Turkey Hunting Gloves: Camouflage Your Hands, Not Your Sense of Touch

I HATED wearing gloves for the longest time.

My hands felt constricted. I couldn’t feel my striker on my pot call. I couldn’t run my maps on my phone/GPS. I worried I wouldn’t be able to find my safety during crunch time.

I didn’t like turkey hunting gloves.

But I realized that turkeys see movement very easily. And the part of my body that moved the most when I was hunting was…

You guessed it. My hands.

So I started experimenting with different gloves. I found some things I liked and some things I didn’t like. Ultimately, I found a way to camouflage my hands without compromising my dexterity too much.

I’ll save you the time and money it took me to find the perfect turkey hunting gloves. Read on to figure out what I look for when covering my mitts.

Fingerless Turkey Hunting Gloves

I first noticed people using fingerless gloves in the bowhunting community. When you are shooting a bow, you really need your sense of touch.

I cut the fingers out of an old pair of jersey gloves. I thought, what could it hurt?

It was life-changing. I hardly noticed the gloves anymore.

Soon after, I noticed manufacturers making gloves without fingers. Nowadays, I don’t buy a pair of turkey hunting gloves with all five fingers.

The glove I wear the most these days is the Nomad Fingerless Turkey Glove in Mossy Oak Bottomland. These gloves fit like a…well, a glove.

There are no tips on the fingers of the thumb and index finger. I wish the middle finger was exposed as well, but I get by with them as is. Touching, scrolling, calling, shooting, and getting stuff in and out of pockets are not a problem.

Another thing I like about them is the material. They have an Under Armour/Nike Dri-fit kind of feel to them that is comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. They are not thick, but they can still keep your hands warm in cold (not freezing) temperatures.

When it starts to warm up, they are still pretty comfortable. I usually wear them up to about 80 degrees, at which time I will switch to my mesh gloves that I cut the fingers out of.

Let’s go the opposite direction with the mercury. Let me tell you about the gloves I use when it gets really cold.

The Best Turkey Hunting Gloves in the Cold

Naturally, I wanted to carry over the benefits of the fingerless turkey glove to my colder weather hunts where I needed to keep my hands warm.

Enter the convertible fingerless glove/mitten. These are just like the fingerless gloves I use during warmer hunts, but they have flip-up mitten covers and thumbs to keep my hands warm when I’m not using them.

The model I am using now, I found on Amazon for pretty cheap. They are fleece-lined with a water-repellant coating on them that helps resist the wind and water.

For me, they fit a bit tight, so consider sizing up. Otherwise, they are very comfortable.

I will usually keep my support hand (left hand) in mitten mode most of the time. I will keep the mittens folded back on the right hand. I keep my right hand in my pocket as much as possible. I then slip it out of my pocket to shoot, call, or check my phone.

Hunting in cold weather can always be tough on the hands, but this system is working well for me.

Additional Benefits

We’ve already discussed how gloves can keep your hands discrete and warm, but is there any other reason to wear them?

I can’t stand mosquitoes biting my hands. It is uncomfortable and sometimes downright painful. Let’s just say that swatting mosquitoes off your hands will not keep you hidden from the turkeys.

Good turkey hunting gloves will keep the mosquitoes from biting your hands. Whether you go with a mesh style or just a material that the mosquito can’t penetrate, gloves will help keep the pests from making a meal out of the blood in your hands.

When it is wet, the right gloves will also keep your hands dry. Obviously, this is important if you want to stay comfortable for a longer hunt.

Choose a glove with a water-repellant or better yet, a water-proof exterior to keep the rain and dew off.

Conclusion

I always carry a couple of pairs of gloves with me because I inevitably end up losing one or two during my hunts. I used to not get upset about losing them, but I’ve become attached to these gloves now.

Hopefully, you won’t have to go bare-handed this turkey season. Cover your hands with a nice pair of Mossy Oak Bottomland turkey hunting gloves. Just make sure they are fingerless.

Pick up a few of my recommendations and see what fits your hands and your hunts the best.

If you enjoyed this article, check out my article on what to wear turkey hunting.