Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Skipmaster1 on January 26, 2011, 12:08:00 PM
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I've been hunting late season and have no problem staying warm. The temps have been from the low teens to mid 20's and I haven't even needed to put my jacket on while in stand. For my hands I wear a thin fleece glove on my bow hand and keep hand warmers in either my muff or vest pockets. I have been perfectly warm and have had no problems with my hands. when a deer walks in I grab my bow and within a few minutes take the shot. last weekend I had 8 does come in, as they got in range they started browsing behind my tree and I couldn't get a shot. Finally one stepped out at 20yds. I had been holding my bow at the ready for over 30 minutes. On my string hand I usually touch my thumb and pinky together, I had real trouble doing that and when I hit my anchor and went to release I couldn't get my fingers to let the string slip. I finally forced them open and the arrow came out with the worst arrow flight I have seen. I was lucky that I shot just over her, because the arrow was in the ground at a 45 degree angle. I'd rather miss than wound.
Anyone have any tricks to keep your string hand warm? I was thinking of taking a pair of wool gloves and cutting the tips off my 3 middle fingers and wearing my shooting glove under it.
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Put your hand inside your pants. INSIDE your pants. A little taboo but I don't think the deer mind and it works wonders.
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I have a belt pouch lined with fleece (synthetic shearling, I guess) that Winona used to sell. I can shoot with a merino wool fingerless liner inside of a Thinsulate "Glomitt" type mitten. Works pretty well.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/HPIM1914.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/HPIM1915.jpg)
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Thats what I was thinking of doing with the gloves! Thanks.
I have no problem keeping my hands warm on stand, just when keeping my bow at the ready for extended periods of time when game is in range
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Just as you said, take a glove and cut the middle three finger and wear you glove under. Another option is to buy the fingerless mittens with the flap that pulls over them, and keep a hand warmer in that top flap. When its time to shoot, uncover your fingers.
Also, Always practice with your winter gear so that there isnt any surprises.
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I always wear wool gloves but I use a tab. I use hand warmers also. I have noticed using hand warmers is great but once you pull your hand out of your pockets it doesn't take long for them to start getting cold.
Holding a bow at ready for 30 minutes in cold weather is going to make them cold. You might try using the heavy mittens that the finger tips fold over and velcro out of the way.
You might do a search for woolie buggers. They have a string that goes down the sleeve of your coat and hangs there once you pull your hand out for the shot. They are very warm. I would mention the brand but don't think they are a sponsor.
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I just read an article on fly fishing in winter and the author sugested using mittens in which the finger and thumb sections fold back to convert to fingrless gloves . Then use four disposable hndwarmers , one stuck in the mitten part of each glove and one positioned on each wrist . He says the ones on the wrist are the most important . :dunno:
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I wear polypropylene glove liners under my shooting glove.And a fleece glove with the fingers cut out.and for the bow arm a wool glove liner and a leather glove(all military surplus) and have no problems.
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Originally posted by Duker:
I just read an article on fly fishing in winter and the author sugested using mittens in which the finger and thumb sections fold back to convert to fingrless gloves . Then use four disposable hndwarmers , one stuck in the mitten part of each glove and one positioned on each wrist . He says the ones on the wrist are the most important . :dunno:
Probably helps keep the blood vessels coming into the hand dialated.
captainkirk
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On stand I use a hand warmer pouch and throw a few handwarmers in it when it's really cold. I wear a glove on my bow hand only. They are pretty easy to find in Minnesota, even has mossy oak camo on it.
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i use a mitten type glove with the flap that folds up. only i messed with it and changed it a little. i first got rid or that awful velcrow. i used some round magnets instead, sewn ito the place the velcrow was. i then put a little pocket in the fold in the front so i can slide a heat pack right down in it. when i ggrad my string just conect the magnets and release.
steven
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Those are what we call "Glomitts" hereabouts. Fingerless gloves with a mitten hood that folds over. You just can't see the hood well in my images.
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these work really well especially deep down inside my vest pockets....
