Late season gloves for archery

[Eship]

What gloves/mittens/ or lack there of is everyone using for late season whitetail hunting with a bow? In the past, I’ve always just work thin gloves or no gloves and try to keep my hands in my pockets. I may look into getting a pair of thin merino wool gloves like what Nested whitetail gear makes plus a pair of oversized mittens that I can easily slip off to take a shot. I like the idea of thin gloves just for contact with cold things like saddle climbing equipment and my bow, but don’t like losing dexterity with my release.

 

[Hickory1991]

I use fingerless wool gloves with hand warmers in my pocket. Seems to work well for me.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

No gloves, I use a muff and hand warmers if it's really cold. My bow is also carbon, which helps

 

[Macintosh]

I just use the cheap mechanix gloves, and wear a handwarmer muff around my waist. Plenty of dexterity + plenty warm. This is comfortable down to single digits for me.

 

[Skerhunter]

Depends on how cold! Fingerless wool gloves are all I wear. Typically I just have one on my bow hand and keep my hands in my muff/pocket. If it gets super cold (below 20) I put hand warmers on the back side and I can still use my release.

 

[Joshk358]

I typically do not wear gloves. Just handwarmers in my jacket pockets. But, i am considering moving to a muff around the waist. Not sure. I just do not feel comfortable shooting my bow with gloves on. Never have.

 

[Eship]

I think I’ll probably stick with no gloves most of the time as well. I’ve survived quite a few seasons doing it, no reason to change. Maybe just need to get some hand warmers

 

[Rabbit46]

Following for the good ideas of others. I have tried out a lot of different gloves with no luck. I always come back to no gloves. The bow just feels better in my hand without them and i never seem to feel as comfortable with my release when I have them on.

Like others hand warmers have been my go to. But I’m open to trying them again if someone has found a pair they really like.

 

[Genophoenix]

Watch the Spiritus youtube video on using a glove layering system similar to how you would for your jackets. Basically fingerless wool gloves over the top of a light windproof glove and then you can use a heavy mittens or muff over that. I just use the inside of my bibs as a a muff of sorts when I'm idle.

But in my experience you don't really need much beyond fingerless wool gloves until it dips below freezing, and then you kind of scale up a level for every 10 degrees below that.

You can also shove a handwarmer between the layers of the gloves (on the back of your hand if you need to use that hand to wrap the bow or grip) and that's basically cheating it works so well.

 

[BoogerCounty]

I go back in forth between merino wool fingerless gloves and thin full finger merino gloves. Paired with handwarmer.

I also pack mechanic/strap on work gloves for climbing. Wet bark, dew on sticks that won't ruin my gloves or make my hand cold for the actual hunt.

 

[WCB]

No gloves, I use a muff and hand warmers if it's really cold. My bow is also carbon, which helps

So you walk in and out of the stand with your hands in your muff?

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I have no problem keeping my hands and every other part of me warm walking in. The real trick is not getting too sweaty

 

[Jpsmith1]

Muff plus electric hand warmers.

If it's SUPER cold maybe UA liner gloves.

 

[Maverick1]

Lightweight poly gloves. Thinnest available.

Hand muff, integrated muff, or pass through pockets (to inside of jacket for warmth.)

Hand warmers inside the muff.

If it is super cold I wear a wool glo-mitt on my bow hand with a hand warmer inside the flip top portion. But still just a thin poly glove on the release hand.

Hang the bow on a hook. Deer walks in grab bow off hook and draw back for the shot.

In really cold weather gloves or mittens alone don’t keep the hands warm enough. Too much heat loss at the wrist joint where the glove / mitten meet the jacket sleeve. That - plus - you have to take the mitten off. Removing mittens is a lot of movement, you have to have a place to put them, and if you do it too soon (like when the animal slows down) your hands absolutely freeze. And then you have to either sit there with frozen hands or put the mittens back on. Big heavy mittens or gloves are a definite NO GO for me. Been there, done that. Never again.

For super cold weather (the ridiculous zone), I strap boot blankets around my waist and put my hands inside with a hand warmer. Can bury the arms in up to the mid forearm. Never gotten cold with this approach. A lot of bulk and extra stuff to carry in, but it works.

Tried the fingerless gloves before, but they don’t work particularly well in really cold weather - because it is the tips of the fingers that get cold first - and fingerless gloves don’t help in that regard.

 

[cornfedkiller]

I pretty much haven’t worn another pair of gloves besides Sitka Traverse gloves for the last 12-15 years. Maybe I’m missing out on something better, but I wear them all season no matter where I’m hunting.

When it’s real cold, nothing beats a muff with some hand warmers in it.