Switched to shooting with a tab this year. One thing I wasn't expecting was how I would use one with gloves for hunting in colder weather.
The finger hole in my tab won't quite slip over my finger with a thick glove on. How do you cold weather guys work around this? Waller out the hole in the tab? Buy a bigger tab? Cut the finger off my glove?
Suggestions? Thanks!
Cam
I use a light rag wool glove or GI liner glove on my string hand and my tab fits over that just fine. You could stretch the hole or buy a larger tab if necessary. I like the light glove and keep my hand in my pocket with a warmer if necessary. I've also used a tab with a glomitt and that worked OK, too.
Dave Doran,At archery Past,makes a tab,with a rubber ring,to go over the finger.It has a snap,so you can use different sized rings.
Put a mitten on over the tab, works for me.
I buy a large tab for skin and a xtra lg for gloves. I have a pair of wool gloves that my tab fits well over. Now I just need a deer to come within range.
I use a pair of winter weight golf gloves with my tab. They fit tight on the hand and my cordavan tab fits without a problem. No effect on my shooting. A pair of wool GI glove liners will also do the trick. I have not had to resort to this, but on really cold days, I have a heavier glove that I will use on my bow hand if needed. Finally, if you are in a position where you can hang your bow while hunting, you might resort to using one of the tube or sleeve shaped devices that fit around your waist and allow you to slip your hands in either end and slide them out when preparing to shoot. I'm not sure what they are called but I understand that they do work well and are large enough to accomodate the small heater packs that are so popular. If none of these ideas work, it is time to head back to camp or start a fire. Good luck and good hunting. :campfire:
I use a tab that has an elastic strap to go over the finger. If yours just has the hole in the leather, try making a series of small slits around the circumference of the hole. that should allow you to put it on over a thin glove.
I use glomittts , glove / mittens . I cut the finger off the tab one and just tuck in the fingers and tab. When I need to shoot its easy to get the mitten part to pull back off fingers :0)
The tab that I use has an elastic strap that snakes through slits to make two loops. It is completely adjustable for gloves or not.
Use a larger tab in winter and trim to fit. Traxx has a good suggestion as the Doran tab is very flexible. I shot my "winter" tab over the dollar a pair WalMart white work gloves rabbit hunting this morning. My "other" tab is nestled away for the winter.
I use a Blackwidow tab that has an adjustable velcro strap. No problem wearig heavy wool gloves just loosen the strap and the velcro holds it nice and tight.
I have always cut the fingers off a glove to use my tab. Last week I tried out a pair of those knit gloves. You've probably seen them, real small looking. Wife gets them for the kids all the time. They stretch out to a nice snug fit and my tab sliped on without cutting off fingers. Felt good shooting, like I didn't have them on. What suprised me most was how warm they were.
Steve
I use those "flip top" mittens for when it is really cold (like yesterday before dawn-ONE degree with the wind chill)! I have a tab with an adjustable lanyard type thingie for the finger when I use gloves. Cavalier?
I skip the tab & the shooting glove if I'm already wearing gloves...it just seems kind of redundant.
All very good suggestions, fellas. I'm kind of leaning toward a pair of those flip top mitten that Curveman spoke of.
OzarkRamblr, if I honestly had a good enough release to just shoot with a pair of thick gloves, I'd be the first in line to do it!
I had a nasty disagreement with a press brake 3 years ago and I had to have a couple of fingers reattached on my drawing hand. Ever since then my fingers have really poor circulation, so when the temp drops to below 40 degrees or so, I gotta look for alternate ways of keeping them warm!
Thanks for the ideas guys!
I stopped buying tabs years ago and make my own single-layer Marshall style tabs from leather scraps. They are very easy to make, work well, cost next to nothing and you can have as many spares and customized versions (big or small holes, different shapes, etc.) as you want to suit your needs.
I usually wear a cheap brown Jersey glove under my tabs, even during summer. They cover hand glare well when hunting, are lightweight so don't cause any warm-weather problems, and are still warm enough for fall and most winter shooting. And, they are cheap/easily replaced when the need arises.
One other point. Leather tab fingerholes stretch over time...which is good for wearing over a glove but bad if the hole gets too big because the tab will tend to slide off the hand at the shot. I fixed that problem by attaching a loop of rubber (or leather lacing, but rubber works better) behind the finger hole. I simply put the tab on normally, put a twist or two in the loop, and lift it over my fingers and down/around my wrist. Adjust the tension by increasing / decreasing the # of twists. Takes about 5 seconds to do, the loop holds the tab (and the Jersey glove) nice and comfy snug, and no more loose/flying tabs.