5 Best Shooting Gloves That Are Navy SEAL Military Grade

For me, I choose to operate with tactical gloves, and I’ve spent a considerable amount of time conducting some good old operational tests and evaluations (OT&E) on various shooting gloves available on the market. I’ve not only taken them to the range and CQC houses, but I’ve taken many types on deployment and used them during various missions. So when I call these Navy SEAL gloves, I mean it!

Consider this my guide to what gloves I liked and the reasons why I liked them. I’ll break each combat glove down into bullet points and give them a 1 through 10 rating. 

• Manufacturer 
• Primary material (palm surface)
• Comfort and fit
• Operability while shooting
• Durability
• Drying time (for my fellow Marines, or for sweat considerations)
• Cost

I have hand-tested out somewhere around twenty-five different shooting gloves, but to keep this short and sweet I’ll focus on the five pairs of tactical gloves I get asked about most often. The military gloves that I’ll be going over will be:

 Oakley’s SI Assault Glove (black), 

Blackhawk’s Aviator OPS Glove (OD Green), 

Mechanix TAA Original Glove (black),

 5.11’s TAC AK2 Gloves (black) 

Hatch’s SOG-L50/L75 Operator Shorty Tactical.

With that in mind, remember that your personal shooting gloves, tactical gloves are going to be the ones that suit your individual needs. What I consider to be a good Navy SEAL glove or a good military glove might not be designed for your what you need in a tactical or combat glove. If you are law enforcement or are shooting in extreme cold, your best shooter gloves and your needs in a pair of tactical gloves are vastly different. I have tested these five pairs of combat gloves extensively but ultimately my rating is about my needs in a pair of tactical gloves, not yours. Hopefully this guide will help you discover what you need in a pair of tactical gloves while you pave your path to perfection.

Best Assault Gloves

#1 Oakley SI Assault Gloves

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With the highest price and the least comfort, these gloves did not impress me overly much. They are quite durable with their four-way stretch and airprene joint panels, but they are not needle proof or slash proof, which may be a concern for some of you out there looking for the best combat gloves for law enforcement. Because of their leather on mesh construction, they do not dry well, and trap sweat, a huge drawback in a pair of shooter gloves. They are operable but I wouldn’t call them the best shooter gloves. As tactical gloves go, carbon fiber knuckles are nice, but these are not the best tactical gloves available. They are classified as combat gloves, and personally, I need my combat gloves to be shooting gloves.

Best Combat Gloves

#2 Blackhawk Aviator OPS Tactical Gloves

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Highly comfortable and flexible, this feels more like a pair of gloves. The Nomex material is rated up to 800 degrees fahrenheit for flash or flame protection. Let me qualify this by saying, this is not an oven mitt. That rating means that if you are in a burning building, your gloves will not combust. When you are out there shooting your pistol all day, the heat from firing won’t bother you. I don’t recommend my crew members try to change out a hot barrel with these gloves on. They simply aren’t designed for that. These are one of the best pairs of tactical gloves for drying time and durability. I definitely recommend these gloves. They are great shooting gloves and felt secure during CQC so I recommend them as combat gloves as well.

Best Military Gloves

#3 Mechanix TAA Original Military Gloves

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With the lowest price tag and one of the best comfort ratings, I really enjoyed this pair. If you are looking for tactical gloves in terms of durability and comfort, these are your pair. Very flexible, which is surprising for their synthetic leather make up. Good feeling in the fingertips and a great grip, both of which are very important to me in a pair of tactical gloves or shooting gloves. I recommend them as one of the best gloves out there, and earn the title of Navy SEAL gloves.

Best Navy SEAL Gloves

#4 5.11 TAC AK2 Shooting Gloves

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Right away, I liked the Kevlar in these tactical gloves. Kevlar is becoming the standard for military gloves and other tactical wearables. These gloves fit well and fit fine in the AR-15  trigger guard, which is one of my biggest concerns when looking for gloves. For operability these are one of the best shooter gloves I have tried. They are definitely the best combat gloves in terms of drying time. These are slash proof and will stop a needle, so I feel that extra price tag is justified. Overall great shooting gloves for marksmen, tactical gloves for military and combat gloves for law enforcement.

Best Tactical Gloves

#5 Hatch SOG-L50 Tactical Gloves

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The first thing I noticed about these shooting gloves was that they had some fit problems. Not the most comfortable shooting gloves I’ve ever worn, and not that operable either. With their Kevlar make they will definitely last you a while, but it comes with the trade off that they don’t dry well. Now, if you are law enforcement and are looking for shash proof and needle proof gloves, these are one of the best gloves around. But for my marksman and military friends, this was not my first choice of gloves. They are bulky and loose fitting, which makes it hard to pull a trigger or pick up a pin. For CQC, these tactical gloves certainly made me feel safe. I could grab a knife if I needed to, with that Kevlar material. That said, there are other Kevlar combat gloves and tactical gloves I liked better. So while I think they are great tactical gloves for law enforcement, they are not on my list of best shooter gloves, and don’t make it into the category of Navy SEAL gloves.

Best Gloves Round Up

Well, that’s my take and the five best gloves that I’ve liked the most. You’ll notice that I didn’t total up the scores for each tactical glove because I think each feature will be weighted more or less for each shooter. What you consider the best shooter gloves is dependant on your needs, and no guide can tell you what that might be. Dry time may be very important for me, but if you never work around water, it’s not going to be as important to you.

My recommendation is to find your personal best shooter glove and stick with those. Don’t just don’t get the glove because they’re comfortable or affordable. Test them out in the conditions you intend to use them in. Remember, the first time your gear is put to the test isn’t during the actual operation. Finding the failure point of your gear is something you do during training.

Best Shooting Gloves

My personal best shooting gloves that I currently use are the PIG Full Dexterity Tactical Glove — Alpha Touch. They have a firm fit and I don’t need to cut off the index finger for better trigger manipulation. They have touch points on the index finger and thumb so I can use my mobile phone…when not in combat, of course.

Why did I not include them in my top five best gloves above? Well, they’re the newest of the shooting gloves. I haven’t had time to fully test, and I want to make sure my gear reviews are as accurate and informational as possible. Consider this my pre-review of my personal favorite tactical gloves. 

Again, this is about my personal preference, and I’m sure some people won’t agree with my assessments. But remember, they’re my assessments and if we were all the same and preferred the same thing, there would be one set of the best gloves available to all of us. I enjoy having many options to all my gear as all of us operators are uniquely built and operate differently.

If you have any questions about the best gloves, send a comment. I’ve probably tried it out and would be glad to help. If you have any tactical glove advice (positive or negative) or any comments about your personal best shooting gloves feel free to post that below.

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