Shooting with gloves afteraction

So despite living in Virginia for going on seven years now, I had never really devoted any serious time to shooting in winter gloves.  I have shot in the cold before, but always wearing tactical gloves, which really provide no warmth whatsoever, but do help out with grip once your hands get a little numb.  With the high yesterday reaching freezing (yep, 32 degrees was the high), I decided that it was a good time to give gloved shooting a try.  The main impetus behind this was that I have been wearing winter gloves more and more when I concealed carry, and defending my life is not a good time to figure out what changes gloves make in my shooting style.

The gloves I used were Outdoor Research Gripper Gloves, which I had picked up at the Exchange on base.  I also have a pair of their Backstop Gloves, but I don't wear them as frequently and decided to stick with the Grippers.  Both are very comfortable, and I recommend them, although they are made in China and I would prefer something US made.

As a disclaimer, since this was my first time shooting with heavier gloves and I was wearing multiple layers of clothing, I shot from a Safariland drop holster, not from my usual G-Code belt holster.

Overall, the gloves did not make a huge difference in my shooting style.  The biggest point to take away was that because of the decreased sensitivity brought on by the gloves, I had to make a conscious effort to ensure that my trigger finger was adequately contacting the trigger.  My first few shots tended to be left of center, as I only placed the tip of my finger on the trigger.  Once I adjusted for that, things went pretty smoothly, although my draw stroke was slower, mostly due to the hood on the Safariland, which my G-Code doesn't have.  I conducted magazine changes and immediate action drills with minimal difficulty, which I think was partially due to the Vicker's extended mag release and base plates, which perform exactly as advertised.

Stay safe, train hard, train real.

Revised 28FEB14 range plan

Targets: 3" dot, 6" dot
Rounds: NTE 100
WITH GLOVES

String 1 (5 yds, 3" dot): 10 rounds from position 3.
Push out, acquire sights, fire one round into dot.  Scan, return to position 3.

String 2 (5 yds, 3" dot): 20 rounds from position 1
Draw, acquire sights, fire one round into dot.  Scan, return to position 1.

String 3 (5 yds, 3" dot): 20 rounds from position 1
Draw, acquire sights, fire a controlled pair into dot.  Scan, return to position 1.

String 4 (7 yds, 6" dot): 15 rounds from position 1
Draw, acquire sights, fire a controlled pair into dot.  Scan, return to position 1.

String 5 (7 yds, 6" dot): 15 rounds from position 1
Draw, acquire sights, fire a controlled pair into a dot, fire controlled pair into a second dot.  Scan, return to position 1.

String 6 (7 yds, 6" dot): 20 rounds from position 1
Immediate action drills with multiple magazines and dummy rounds.

Target: 100 yd zeroing
Rounds: NTE 40

Zero M14 at 100 yds, gather data (come-up and hold-over) for 200 yds and 300 yds.

From today's range day

So after I got done with the "work" part of my shooting day, I broke out my Vz-24 that I've had for a year or so and shot it for the first time.  I love Mausers...

Checked it at 50 yds to make sure I was on paper, then rang steel at 100 and 200 yds

Home after a day on the range.

This is what a 196 gr Soft Point looks like after the RSO has to bang it out of your barrel with a cleaning rod...