(http://www.burnhamphotography.com/galleries/events/photos/wesgallery/imag0555.jpg)
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I use a wool glove with thinsulate on my bow hand and I have a talon shooting glove that covers most of my hand. I keep a hand warmer in my coat pocket on my right for the shooting hand and only use it sparingly. I don't keep my hand in the pocket all the time, gets to used to the warmer. If it is really cold, then I put the hand warmer in the wrap of the glove on my wrist. sends warmed blood into the hand.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/jjeffer/bow/talonglove1.jpg)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/jjeffer/bow/talonglove2.jpg)
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I'm missing a couple of fingers on my bow (left) hand and they are real sensitive to the cold, so I keep that hand in one of the Cabela's Canadian Stand Hunter mittens:
(http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_960163_830_01?rgn=0,0,1164,2000&scl=5.2631578947368425&fmt=jpeg&id=3wYrkT78rbXPgXTtaToPBQ)
I shoot with a tab so I keep my right hand in a pocket with one of those HotHands warmers.
...unless I'm doing an 18th c. period style hunt... then it's just a handmade wool mitten on the left hand.
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I use a muff similar to what you see quarterbacks wear with a HotHands pack inside. No worries about having a glove in the way of my shooting, and having my hands exposed for 5-10 minutes to make a shot isn't any big deal.
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I use a light or mid-weight glove with 3 fingers cut out on my drawing hand. I am a HUGE fan of the hand-warmer muffs!!!! :bigsmyl: :archer:
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Skip: Lots of good advice for keeping your hands warm until the shot. However, if you have a bare hand, or part of a bare hand/finger, etc., out in the cold for 30 minutes, it's going to get cold, real cold, period. You just got unlucky that the critters milled about for 30 minutes before presenting a shot. Stuff happens. :bigsmyl:
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Under Armour gloves.....a hand muff...and, occasionally, hot hands warmers.
Set!
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Not sure how trad it is but I've been using a Gander Mountain Thinsulate muff thingy this year and most of last and have yet to need a pair of gloves. It helps, I suspect, that I'm also keeping my core nice and warm with lots of wool.
As long as it doesn't snag the bush or get in the way of drawing my Hill, I'm happy with it. So far so good!
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Hot hands are the ticket in minus 30c
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I wear a button down wool camo shirt as my outter layer. I leave one button undone and keep my string hand in the shirt gap there. Also, you can buy an overly long wool sweater off of E-B@# and just pull the sleeve down over your string hand. Any sweater will do as it can be a lower layer with camo or plaid over it.
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Greg, I use a gloves almost all the time when I hunt. Bow hand gets a full glove, string hand gets a glove with the 3 middle fingers cut off half way. I use a superglove and slip the glove right over it so the three leather fingers are exposed.
As it get colder, I add a hand warmer in each pocket. The big ones when it's real cold.
I always try to hang my bow as conveinent as possible so I can keep my hands as long as possible in my pockets. When the time comes to grab my bow, I grab it, and get my string hand right back in my pocket grasping the warmer if the shot isn't happeneing just yet.
When the time comes I take it out and do the deed. If it doesn't happen quick, I try to get my hand back in...the key for me is to keep the warmer in my hand, in my pocket as close as possible to the shot.
I'll also go to a slightly heavier set of gloves as it gets real cold.
I know what you mean about hands not working well when cold...it's always a battle for me too...cold finger just don't work well!
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If you put your hands in the snow or some water as soon as you go out, it will send a message to your brain to send more blood to your hands, if your in good health and not just sitting on stand you should be good :rolleyes:
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I have the handwarmer that is like a fanny pack. I bought it from cabelas for 20 bucks it has a pocket to put stuff in the front and plenty of room for handwarmer pouches works great and my string hand never gets cold with just a shooting glove on.
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Muff here......with handwarmers if cold enough.
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I'm one of those blessed with not getting cold hands. I used to duck hunt and run the boat out, put out decoys, set the boat blind up all without gloves.
For bowhunting I use a thin brown cotton glove with a shooting glove over that and a heavier glove with rubber nubs for my bowhand. If keeping them in my pocket won't work I have a muff that straps around my body. Haven't needed any handwarmers though.
Now the feet.........they are a different story.
