Holiday gift ideas for those who love the outdoors

With only three weeks left before the Christmas holiday, it’s definitely time to start shopping for that special and unique gift for your favorite outdoors person. Last week, I mentioned a couple of gift ideas I was interested in, neither of which are inexpensive. This week, I’ll continue the trend of what I would like (although I’m not holding my breath) along with some less expensive options your nimrod might enjoy.

Ever since they became available, I’ve thought a 10-inch diameter propane-powered ice auger for icefishing would be the way to go. I currently have an older, eight-inch diameter auger driven by a two-horse-power gasoline engine. This unit gets the work done, but a larger hole and the convenience of propane would be nice. The propane augers usually start on the first or second pull where my gas engine unit can be a little persnickety at times. Unfortunately (for me), the propane augers sell in the $500 range.

I’m having my right shoulder replaced in early January, so my days of manually winching my boat onto its trailer may be limited. I’ve thought about getting a boat trailer winch for a couple of years now. After the surgery, I might not have a choice if I still want to use my boat. From what I’ve researched to date, boat winches will run between $250 and $500 for the size I would need.

When my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said cash would be good, in any amount she felt like giving. I need to get my snowmachine overhauled and cash would help cover that cost. As you can see, my ideas on things I need/want places me in a category my mother used to describe as having Champaign tastes with a beer pocketbook!

Here are some more practical suggestions for your gift giving that cost a whole lot less.

With our winter lack of sunlight, I’ve found having a small LED flashlight in my coat pocket (I have more than one coat) a decided advantage when walking to the car or to better see when unlocking the front door after arriving home. I’ve noticed several local stores selling six-packs of these small flashlights for around $10.

I’ve recently been going through my icefishing gear to reorganize and get things ready for the season. While I have all the gear I need, your winter angler might like a new icefishing pole or maybe a new reel. There are a zillion different lures/jigs and other terminal tackle intended primarily for ice fishing in the sporting goods stores and they are usually under five dollars each. The rods and reels can be found for $30 to $50 each, including some rod/reel combinations. Combos for kids can be found for less than $10.

Years ago, I discovered the practicality of using a “hand muff” when hunting or for cold weather fishing to keep my hands warm or to re-warm them. If you don’t know what I‘m talking about, watch what the football players wear around their waists during a game. I have both brown and winter camo muffs. They run around $15 to $20.

In that muff, I keep a handwarmer. You can use either the modern one-time-use chemical warmers or you can go “old school” and use the Zippo brand metal hand warmer that uses lighter fluid as its fuel. These units can be reused repeatedly for years and cost around $18 in the outdoor stores. I bought two units over the last couple of years, but I also have my father’s handwarmer he used when hunting Michigan whitetailed deer back in the 1950’s – and it still works!

Several of you might find a firearm under the tree this year and some of you might be brand new to owning and using a firearm. A very thoughtful gift to go with that firearm is a prepaid reservation to attend a local safe firearms handling class. Sometimes the dynamic of teaching your family members about safe gun handling doesn’t always go smoothly. Learning in a more formal classroom environment from an objective third party might be best for not only the giver but the recipient of the firearm! You can inquire at the local gun shops and outdoor stores for class offerings and prices.

And, as I’ve suggested for years, if you know your recipient’s favorite outdoor store, a gift card in whatever amount you choose would be a greatly appreciated gift. Just make sure the card gets used!