You don’t have to wait for cold weather to need gloves. Unfortunately, anything that comes between a gun owner and his gun is a potential liability. With bulky gloves, fingers can get caught in the trigger well or fail to properly grasp the gun while it’s in its holster.
That’s no good.
Likewise, we don’t want to be stuck ripping off a glove to get to our guns.
I’ve pointed out five different glove types that seem to work well, in my experience, with concealed carry handguns.
#1. Fingerless Gloves
Any glove that gives your fingers clean and unimpeded control of the gun is excellent. Whether it’s a dedicated trigger finger glove with the trigger finger top missing or just gloves with no fingers, nothing beats skin to metal contact.
#2. Mechanix Gloves
While you don’t need to have a pair of Mechanix-branded gloves, I’ve found these gloves are great for a good sturdy fit and excellent dexterity over tools. The fit and dexterity translate pretty well to guns. A big thing to remember is you need a set of Mechanix gloves that fit firmly to your hand. If there’s any give in the fingers — i.e., your finger doesn’t fill the finger of the glove all the way — you’re going to have problems in the trigger well.
#3. Glove Inserts
For those with a military background, you were probably issued at least two sets of very comfortable wool or synthetic wool glove inserts. These were form fitting to the hand and reasonably warm on their own. Put them inside of the huge black gloves the military issued, and you could get downright toasty.
These glove inserts are easy to find, cheap, and they work well with operating a handgun. The glove inserts shown in the article picture are First Lite AeroWool Liner Gloves.
#4. Nitrile Medical Gloves
Nitrile gloves aren’t as slippery as latex and are reasonably durable. While it’s weird to walk around with a pair of nitrile gloves on, they do prove pretty useful for dexterous tasks such as operating a scalpel or a firearm. For those concerned about lead contamination or exposure, a set of nitrile gloves are an excellent choice for the range.
#5. Nomex Gloves
Nomex gloves were famously issued to military pilots because it kept their hands cold while still enabling them to work some very delicate flight controls. These well-insulated gloves allow a lot of freedom of movement for the fingers. There’s also a limited degree of feeling and sensation that makes it through the gloves — good for feeling the grip of your concealed carry handgun.
They don’t look out of place in public, can be picked up for relatively cheap money, and work well with concealed carry. That’s a triple win.
Added Bonus: Silk gloves
Nothing feels better than silk, in my opinion. And a pair of silk gloves aren’t altogether warm or waterproof, but they do allow for sensation. That’s important when pulling back on the slide serrations on a pistol or priming a finger on the trigger before you fire.
This level of delicate control is almost unparalleled until recent advances in synthetics. Now there are, for example, Under Armour style glove liners that have the same basic look and feel as silk but offer a bit more protection against things like sweat or water.
Ultimately, I always recommend training how you intend to fight. If you think a particular glove choice is a good fit for your everyday concealed carry habits, you should test that theory out at the range before just assuming. It’s an excellent way to see if your theory is right before having to put it to the test.
