Published Feb. 17, 2021

Shooting gloves should be on the top of the list of both hunters and target shooters alike. They do more than protect your hands from repetitive impact. They’ll insulate your hands in cold weather (some just as good as the best heated gloves), help hide you from wary animals, and provide an intuitive feel to triggers and safeties. On the range, in the field, or in competition, the best shooting gloves — whether top shelf or budget — will help you hit your mark.

Features To Consider When Shopping For the Best Shooting Gloves

A poor pair of shooting gloves will be clumsy to wear and cumbersome to use when you most need them, so look for gloves specifically designed for how you spend your time, such as competitive shooting or for use while hunting. But there are also plenty of great shooting gloves for all-around use, as well as pairs made for military applications and cold weather. Match the glove to your intended use for an on-target choice.

Do You Need Gloves for Competition Shooting?

Shooting gloves are a crucial piece of gear for competitive shooters, whether your sport is a fast-paced activity such as 3-gun shooting or simply a fun afternoon with friends on the clays range. If performance is your key consideration, then you’ll want a product designed with tactical glove features in a package that will help you compete.

That might mean heavily padded gloves for larger handgun shooters, or thinner gloves designed for dexterity and feel if you’re shooting rifles at long ranges or are on a shotgun range. Fingerless gloves can work well, too, although shooters in repetitive fire sports might find them lacking in padding. And consider which glove material might work best. Leather gloves provide great tactile feel, but they can be more expensive than gloves made of synthetic fabrics.

Best Competition Shooting Sports Gloves: PIG Full Dexterity Tactical (FDT) Alpha Gloves

These competition shooting gloves have serious tactical and competitive features. This includes rollover fingertips to prevent fingertip seams from hanging up in trigger grips, thin padding in the knuckles so you can still easily reach into your pockets, and vented fingers that move moisture away from the hands for long-term comfort.

Are Fingerless Gloves a Good Choice for You?

Shooting rifles, shotguns, and handguns—and even Airsoft and pellet rifles—requires the shooter to manipulate lots of small mechanical devices: gun safeties, bolts, slides, releases, and of course triggers. Many shooters turn to fingerless gloves for maximum feel in the field or on the range.

Fingerless shooting gloves still protect palms and knuckles from impact, but the cropped-off fingers allow the fingertips to be free when fine motor control is needed. They’re great for shooting on the range when you’ll be picking up and manipulating lots of ammunition. But even hunters choose fingerless gloves for their benefits. They make it easy to work the focus rings on binoculars, use hunting calls, and manipulate range finders. If you need to operate a lot of devices and cold weather isn’t a factor, fingerless shooting gloves are a good choice.

Best Fingerless Shooting Gloves: Mechanix Wear: M-Pact Fingerless Covert Tactical Gloves

Mechanix Wear - M-Pact Fingerless Covert Tactical Gloves

Mechanix Wear

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These tactical gloves are designed for heavy use. The padded palms help dissipate recoil from round after round of shooting, while extra EVA layers over the first knuckle defend your hands from high impacts. And since they’re made of synthetic leather, you can use them hard and then toss them into the washing machine.

Do You Want Gloves for Both Hunting and Competition Shooting?

Lots of hunters spend plenty of time at the range. There’s nothing like spending a morning or afternoon at the skeet field, clays course, or rifle range to sharpen your shooting skills. And they might enjoy a competitive round of sporting clays or rimfire shooting.

If that sounds like you, consider a quality pair of gloves that don’t compromise on general utility. For this approach to shooting gear, avoid heavily padded military-style gloves, or insulated gloves designed for cold weather shooting. Instead, look for gloves with a balanced design that provide good grip and palm traction, tons of finger dexterity, and just enough protection against recoil and impact.

Best General Use Shooting Gloves: Caldwell Ultimate Shooting Gloves

Caldwell Ultimate Shooting Gloves

Caldwell

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These Caldwell gloves check off every category you’d want in quality shooting gloves. Breathable panels vent off moisture and built-up heat for hours of comfort, smartly placed panels of rubberized material in the palms and fingers provide stickiness exactly where you need it, and elastic backing gives you the dexterity you need.

