We want to make certain that our readers have the best information concerning archery and hunting with bow and arrows. We asked our expert team of archers and hunters how they felt about gloves.
Our main question was should you wear gloves when using a bow and arrow. Our experts told us that wearing gloves was a personal choice, but the gloves could be beneficial, especially in the winter months. That question led to discovering the best bow hunting gloves.
The following list of bow hunting gloves was the top picks of our experts. You will notice great differences in the gloves chosen, but remember that personal preference plays a large part in glove selection.
The 5 Best Gloves For Bow Hunting
1. Primos Stretch-Fit Gloves
Primos gloves fit like a second skin. They will protect your hands without interfering with your ability to shoot your arrow.
They wick moisture away so your hands do not sweat while you are wearing the gloves.
Due to the thinness of these gloves, they may not totally protect you in cold weather, but they can be worn as liners too.
Primos Stretch-Fit Gloves come in basic black, the” Mossy Oak Break –Up” Pattern, and the “Real Tree” APG HD pattern.
The gloves are made of thin material that allows them to be very lightweight. The thin material also allows you to feel everything you need to feel through the fabric. They do not interfere with your ability to shoot. They do not allow arrows to slip more easily through your fingers so you can maintain control.
2. ArcheryMax Handmade Brown Leather Gloves
These are leather gloves that allow you to retain amazing amounts of sensitivity in your fingertips. They do not impede your ability to operate your bow and arrow with precision. The leather is thin on the gloves, and it is soft to the touch,
They fit closely to your hand, and they have the added security of a Velcro strap around the wrist. The Velcro strap allows you to make a customized fit and stop any worry of the gloves moving or slipping while you are hunting.
The fingertips are reinforced to make the gloves even more durable.
These gloves come in three sizes so you can get the best possible fit. They are available in a 19cm small, a 20 cm medium, and a 21 cm large size. The gloves are sold as single items.
3. North Mountain Gear
These gloves are especially good at protecting your hands in frigid temperatures. They are made with 6% spandex and 94% polyester so they are snug against your skin. They come in one size that fits the majority of hands.
They have an extended cuff that helps them to fit better and stay in place better. They provide a layer of protection that allows your fingers to stay nimble and ready to shoot when the opportunity arises.
You do retain the ability to feel things through the glove material. They are designed so that you can answer your smart-phone or make a call without removing your gloves. You have enough dexterity while wearing the gloves to check maps on your cell phone or send a text if you want to.
4. NEET Suede Leather Glove
These gloves are especially great for anyone using a recurve bow. They are made from suede that is durable, soft and protective. The fingertips on the glove are leather, while the rest of the glove is suede. The leather allows you to have more sensitivity and quicker response times.
The backs of the gloves have enough elasticity in them to make the gloves fit securely on your hands. To further ensure a perfect and customizable fit the gloves have a wrist strap that fastens using Velcro. The wrist strap snugs the gloves onto the hands so they cannot slip or move when you are hunting.
Due to the glove design, you can switch it from a right-hand piece of apparel to your left hand. They are versatile and extremely durable. You may even increase your ability to pull back farther by wearing these gloves.
5. Damascus Doe-skin Shooting Glove
These gloves are 100% doe-skin leather. They are soft and supple. They do not feel thick or bulky. You can still feel your bow strings and make accurate shots while wearing them.
The gloves have a customizable fit due to the Velcro wrist strap. The strap allows you to snug the gloves up to the tightness level you prefer. They come in sizes small, medium, large and x-large.
The thinner leather of the gloves provides you with a better ability to feel the bowstring. The fingertips are reinforced so they are more durable since they contact the bowstring the most often. The reinforcement is not so thick that it impedes your ability to feel your bowstring.
The gloves provide warmth and protection to your hands from the elements. They protect your skin from being possibly injured, and they give you more confidence when you are making your shot.
Why you should use gloves when bowhunting
Shooting a bow and arrow can damage your fingers. You can have minor irritations from shooting your bows like minor cuts, or blisters. These small inconveniences go away pretty quickly, and as you develop calluses on your fingertips you will experience fewer abrasions and blisters.
The first reason you should wear gloves when bowhunting is to prevent the formation of calluses on your fingertips. While calluses protect you from minor pain, they also prevent you from having smooth, soft skin. They will stop you from having the same amount of sensitivity in your fingers and this can cause problems in other areas of your life.
After repeatedly shooting a bow without finger protection; you can develop nerve damage. The nerve damage will be irreversible. The nerve damage will affect your ability to shoot and will affect all other areas of your life. Gloves help prevent the possibility of nerve damage.
