Gift Ideas for Gun Enthusiasts
(Other than firearms!)
For the shooting enthusiast, a gift related to shooting is an easy win. The most obvious gift — a gun — is often a personal choice, a fit for purpose choice, as well as a more costly option for a gift. It’s likely not an easy gift to give, especially if you yourself aren’t licensed yet.
This blog is for all you folks wondering, “What else could I give?” You know a shooting related gift is a good idea but you don’t know enough about the options. We’ll give you ideas and a few tips so you’ll be able to take it from there.
Eyes & Ears - An upgrade on eye or hearing protection is a nice idea — especially moving from passive to electronic for a great quality-of-life upgrade.
This is our one and only shameless plug - let’s get it out of the way - we have a variety of the extremely popular AXIL hearing protection with Blutooth connection. We also have comfortable and ballistic rated eye protection from WileyX. You can’t go wrong with these.
Creative targets – If they’re a range shooter, they can always use a few more targets. Some have games like tic-tac-toe, zombie enemies, pinball, balloons. In Canada, so long as it’s not a picture of a person it’s fair game to shoot at. Get creative!
Slings - A sling is good for both hunters and competition shooters. They help carry a rifle and makes it more comfortable for a long walk or switching between guns in competition. There are different qualities of slings you can get: there’s cheapo amazon slings and then there’s Boyt Harness and others. Pay attention to the attachment points. It helps if you know what gun you’re attaching to.
Speedloaders - If you happen to know they load by hand, then they might be the one holding up the group at the shoot… they don’t want to be that guy. Get them on the speedloading train immediately! Check out Maglula Uplula and similar. Pay attention to which clibers they shoot to select the right speedloader.
Optics - Optics are an amazing upgrade. The beautiful thing about scopes or sights as a gift is most shooters love playing around with different models so even if you get the gift a bit wrong they’re still going to love it. Optics can be a higher end gift, but they also start at the accessible price of around $50.
When looking for optics, make sure to get one that’s compatible with the firearm they use without any modification. Also keep in mind, while more expensive brand names like Trijicon and Leupold are generally good quality, you’re paying in part for the name. Do a little research and you’ll find some interesting high-quality choices at all price points.
Here’s an article by Leupold with in-depth details to help you understand mounts and scopes: https://www.leupold.com/blog/post/choosing-the-right-scope-mount-for-your-rifle
Orange Safety Gear - Seriously, hunters can always use something cool and new in Hunter Orange. Upgrade their orange style.
GPS device - Depending on how deep into the woods they like to go, The Garmin hunting series is pretty good. There are a myriad of GPS options these days — just make sure it’s reliable!
Powerbanks - Keep their gadgets running throughout their hunt. Cameras, Phone devices, flashlights, radios and whatnot. There are battery-powered AND solar-powered available! Anker Powercore Slim and BigBlue SolarPowa 28 are some to name.
Gift Certificates for Ammo! - If you’re giving the gift of saving them money, ammo is the way to go. Guns can be picky, so unless you’re sure what type they shoot, a gift certificate is the way to go! And you don’t need to be licensed to buy a gift certificate.
Experiences - Most shooting experiences are skills building. Send them on a hunting expedition, a range membership, a course, or a licence upgrade!
Happy Holiday preparing to you all!
-Range Arts