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I wear fingerless wool gloves. I put them on then put my shooting glove on. Works good for me! Jason
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I wear fleece gloves and put my tab on the same as if I were bare handed. Works fine, but I would recommend practising this way to get get used to it. On colder days, I also use a handwarmer, but fortunately in Georgia, we don't get a whole lot of bitter cold, which allows for lighter gloves than some of you guys require.
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I keep my hands in my pockets or hand muff till the last possible minute. (I am really intrigued by the new cold-weather Sitka coat available later in 2011 that has both a full zipper AND an integral hand muff). I wear a lighter weight glove that I can use in conjunction with a tab and keep that inside the pocket/muff till the last second (and often with a hand warmer too). A heavier weight glove or mitt on the bow hand.
Years ago, my taxidermist brother made me a hand muff out of extra hide from a bison turned inside out. WOW, does it keep you warm.
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I've worked for a system of Wilderness Camps for over 30 years. The first winter outside in the NC mountians I learned.
The body will send warm blood flowing to the torso and head to keep your core temp 98.6 or you'll die. If this means killing the fingers, toes, nose and ears with frostbite so be it. Do what you need to do to keep the scalp and torso warm and the body will have warm blood left for the rest.
I also noted that you "held the bow at ready" for 30 minutes. Does that mean drawn? or bare handed. Even warm blood can't keep a bare hand from feeling the effects of the cold on the skins layer of nerves.
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I agree with what Guru said, I hang my bow up so it takes minimal movement to get my hands on it. I leave it hung up until I see the shot getting close, then grab it with my bow hand and keep my shooting finger hand in my jacket pocket with a hand warmer in it until it's time to shoot.
I have even switched hands before if one is getting too cold, so I can warm the other one up then switch back for the shot.
There shouldn't be a need to hold your bow for a solid 30min. waiting for a deer to feed within range, but I know that every shot is different and I wasn't there so I don't know what situation you were dealing with?
Have you tried one of those bow hooks with a swivel in the middle that screws into the tree up above your head? You can swing the arm either direction you need to so your bow will be at the ready directly in front of you within easy arms reach. I love mine.
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Originally posted by buckeye_hunter:
I wear a button down wool camo shirt as my outter layer. I leave one button undone and keep my string hand in the shirt gap there. Also, you can buy an overly long wool sweater off of E-B@# and just pull the sleeve down over your string hand. Any sweater will do as it can be a lower layer with camo or plaid over it.
Don't think I've ever owned a sweater with sleeves long enough to cover my orangutan arms *and* hands. I'd love to try that trick though. Maybe I could buy two sweaters, cut the sleeves off of one and sew them to the ends of the other.
:bigsmyl:
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I use the mittens with the top flap that folds back revealing fingerless gloves underneath.
I've cut down the fore, middle, and ring finger sections all the way down and where my shooting glove as a liner. On my bow hand I have a form fitting spandex glove with a black leather palm and finger pads. With this mix matched setup, the poi is the same as when I'm wearing nothing on my hands.
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Originally posted by Stumpkiller:
I have a belt pouch lined with fleece (synthetic shearling, I guess) that Winona used to sell. I can shoot with a merino wool fingerless liner inside of a Thinsulate "Glomitt" type mitten. Works pretty well.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/HPIM1914.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/HPIM1915.jpg)
This is what I try to do, but I've always wanted to try and stitch something on the outside of the glove to cover all my fingers. Wish someone would make a product like that...
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Thanks guys. I think it was just a bad situation. I usually have no problems staying warm. I had the bow hung in an easy to reach place but with so many deer at such a close range I didn't want to take the chance of putting the bow down. It would have only taken a step or two from one of the deer in the right direction and I would have had a shot in just a few minutes, instead of 30. I usually just shift my hands into my muff but it just didn't work out that well.Oh, well thats hunting. I guess it was just a tough break. I was fine once the deer left and I was able to put my hands back in my muff. It wasn't even REALLY cold, it was about 14 degrees with no wind, not cold enough that I had to put my jacket on to stay toasty. I do think I'll be using a glove with the 3 fingers cut off of it and my shooting glove under it next year.