Types of Bow Hunting Gloves
Gloves designed for bow hunting come in several different styles and materials. To choose the gloves that are best for you to consider the options available.
Full Palm Gloves
These gloves cover the palms of your hand completely and they have coverings for each finger. Full palm gloves are said to be warmer because they cover more skin than partial palm gloves do.
You can get full palm gloves that have a silicone palm. The silicone palm grips more aggressively than neoprene, leather, polyester, or suede.
Three Fingered Gloves
These are the traditional archery style gloves. The gloves cover the three fingers that archers use when drawing the bowstring back. The covered fingers are made more stable by this covering, and the fingertips are protected from minor cuts or abrasions.
These gloves normally connect the three-finger coverings to the wrist of the wearer by thin strips of material. The sides of the fingers are not covered.
Open Gloves
Open gloves are very much like the three fingered gloves. They cover the three fingers used by the archer to pull the bowstring back. They connect to the wrist by a thin strip of material and they offer no warmth for winter weather.
What to look for when buying Gloves
If you are about to buy bow hunting gloves then you should know how to compare the different glove styles and brands.
Cold Weather Support
If you are buying the gloves because your hands get very cold while you are hunting then you need to buy gloves designed for warmth. The bow hunting gloves that are designed for warmth will also allow you to retain enough sensitivity in your fingers that you can shoot your bow and arrow.
A glove made of woolen material or one that has a woolen lining will be warmer than any other material.
You do not want to get an open glove or a three fingered glove if warmth is your main concern. Get a full palm glove that fits like normal gloves.
Moisture Wicking
If you wear the glove for skin protection, or cold protection, and you have problems with sweating, then consider moisture wicking materials. There are gloves made of extremely thin materials that “wicks the moisture” away, and leave you with dry palms.
These gloves can also be used as liners beneath thicker gloves that are designed for hand warmth.
Customizable fit
There are a lot of gloves that are said to be one size fits most. Those gloves rarely fit all hand sizes. They tend to be large and they shift and move while you wear them.
Look for gloves that have Velcro wrist straps. Those gloves have a strap around your wrist that you adjust to fit your wrist perfectly. They are neither too tight nor too loose.
Elastic Backs
The gloves that have elastic on the back will fit more snugly against your skin than most traditional gloves. You can also look for gloves that have spandex combined with other materials if you want a glove that fits snugly.
Extended Cuffs
If you want to make sure that the glove you are wearing will stay properly positioned try wearing a glove with an extended cuff. The extension fits further up your wrist towards your forearm and holds the glove securely in place.
Color
If you are target shooting the color of your gloves does not matter. If you are hunting you will want to consider a camouflaged pattern so your hand does not stick out like a sore thumb to the game you are hunting.
Seams
The gloves you choose for bow hunting should be seamless. The seams on gloves can cause them to bind up or pinch when you go to shoot.
Release holes or Flaps
A lot of the gloves are designed to keep your hands very warm will have flaps that can be closed over your fingers, but can be moved back to expose your fingertips when you need to make a critical shot.
To be certain that a glove is designed for archers to look at the fingertips. The fingertips of archery gloves are reinforced or made of thicker material because the fingertip is the part of the hand that is most likely to become injured or blistered from shooting a bow and arrow.
What are the best bow hunting gloves for cold weather?
The best cold weather gloves are the ones that cover the complete hand. You can get these in wool, polyester, leather, and other materials. Wool is the warmest material because it can retain its ability to provide warmth even when it is wet.
How do I keep my fingers warm in bow hunting gloves?
You must buy gloves that are full coverage if you are seeking warmth. Open gloves and three finger gloves are designed for protection, not warmth.
Should gloves be tight or loose fitting for bow hunting?
The glove is going to have to fit tightly in order for it to stay in position and not interfere with your ability to shoot. If the material of your glove is loose it can possibly be caught in your bowstring and become hazardous, or at the very least send your arrow on the wrong path.
Final Word
Archers and bow-hunters, really should wear gloves. The feeling in your fingers is at risk if you do not. The repeated exposure to the bowstring can cause blisters, calluses, abrasions, and after a while nerve damage. The wearing of gloves prevents all of those maladies.
There are a wide variety of gloves designed for both winter and summer wear. Most gloves for bow hunters are sold as singles, and most bow hunters have particular materials they prefer their gloves to be crafted from.
Take good measurements of your hands and order your gloves to fit snugly.