my 44 Blackhawk. They are kinda ugly, but make it FAR more comfortable to shoot. They fit my hand much better.

[Larry Gibson]

Greetings
I have small hands. I have always had trouble with baseball bat, motorcycle, power tool and revolver grip vibrations. So I use a leather glove. That "Buzzzzzz" does not get to my knuckles or wrist with the glove. So give it a try.. may or may not help.
Mike in Peru

Me too! I use a P.A.S.T. shooting glove if I'm shooting any N Frame with magnum loads regardless of the grips. I also use the glove when shooting with more than a cylinder full of magnum loads in most of my other handguns. In hot weather I also like a glove for a more consistent grip when hands are sweaty.

Larry Gibson

[JHeath]

My answers in order, without judging anybody who answers differently for themselves:

1) Be satisfied with cartridges/loads that my grandfather might have used. They hunted and fought just fine.

2) Ransom Rest. Nailing the mechanical accuracy of my pistols would be worth more than having another pistol for the same money.

3) Sorbothane gloves for industrial workers on hard-impact machinery, if I really had to work with a hand cannon, not use a machine rest, and the recoil became painful

I am not pistol-recoil sensitive, my hands are pretty tough. But my shoulder is boney and bruises easily, so I lost my interest in hand-cannons as I got fed up with painful rifles and gravitated toward guns that encourage practice rather than discourage it. If I still lived on a ranch where I could open-carry a large revolver I might feel differently.

[bedbugbilly]

I don't but then I'm a wuss - I primarily load and shoot lighter loads for plinking. If a person were shooting heavy loads or Mags, I can certainly see how a set of gloves might help out. If they help you . . then go for it.

The last time I went shooting a couple of weeks ago, I was shooting my Smith M & P and I had switched grips out on it - put a nice set of vintage round tops on it - made the revolver look pretty nice. However, after about 250 rounds, I had a good start of a blister on the thumb side of the web between the thumb and the index finger. While those grips looked nice . . . they got switched out for a different pair when I cleaned it.

[MT Gianni]

PAST shooting gloves here. I bought them at a closeout years ago and find them great for heavy recoiling calibers and for keeping the knuckles from turning red.

[dtknowles]

Me too! I use a P.A.S.T. shooting glove if I'm shooting any N Frame with magnum loads regardless of the grips. I also use the glove when shooting with more than a cylinder full of magnum loads in most of my other handguns. In hot weather I also like a glove for a more consistent grip when hands are sweaty.

Larry Gibson

I am with Larry on this I use a glove in hot weather even with my Ruger Mk II's I just shoot better with the glove. Actually the most painfull gun I shoot is my CZ-52 in 9 x 25, I use the glove with it unless I forget to bring it to the range but the gloves are in the bag all the time now. It was cold at the range this winter and was glad for the gloves even shooting rifles. My magnum revolvers do not kick enough to need the glove unless it is hot and sweaty. They are a Dan Wesson 15 in .357 and a SuperMag in .357 Max. If the Max is not enough gun I will carry a rifle.

I was with a friend shooting his .44 Mag Blackhawk and doing better that him so he took a stance with the gun butt resting on the table. His big hand got between the butt and the bench and got pinched. Today I chalk it up to Karma as he took advantage of me on a couple gun trades. It is sort of hard to call him a friend.

If you can get grips that fit your hand. If you will be wearing gloves they should fit the gloves. I have a set of Pachmyers for my Model 15 and while they are not pretty (not ugly just plain black rubber) they are comfortable and kind of big. I carved down a set of wood grips for the 15 for use with the 4 inch barrel that are pretty and compact for carry but not the best for a trip to the range with a bunch of hot loads.

Tim

[C. Latch]

Pictures to show you what I mean. Compare the grips to the frame on mine and your gun and you'll get a feel for how much fatter my grips are.
9913399134

I wonder if there's such a thing as putting spacers inside the stock grips on my Bisley blackhawk to widen them, just to try?

If it worked I could always look for a wider set of grips.

[TCLouis]

I have found that even the cheap brown cotton gloves give ones hand a break.

Few kickers in a days shootin is tolerable, load testing the heavies wears the fun right off!

Also have the PAST glove that does all it was advertised to do.

