More christmas gift ideas and a caution

Last week, we presented some ideas for possible Christmas gifts for your favorite angler. Several of the suggestions involved icefishing items and the rest were oriented more toward non-salmon species like Northern Pike. This week, we’ll look at several items that shooters and hunters would appreciate.

Before we begin with the items, I’d like to mention that the sky is the limit on costs of the various gadgets I’ll be mentioning. The same applies to last week’s fishing presents. If your budget is like mine, concentrate on the smaller and less expensive items. If cost isn’t a big deal, you can purchase anything from a four-figure shotgun or rifle to a complete decoy layout for waterfowl.

Every hunter and shooter can use a good knife. Models range from a small folder to a large belt knife. While the big Bowie styles look impressive, a smaller bladed knife, say around four inches or so, is actually more useful for camp chores, cooking, or breaking your trophy moose or caribou down into manageable chunks of meat. Having a water and windproof lighter and/or a waterproof match safe, or both, could be a lifesaver while out on a hunting trip.

If your hunter uses a rifle, a box of ammunition is always handy. If they hunt with a bow, a set of the proper sized arrows will come in handy. Giving a set of broadheads to fit the arrows also would be welcome. A new rifle sling or one designed to carry a bow also is handy and relatively inexpensive too. If your nimrod mostly hunts with a shotgun, a box of the right gauge and shot size ammunition could even double as a stocking stuffer.

For any of these previous suggestions, make sure you know the proper caliber and bullet weight your hunter would need, as well as the proper arrow spine, length, and preferred broadhead style your archer uses. If you don’t know or can’t figure things out, don’t be shy about asking to make sure you get something that can be used and not placed on a shelf and forgotten about because it was the wrong….

A gift of clothing isn’t always the most exciting gift, but it is much appreciated when the weather turns cold and wet. A good hat, a quality pair of gloves or nice warm socks will all go a long way toward keeping your nimrod warm and comfortable. While it isn’t required by law in Alaska, it’s still a good idea to wear some article of hunter orange colored clothing. Things like a hat or gloves or even a vest or jacket will make sure you’re not mistaken for a moose or bear by some other hunter.

If your hunter is also a reloader, a bag of cartridge cases, a few tins of primers, a pound of the proper smokeless powder, or a box of the correct caliber and weight of bullets allows them to reload cartridges for their upcoming hunt. There are multiple gadgets a reloader can use to remanufacture their ammunition. I’ve always been proud to harvest my winter’s meat with ammunition I reloaded myself. Again, check with your hunter to get the correct items.

One way to get around asking for all the details on ammunition and arrows, or any other gift you wish to give, would be to give a gift card for the specific store which stocks the correct items. You could include a note in the card containing the gift certificate detailing what you planned the gift card to be used for. One word of caution here – I got burned on a $100 gift card from a local big box store last Christmas.

When my wife went to use the card, she was told there was no balance. When I went to customer service to get things corrected, the manager said he couldn’t do anything about it and that I had to contact “corporate” by phone. After about six hours of automated answering and live bodies who claimed they couldn’t do anything, I was transferred, supposedly, to the person who could correct the problem. However, I was cut off a half-dozen times in the call transfer.

After complaining to the customer service manager about this, I was told that he refused to buy gift cards from his employer because “things always seemed to get screwed up” and didn’t necessarily get worked out properly.

If you prefer to give an actual gift, spend some time browsing items in the store of choice.