‘Tis the Season for Holiday Outdoor Shopping, Part 1
Bob McNally 12.09.15
If you’re a last-minute Santa, fret not, because there’s still plenty of time and lots of great gifts for anyone on your holiday shopping list.
For wildfowlers, one of the coolest items seen in awhile is a “marsh stool” that allows a duck or goose hunter to take the weight off his feet in even the worst mud, water, and swampland goo. Designed a bit like small and lightweight seats that golf tournament spectators use along fairways, such stools are much more durable and are designed for use in shallow water and muck.
Several companies make them, and Avery Outdoors produces one of the best (available online). Called the “Marsh Seat,” it’s lightweight, very portable with a carry-sling attachment, rugged, camouflaged, and sells for about $50.
Another nifty new item that would make a great gift for a shotgun shooter is by MOJO, the same company that makes movement decoys so popular with dove and waterfowl hunters. Called the “Pick Stick” ($30 online), it looks, weighs, and handles much like a walking staff, except the end is magnetized and can pick up as many as 25 spent shotgun shells from land, marsh, or water. It’s perfect for dove and waterfowl hunters cleaning up following a day of shooting and is invaluable for quick pick up at a skeet, trap, or sporting clays range.
If you’re looking for stocking stuffers for hunters, you can’t go wrong by purchasing shotgun shells, rifle cartridges, broadheads, and arrows (for bowmen). Talk to friends who know about the right gauge, size shot (lead or steel), and the caliber center-fire ammunition to buy.
Broadheads and arrows are very finicky choices for bowmen, so again check with hunting pals to get just the right brand, size, and weight heads or type arrows.
Shooters must wear ear protection, and a pair of Radian Custom Molded Ear Plugs is a perfect stocking stuffer for any rifle, handgun, or shotgun person. At about $15 (online), they are a bargain, and they mold so perfectly to anyone’s ears that they muffle gun reports to a soft whisper.
Deer, turkey, and wild hog hunters can always use another trail or game camera. Such remote cameras are tough, waterproof, and record activity around a hunter’s stand or hunting area so he’ll know what’s going on when not at the place. Prices of such cameras have come down greatly in recent years, but the best ones having features that make sense still are going to run in the $100 to $150 range. More expensive models do more things, mostly remotely, including sending photos and cell phone texts to hunters to alert them to activity around a game trail camera.
In the game camera arena, stick with name brands. Companies such as Browning are good, which produces a wide array of cameras, accessories, and something to fit almost anyone’s budget.
A gun safe is a wise and practical gift for hunters and shooters. A small safe that handles just handguns or several long guns may be sufficient. But big and heavy safes that hold a dozen or more rifles and shotguns are available. The best ones are almost indestructible and resist fire and theft. They’re good places to keep other valuables, too, like jewelry or cash.