[Texantothecore]

I hate the recoil from 9mm,.380,.357 mag. But I can shoot a 45 all day long.

[Thumbcocker]

Not so much for recoil as to keep teh gun from squirming in my hand and making me rebuild my grip for every shot. I can't do any good with a plowhandle grip on a revolver. I have hogues or bisleys. Still if I am shooting kickers I use my custom shooting gloves. $4 at Rural King they are vinal dipped fabric with the trigger finger cut out. Keeps the gun from flipping around and really helps with accuracy.

[Guesser]

I use close fitting golf gloves when shooting hand guns. They allow the dexterity to load magazines, pick cartridges out of boxes, adjust sights and do mitigate recoil to a small degree.

[kenyerian]

I like the shooting gloves also. This winter I found a pair of leather mechanics gloves at O'Reily's auto store that I wore hunting. Very nice.

I also have custom grips that fit me on all of my pistols.

[Poygan]

I bought some gloves used for bicycle riders. They have open ends so they are more useable for loading, etc. The palms are padded. I use them more often when it is cold than I do for the recoil but they are useful for both.

[Clay M]

Me too! I use a P.A.S.T. shooting glove if I'm shooting any N Frame with magnum loads regardless of the grips. I also use the glove when shooting with more than a cylinder full of magnum loads in most of my other handguns. In hot weather I also like a glove for a more consistent grip when hands are sweaty.

Larry Gibson

This is what I use as well.

[alamogunr]

I use Past also, especially with the .454C and the .475L even though I don't shoot that many rounds in a session. Both have Bisley type grips but still can hurt with medium to heavy loads. I have enough trouble with accuracy without adding a flinch.

[tygar]

The title pretty much says it all. I'm wanting a way to make 'heavy' loads in my ruger .45 Colt a bit more bearable.

I don't mind recoil when practicing or plinking or when hunting, but during load development (from the bench) I've found that I can hold the gun properly and recoil begins to hurt, or I can hold it in a death grip and group sizes begin to open up. Neither are desirable.

I bought a cheap set of gloves ($6 at Harbor Freight) and after customizing the thumbs and trigger finger with a pair of scissors, they feel pretty good and I *think* they'll help some, but I'm open to suggestions or other insight.

I previously shot in shotgun leagues & shot rifle & pistol in Alaska in the winter at our sportsman club.

I have shotgun shooting gloves that are thin & fit like a second skin. They are a must when it's cold.

I found that using them for shooting handguns when even a little cold helps keep the sting down.

I also found that just that little bit helped some when shooting a lot of boomer loads.

A thicker glove doesn't help your shooting but helps keep your hands warm & helps with felt recoil.

[454PB]

I have both the Past and Uncle Mike's shooting gloves. I bought the Past gloves first, and still experienced abuse of the knuckle of my middle finger......the glove wasn't long enough. I then bought the Uncle Mike's, which have longer middle fingers, and the Past gloves don't get used much any more.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I have used Uncle Mike's shooting gloves for years when shooting heavy loads in handguns.
I had a stress fracture in my right wrist from an extended shooting session and couldn't shoot for quite an extended period of time.
The padded palms protect your hand and the velcro strap supports your wrist. Well worth the small expense.
They really help during those all day shooting sessions that my son and I engage in. Particularly when the Super BlackHawks and Virginian Dragoons come out to play...not to mention the Dan Wessons.

[427smith]

I fired 11,000 44's @ 1100 fps in 12 months one time when I was younger. I wore PAST shooting gloves. I think they are discontinued. If anybody knows different please post.

[smkummer]

Yes, padded leather shooting gloves with the trigger finger exposed. Ruger Super Blackhawk with standard stocks is a beast on my small hand without these. I can shoot a Colt anaconda without the gloves though. Talked my buddy into buying the RSB Bisley and the felt recoil is reduced to a comfortable level compaired to the standard RSB.

[bobthenailer]

I have a pair of PAST shooting gloves and used them in SIL shooting , although there really not needed !. One thing i did notice when using iron sights at least was point of impacts elevation changed when not using the glove at beyond 50 yards, actually what i did was shoot no glove at 50 yards and a glove at 100 yards with the same hold & load from a 357 SS pistol using a 200gr gc rcbs cast boolet@1,250 fps.

[ClemY]

I bought some gloves used for bicycle riders. They have open ends so they are more useable for loading, etc. The palms are padded. I use them more often when it is cold than I do for the recoil but they are useful for both.

I used a pair of cycling gloves yesterday with a Ruger Bearcat, SBH and .500 S&W JRS. They helped take the sting out of the .44 and .500 and helped fill in my big hands to make holding the tiny Bearcat grip much easier.

[jonas302]

I use my yellow farmer gloves with thumb and trigger finger cut open lots of my shooting is done below zero cold hands on a cold gun makes the 44 even more painful

[Changeling]

I used a pair of cycling gloves yesterday with a Ruger Bearcat, SBH and .500 S&W JRS. They helped take the sting out of the .44 and .500 and helped fill in my big hands to make holding the tiny Bearcat grip much easier.

Yea, those Ruger Bercats can really beat up a mans hand, I use them when I'm shooting my "Red Rider" rifle also. No more of that cheek/bone massive pain asociated with that caliber,;-)

[crazy mark]

I use batting gloves for my larger cal t/c's and some of my RBH's. 357 and below doesn't bother me. 1/2 of my left thumb is missing and that throws off my normal hold.

[upnorthwis]

I used to shoot a lot of IHMSA matches when 80 rounds per gun was standard. After owning a couple types of gloves that fell apart after a year I got a PAST. Although it's looking tattered, it's still being used after 25 years.

[Starvnhuntr]

For my SBH and my freedom arms .454 I use a pair of padded winter leather gloves with the thumb and trigger finger cut off at the middle. otherwise my middle finger knuckle will take a whale of a beating. this is a must with the SBH with hunting loads. the freedom arms will make the whole middle of my palm ache like an ice cream headache with full house loads. I generally only shoot reduced loads in both because it only makes sense. I wouldn't own either one if I didn't handload and cast.

[ClemY]

Yea, those Ruger Bercats can really beat up a mans hand, I use them when I'm shooting my "Red Rider" rifle also. No more of that cheek/bone massive pain asociated with that caliber,;-)

It is just that the grip is so small the glove helps my large hand get a better grip. I am saving the Bearcat for my grandson to learn on.

[BCRider]

I wonder if there's such a thing as putting spacers inside the stock grips on my Bisley blackhawk to widen them, just to try?

If it worked I could always look for a wider set of grips.

I think that would be a great way to go. A few things though. To make it worth the effort you'll want them to be made from something that is about 3/32 to 1/8 thick. But that would make the butt end way too wide given the full flare the stock grip scales have already. But if you could cut a rectangular blank of the shim stock and taper it using some sort of sander, or a wood plane if you're a wood worker, to just about nothing at the edge that will run along the butt that would be best. The edges of the grip scales will be a little sharper than optimum since you're spading the square edges that normally line up with the frame outwards. But as a test I think it would be just fine.

[bangerjim]

Gloves are like a condom............they DO offer protection, but it just doesn't feel quite right! :lol:

I do NOT use gloves but I have a couple of buddies that do.

If you like 'em, use 'em.

banger

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I had that trouble with my Contender in .35 Remington. I tried various gloves, including gel filled bicycle fingerless. Finally an old guy at the range convinced me that the grips were the wrong size for my hand. He was right. An oversized wooden grip with a thumb rest and finger bumps did more than anything.
99126

Later we did the same thing to my wife's Blackhawk for her. Look for something like this.
99127
===============================
I'm with sidecarmike on this.
I've tried gloves with shooting the 500...NO help.
the 500 below came with these oversized wood grips.
I ordered the correct hogue "cushioned" grips from S&W
thinking they'd be better...it made things worse.
The oversize grips are the ticket.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/bothleftside.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/bothleftside.jpg.html)

[C. Latch]

Well, I finally got to do some shooting today, and the gloves help a lot.

I can't say that my accuracy (offhand) is better or worse than without the gloves; it appeared the same, but the gun most certainly felt better in recoil, and I left (after shooting ~25 rounds of medium to hot loads) with no bruise on my support hand fingers like I normally get when shooting this one.

So far, so good.

