With a hobby like shooting, safety accessories abound. Of course, we recommend that eye and ear protection accompanies every shot you take (so that you can keep shooting for years to come) – but what about your hands?
Putting all the tough guy pretense aside (some of us certainly take pride in our calluses & scars), certain injuries just plain suck, and anyone would want to avoid them at all costs.
For example, have you ever had a sunburn on the backs of your hands? It’s awful, will annoy you for days, and impact your ability to shoot accurately. Same with burns from shell casings or other injuries you can sustain at the range.
Also, especially for some of us in the northern parts of the world, it can get awfully cold out for good portions of the year, and you’ll still want to be able to use touchscreen devices to ensure you nail emojis as well as downrange targets.
Therefore, I experts recommend a good pair of tactical gloves to add to your shooting accessories. It’s impossible to test very glove on the market, but I pulled together some of the very best with the goal of giving you a representative slice of the features, styles, and materials that you should be looking for when combing through the pile of gloves available today.
By Michael Crites
Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18.
During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications.
His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual.
As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY.
He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).
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