I had John at American Leathers send me two of his new Big Shot Krossover (kangaroo) gloves, one in medium, and one in large. I'm going to keep one, and send the other back.
The question is, "Which one?"
My hand size is right in between the two, with the medium fitting perfectly on my fingers, but the finger stalls are just a hair too short. I use a little bit deeper hook when I draw, so the string rides right at the end of the nylon insert. It creates a pressure point on my finger and is a little bit uncomfortable when drawing, plus I wonder if it will end up affecting the cleanness of my release. I know that the pressure point discomfort could go away as I become accustomed to it.
The large glove's finger stalls are long enough, but they are not as snug on my fingers. I would be concerned that if I go with this one, the glove could get sloppy (loose) after breaking in.
Being new to shooting with a glove, if anyone has any helpful thoughts, I'd appreciate it! I've already sent an email to John about it, but would like to know some others' opinions as well.
This is the first time I've seriously tried a shooting glove; I've used a tab for years.
Maybe they can custom make the finger stalls to work? Seems to me with what your saying the string could hang up on the inserts. he does not recommend removing the inserts as the string will cause a groove to develope.
I've never found that the gloves get any looser with age. What they are is what they will always be. At least that has been my experience.
Send them both back and have John make you a glove with longer stalls in it.
I've used gloves always, but I have difficulty finding the perfect glove. I like to get one that fits really tight from the beginning because my experience has been they will stretch slightly to fit just right (sorry Charlie).
My favorite now is the ABS Super Glove which did take a while to break in, but now fits great and the cordovan tips wears like steel.
If you have a proper fit, there's nothing to stretch, and thus no stretching that will change everything. If you have something to tight, there's pressure to stretch it until it hit's the limit. My Buffalo Crossover fit's the same as when I got it, no stretch.
It seems to me the logical thing to do would be for you to keep both of them...you may want to modify each of them slightly to fit your needs and that may require using them for a while to see exactly what that entails...I understand they are a rather expensive glove but that also means that by the dividing the wear between the two of them you will be using them for a long time
DDave
My experience is that lightweight gloves, like damascus gloves, are stretch to fit, whereas heavier gloves, like American Leathers, need to be pretty close to a correct fit to start with. Personally, I would get even an American Leathers glove a little on the snug side, as I hate a sloppy fit in shooting gloves.
I like the Damascus glove and I want it to fit snug.
QuoteOriginally posted by bulldog18:
Send them both back and have John make you a glove with longer stalls in it.
By the way, I'd get on the phone with John and tell him you'd like to send back the gloves and then have him custom make a glove based on a phone conversation with you. I had a Buffalo Big Shot glove that didn't quite fit (I bought it in St Jude auction used and then resold it here on classifieds) but I used the description of the fit to talk John through the modifications needed. Thus when my Buffalo Crossover came it fit perfectly. John keep his customer data on file so when I called him a couple of weeks ago to get the new Kangaroo Crossover, he said 'I just need your credit card info again because we keep all your other information on file'. The new Kangaroo glove came with exact same fit.
I just talked with John a little while ago, Ray, and that's exactly what we're going to do. I'm having him make me one of his medium gloves, but with longer finger stalls.
John sure is a great guy, and is very accommodating.
I've had gloves from many different types of leather, from goat to deer to kangaroo. They have all stretched.
I used to buy them to fit, but after a while they got loose.
Now I buy then so they fit very snug, and when broken in they are just right.
I buy gloves at shoots so I can try on lots of different ones, then pick the one that fits properly. They can vary, even from the same maker and in the same size.
QuoteOriginally posted by Archie:
I just talked with John a little while ago, Ray, and that's exactly what we're going to do. I'm having him make me one of his medium gloves, but with longer finger stalls.
John sure is a great guy, and is very accommodating.
Good call and plan. I'm happy to pay for quality and customer service and John/American Leathers represents both.
That is great customer service!! I am looking forward to receiving my new glove.
Talk about extreme customer service...
I came home today to find my new custom glove from John at American Leathers in the mail.
Wow, that was fast, and it is great!
Thanks, John!
I got mine yesterday, looking forward to using it tomarrow. I got one size smaller, small fingers big hand. I like the feel.