[Ghost101]

I have always used gloves for shooting. Whatever the caliber from 22lr to .500 mag, it doesn't matter. Rifle an or pistol. I also seem to think it absorbs some of the body impulses the same as a target match shooting jacket does. I like deer skin work gloves that I buy at the local feed store. Soft an break in easy.

Ghost101

[wch]

I use gloves when I shoot my AR for any length of time, not so much to mitigate recoil, but to avoid those aggravating side and bottom rails.

[gray wolf]

When ruger replaced my 44 hunter with a 44 SRH they came with the Houge rubber grips that have the soft jell insert that is inside the grip.
It cushions right in the web between thumb and for finger. I can say without a doubt they do what they say they do. I highly recommend them. They are not a supper small grip but do very well on the SRH.
Small hands may be a problem but I would look into them.

[C. Latch]

I shot the .45 Bisley again today; about 60 rounds, all offhand, maybe 1/3 were really light loads, 1/2 were medium, and I think I shot 8 of my full-powered hunting loads.

They feel MUCH better with the gloves on. I don't like wearing gloves; they make my hands feel weird, but I shoot MUCH better with them. After taking them off I shot a couple more shots and the grips felt so....small.

Maybe a new set of grips would help as much as the gloves. Too bad that aftermarket Bisley grips aren't as common as other guns.

[C. Latch]

I bought a set of Hogue grips for my .45 last week.

I took a measurement across the upper side of the factory grips, as an index measurement, and got 0.9" across both sides. Swapped the Hogue grips in and got 1.05" for the same measurement.

So the Hogue grips are a tad wider. Hopefully I'll get to shoot a bit this weekend and see if they help with recoil any.

[sirsloop]

I wear weight lifting gloves when I shoot my 500...nobody says anything... other than DAAAAAMMMMNNNNNN WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???!?!?!?

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/i-KKHHjjs/1/XL/i-KKHHjjs-XL.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qGz20-P6Eg



http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/i-5j3Kqn9/1/XL/i-5j3Kqn9-XL.jpg


recoil.

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/i-VkB9mhM/1/XL/i-VkB9mhM-XL.jpg

[DougGuy]

I got some Hatch tactical police gloves, real nice leather, padding where most LEOs would want it, better for climbing fences, sliding down a rope, but for shooting I think I would rather have another PAST glove. I shot 15rds of Lee 300gr RF out of my birdshead Vaquero, I had to tape up my middle knuckle to keep the trigger guard from beating it, but it drew blood from the web of my thumb in the first 5 rds because I didn't bring the nice new tactical glove with me. More tape... Ugh..

[ClemY]

I wear weight lifting gloves when I shoot my 500...nobody says anything... other than DAAAAAMMMMNNNNNN WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???!?!?!?

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/i-KKHHjjs/1/XL/i-KKHHjjs-XL.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qGz20-P6Eg



http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/i-5j3Kqn9/1/XL/i-5j3Kqn9-XL.jpg


recoil.

http://tmp.smugmug.com/photos/i-VkB9mhM/1/XL/i-VkB9mhM-XL.jpg

The indoor range where I shoot won't permit the shooting of my .500s there. I can't imagine why.

[Good Cheer]

Gloves.:idea:

http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy192/SNARGLEFLERK/41RIVETWITH24002012-06-15_zps7a094ad4.jpg (http://s791.photobucket.com/user/SNARGLEFLERK/media/41RIVETWITH24002012-06-15_zps7a094ad4.jpg.html)

[Shiloh]

I got some gloves at Harbor freight and cut the tips off the fingers. Helps when shooting a lot of .357. Even mid range loads can hurt from the sharp recoil.

Shiloh

[Changeling]

It is just that the grip is so small the glove helps my large hand get a better grip. I am saving the Bearcat for my grandson to learn on.

I apolagise I opened by big mouth before thinking.

[jhalcott]

I have Carpal Tunnel ,Arthritis and other hand finger problems, so I do use gloves when shooting my big BOOMERS at the bench. Not for hunting un less it's cold. I have 2 pair, one a "NO NAME" pair and a pair of browning shooting gloves. One of my Drs. said that recoil impulses build in your hands and fingers that CAN cause problems later in life. Maybe I should wear gloves when hunting!