Jacky's post about winter shooting wear got me to thinking about shooting gloves and mail order. There was a time when I hated using gloves for clay shooting but frozen hands weren't much fun so I forced myself to get used to wearing them. Now I like shooting with gloves all the time including summer.
My rant is that there NO consistent sizing in gloves and I mean NONE. With clothes there is more consistency. It doesn't bother me if sometimes an L will fit my generally XL frame but it doesn't distress me if a 2X is required in some clothes.
Gloves are another matter. Right now I have assorted pairs of gloves for all outdoor shooting and hunting purposes no matter what time of year. I have the following sizes: Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, 3XL. They all fit. The number system isn't worth a damn either because I have gloves that are 9, 10 and 11.
It doesn't matter even if the gloves are from the same company. I have a pair of mesh Bob Allan shooting gloves sized Large, meanwhile the leather pair of Bob Allan gloves are 3XL. They aren't incorrectly labelled either because I when I bought them I tried on various sizes and the 3XL fit best.
And THEN there is the finger size. You can find a set of gloves that fit nicely for width but were made for someone with tiny sausage fingers or for someone with skinny fingers are are so long that they drag along the ground when he walks.
And the ultimate piss off is that even if you find a pair that fits and you lose them or wear them out and order the EXACT same model in the SAME size as your old pair there's a 50-50 chance they won't fit.
Admittedly, in the greater scheme of things, this isn't a big issue but when mail ordering gloves it's best to only choose those places with a very tolerant return policy.
My rant is that there NO consistent sizing in gloves and I mean NONE. With clothes there is more consistency. It doesn't bother me if sometimes an L will fit my generally XL frame but it doesn't distress me if a 2X is required in some clothes.
Gloves are another matter. Right now I have assorted pairs of gloves for all outdoor shooting and hunting purposes no matter what time of year. I have the following sizes: Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, 3XL. They all fit. The number system isn't worth a damn either because I have gloves that are 9, 10 and 11.
It doesn't matter even if the gloves are from the same company. I have a pair of mesh Bob Allan shooting gloves sized Large, meanwhile the leather pair of Bob Allan gloves are 3XL. They aren't incorrectly labelled either because I when I bought them I tried on various sizes and the 3XL fit best.
And THEN there is the finger size. You can find a set of gloves that fit nicely for width but were made for someone with tiny sausage fingers or for someone with skinny fingers are are so long that they drag along the ground when he walks.
And the ultimate piss off is that even if you find a pair that fits and you lose them or wear them out and order the EXACT same model in the SAME size as your old pair there's a 50-50 chance they won't fit.
Admittedly, in the greater scheme of things, this isn't a big issue but when mail ordering gloves it's best to only choose those places with a very tolerant return policy.
Last edited:
