Hunting Gifts

Hunting gifts vary from useful to unusual



By **** Martin • November 30, 2008

Back when I was a kid, getting Christmas gifts for my dad was a simple business. My sister and I were given a dollar each by my mother, then we went downtown and, after considerable squabbling, bought my dad a tie.

Year after year. It's a little like that still today, and you might be wondering what to buy that outdoorsman or woman this year -- something a little different and unusual, but still useful.
There are lots of routine things, of course. A nice camouflage shirt, thermal longjohns,boots, fishing lures or whatever is typical, though most shy away from buying guns or fishing rods unless specifically coached by the recipient.

But did you ever consider buying that outdoors person a compass? Not just an ordinary compass, which can be forgotten and left home unless it lives in a hunting coat full time, but a watch compass.

I've had a small compass on my watch band for at least 30 years, and it's come in handy many a time. When I get out of the truck on a turkey huntingtrip or whatever, I check the road (east and west?), head south and when it's time to go home, just walk north. It doesn't matter whether I know the country or not, the compass knows. Most places that sell watches have at least a few compass types.

Then there are walkie-talkies: very inexpensive, but useful items. Give one to your partner on a squirrel hunt and when it's time to head out, "Hey Joe, I've got my limit. Are you ready to go?" Or "Charlie, I've found a pod of steelhead in a pool down here. Come and catch a couple." If that outdoorsman is a would-be gourmet, he might like a nice little smoker and some wood chips that can turn anything -- from a mess of trout to a cluster of venison strips -- into fine food.

Many sporting goods shops also sell vacuum-packing systems that will hold meat and fish tightly and avoid freezer burn, and nice little "dog boots" for the family beagle or coon hound in icy snow or bitter weather. There's packaged jerky in every imaginable kind -- from buffalo meat to teriyaki -- that make a good meal in a tree stand, and head lamps for those who fish or hunt at night and need their hands free.

What about a really good pair of scales that will weigh fish down to the ounce, or a reloading kit that will let him or her cheaply replace shotgun, rifle, or pistol shells? I love books and read an average of three a week, so you might buy one on a favorite sport (there are hundreds). But I have two books that I re-read yearly that are wonderful.

One is Rachel Carson's "Under The Sea Wind," a beautiful story about sea creatures, and "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau, which tells of life in the 1800s and the creatures and fishes in and around Walden Pond. They're doubtless available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and similar places by order.

Then we come to really unusual gifts like a stealth camera that can be set up along game trails and photograph whatever passes 24 hours a day, and more simple gifts like a cup holder shaped like an open-mouthed fish, gun cleaning kits and more.
Lots of choices, and no need to buy a tie this year -- or spend too much money, either.