I can't put my finger on it...

beach004

beach004

Member
...Mainly because I can't feel my finger. I'm speaking of my trigger finger, and my trigger. We tend to hunt Nebraska in early to mid December, and it's cold as a stepmother's kiss by then, at least for guys from North Carolina. I wear fleece gloves, with a mitten over them that can be pulled back from the fingers when it's time to shoot. But (a) how do you know when it's time to shoot! and (b) even doing this, my trigger finger rarely has any sensation in it, either in the mitten or especially if it's exposed with only the fleece on it, for any period of time. I've tried glove warmers to a limited extent, didn't get a ton of benefit.

Anyone know a better approach to keeping in touch with your fingers?
Thanks,
Beach004
 
:Dwell we condition the dogs so why can't you condition your hand by putting it into the freezer every time a little longer by the time season is here then you should have no problems SORRY JUST COULDN"T PASS THIS ONE UP ITS THE TIME OF DAY WHEN ALL THE REAL SMART ANSWERS COME ABOUT
 
I use the mittens with the glove inside for your fingers, And the top part of the glove folds back to expose the glove with your fingers in them. I put a handwarmer in the palm of my hand in the mitten and then in the another hand wamrmer in side the mitten part that folds back for when I have my hand covered completely. It works but I would recomend taking a break also. And just warming up your hands again. Hope this helps
 
Hand warmers

OK; so you have two warmers per hand, right? I hadn't tried that. May have to!
Thanks,
Beach004
 
I have Bad circulation in my gun hand and I like to ski alot, The thing that helps me is hand warmers, I take a tube sock and cut the tube off then cut a slot for a thumb hole and put the hand warmers top and bottom under the tube, It holds them in place real well. They seem to work best when applied to the wrist.
 
I tried but didn't like the glove in a mitten with slot product. I bought two pair of gloves at Gander Mtn a few years ago that I like. (They may be Gander brands). When it gets colder than I can handle in my light leather gloves I put on glove A which has 100 gram Thinsulate. The wrist has an elastic cuff, the glove is what I'll call standard length, and the trigger finger has a nylon cover that says TEC H2O. The glove is somewhat articulated so it flexes well, it's waterproof, and your trigger finger will fit into the trigger guard and you can operate the safety. If it's too cold for these gloves I put on glove B (same brand, same camo color). This one has 150 grams of Thinsulate but is a longer glove with gauntlet wrist cuffs that fit down over your coat and have a draw-cord. Otherwise, they are similar to glove A. Also, both pairs have a velcro strap across the back of the hand for adjustable tightness.

I've been very happy with both pairs. On one day last year I was hunting with fellow forum member hen,hen,Rooster in fresh snow on Dec. 8 in Eastern CO and our first field pass was at -12. I wore glove B on the right hand and one of my ski mittens on my left and was pretty comfortable. I do remember putting my right hand in my pocket occassionally. I also had every square inch of skin covered and was wearing my ski goggles, as was Roger. It did warm up to about 15 that day and we both got limits--my only time to date in Colorado. Both of our forum profile pictures were taken that day.

Hope this helps.
PairOfLabs
 
gloves of choice

PairOfLabs,
That's very interesting, and very helpful--especially your "field testing," which tells me that this combo really does work, under more brutal conditions than I as an effete easterner am likely to be crazy enough to encounter. I'll be checking out Gander Mountain's gloves for Xmas!
Beach004
OK, here's the heavy duty glove: Gander Mountain® TecH2O® Gauntlet Glove Item # 426848
and here's a blaze orange version of the light one: Gander Mountain® TecH2O® Hunting Glove Item # 415080
or maybe: Gander Mountain® Men's TecH2O® Glove with Fleece Cuff (Blaze Orange) Item # 426843
Santa, take note!
 
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I bought a pair of Under Armour Ridge Reaper gloves from Cabela's this summer and I have been really happy with them so far this year. They seem a bit thin but definitely hold the heat pretty well for me.

Check them out here.
 
I normally use a pair of justin charles wool gloves. They're not very thick, but for some reason my hands rarely got cold in them. If it's really cold, I'll just put a handwarmer on the palm and that takes care of it. I think that keeping the rest of your body warm and staying active are crucial too. BTW, I only recently moved to TX, I'm originally from IA, so I have hunted in cold weather :)
 
A friend of mine had that trouble in SD last year and took his glove off. He got frost bite and some of his fingers turned black. Just curioius , where is the safety on your shotgun, is it behind the trigger guard or in front of the trigger guard? I hate a gun with the safety in front of the trigger guard because it's hard to find on the flush and if you keep it extended to locate the safety it will freeze off in cold weather. As mentioned, a good shooting glove that is thin and insulating is the best bet.
 
jsdriggs said:
I hunt with thinly lined deerskin or elkskin gloves that time of year. Fingers never get cold. But, mainly from keeping a good exhertion level following the dog around.

Walk harder.
Click to expand...

That was going to be my advice. Pick up the pace and he'll be taking the hat, gloves and lot's of other things off too to stay cool!

I was out in 25 degree/up to 20mph wind and heavy snow Sat and worked up a good sweat. Ditched the coat and just went with the wool shirt and vest when the snow let up.
 
I'm all about walking to stay warm; but some of our hunting of necessity is blocking and driving; and if you're the blocker, and facing into the wind, you can't depend on exertion (unless you count industrial-strength shivering) to keep warm.
Beach004
 
if your blocking into the wind then you are hunting the wrong way to begin with you should always hunt into the wind so there for the blockers would have their backs into the wind not the face
 
Joe, GCB, is 100% correct. but still the wind blowing in your face, into your back or to the side is still rough.I once had an old friend who always blocked sitting in a fold up chair and he always said he was freezing his A** off. I felt sorry for him and made him a poncho type cover made from a old green army blanket and made gloves for him out of the same blanket, he really enjoyed it but the gloves were impossible to shoot with but he could pull them off as the pushers got close.
 
Poncho (and Lefty)

I need me one of those! And the folding chair! Blocking, it's always a conflict: do I wear blaze orange and have the birds flare out of range, or camouflage myself, hunker down trying to look like a fat milo stalk, and risk getting shot? Decision usually depends on the drivers, whether I owe them money, that sort of thing...
 
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