Do You Want a Shooting Glove to Wear While Hunting?

Hunters require a glove that will do it all—provide great grip but not at the cost of dexterity, serve as a cold weather shooting glove, and help hide the hunter from wary game. Hunters should avoid heavily padded shooting gloves designed for tactical shooting and military use, because they will feel clumsy in the field and the extra padding isn’t needed when you’ll be shooting relatively infrequently.

Best Hunting Gloves: Cabela’s Extreme II GORE-TEX Shooting Gloves

Cabela's Extreme II GORE-TEX Shooting Gloves

Cabela’s

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Long hours in a tree stand, a duck blind, or a pheasant field mean your glove must be able to withstand extreme weather. These Cabela’s hunting gloves do just that with GORE-TEX waterproof protection and an insulating layer to keep your hands warm, dry, and ready for the next shot. The curved construction adds additional comfort.

Do You Need Shooting Gloves that Allow You To Manipulate a Smartphone?

If you want to stay in touch with family and friends even when you’re in the field or on the range, look for gloves with special electric-conductivity pads in the tips of the fingers and thumbs. With those, you can manipulate smartphone and tablet screens without removing your gloves.

But you’ll still want all the features and functionality of a true pair of shooting gloves. So don’t give up on great finger dexterity, some padding in the palms, and flex-friendly construction throughout.

Best Shooting Gloves With Touch-Screen Capability: 5.11 Men’s Touch Screen Competition Shooting Gloves

5.11 Men's Touch Screen Competition Shooting Gloves

5.11 Tactical

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These touchscreen gloves are ideal for both hunting and competitive shooting. Multiple panel construction means the gloves conform well to the hand. There’s synthetic suede leather for protection and durability, nylon Spandex for dexterity, conductive microfiber to help you stay in touch with the world, and even a terry cloth thumb patch to wipe away sweat.

Best on a Budget: What Can You Get For Less Than $15?

Cutting costs with shooting gloves doesn’t mean you’ll have a subpar pair. For a low price you might lose some of the padding and protective features of high-level competitive shooting gloves. For hunters especially, low-cost shooting gloves can be a great option.

You’ll still want gloves that put a premium on fingertip dexterity. Some budget gloves still offer useful benefits such a smartphone screen capability and grippy panels.

Best Cheap Shooting Gloves: TrueTimber Lightweight Touch-Screen Gloves

TrueTimber Lightweight Touch-Screen Gloves

TrueTimber

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Just enough—that’s a great description of this great pair of low-cost Bass Pro shooting gloves. Leather-like patches in the palms prevent your hands from slipping on fore-ends and pistol grips, and touch panels in the fingertips mean you can use your smartphone without slipping the gloves off. They’re not the warmest gloves out there, but they fit snugly, which means you can slip another pair over them in very cold conditions. These are the best shooting gloves for the money.

FAQs

What else you need to know about shopping for the best shooting gloves.

Q: How tight should shooting gloves fit?

Shooting gloves should fit a bit more snugly than general-use cold weather gloves. While shooting gloves provide protection and, in some cases, insulation from cold weather, their primary purpose is to allow you to easily feel and manipulate triggers, safeties, and other gun parts.

Q: What shooting glove material is best for me?

When choosing the best glove material, think about the weather conditions for when you’re most likely to use the gloves. If you’re an avid hunter and are in the field during rain, snow, or sunshine, you’ll definitely want a weatherproof or waterproof glove made with a breathable membrane. Synthetic leather patches provide great grip, but can still be laundered at home.

Q: How much padding should shooting gloves have?

Gloves made for handgun and competitive shooting use typically have lots of padding in the palms, backs of the hand, and knuckles to absorb repeated recoil. But if you’re hunting, you won’t need as much padding.

A Final Word on Shopping for the Best Shooting Gloves

The best shooting gloves balance protection, finger dexterity, and grippy surfaces to give the wearer greater control over a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. Choose the glove matched for your use. A handgun shooter needs to be able to manipulate a lot of controls besides the trigger, and a hunter might not need the extra protection of knuckle patches. If you shoot mainly at a range, look for a pair that have features designed for heavy use.

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