Gift Guide for Hunters – Updated

Let’s face it: buying gifts for hunters can be hard. Hunters tend to have strong preferences and very different needs for specialized equipment. Plus, it’s hard to know what gear a hunter already has or will value. If you have a hunter on your gift list, HuntTested is here to help. Here’s our carefully curated list of top gift ideas that the hunter on your gift list will love.

General Hunting Gifts

Here are some fail-safe gifts that every hunter could use and will absolutely appreciate.

• Flash Light – Every gift list I write will always include a flashlight because everyone can always use another quality flashlight. This year, our choice is the Streamlight Wedge XT. It is a high-quality, rechargeable EDC light. $90—Streamlight. 
• Wool Blanket – A quality wool blanket is great for adding insulation to a sleeping bag, for your emergency kit in your truck, or for tons of other uses. The Pendelton Yakima Camp Blanket is a favorite – $189 – Pendleton.
•  Wool Socks – When in doubt a pair of quality wool socks like Smart Wool’s Hunt Sock is always welcome. – $26 – Smart Wool.
• Ammo – Everyone can always use more ammo! Unsure what they use? Everyone has a .22 rifle. Buy them a brick of .22 rounds. Federal Premium is a HuntTested favorite!
• Conservation Membership—Buy or renew a membership in your hunter’s favorite conservation organization. Here’s a complete list of the top Conservation Groups.
• Mystery Ranch Void Bags – My travel bag for hunting trips is a large canvas duffle that can endure just about anything. The challenge is finding specific items in a voluminous bag. These high-quality organization bags elegantly help you quickly find the gear you’re looking for on your next hunt. $50 – Mystery Ranch

Hunting Knife and Tool Gifts

No one has ever said, “I have too many knives.” These failsafe gift ideas!

• Folding Knife –  The Benchmade Mini Bugout 553 is an excellent folding knife with a black carbon fiber handle and premium American-made CPM-S30V Steel $150 – Benchmade
• Fixed Blade Knife – I’m going old school with my knife suggestion this year; since I was a kid, my dad carried a Buck Knives 102 Woodsman when we were deer hunting. He’s dressed countless deer with it, and it’s still going strong. It’s quite possibly the perfect whitetail knife. It’s a great size, holds an edge and is a great value. $75 – Buck Knives
• MultiTool – I rarely leave the house without a multitool handy, and there is always one in my hunting pack. Tim Leatherman invented the category and continues to perfect it. The Leatherman Wave model is a personal favorite. – $110 – Leatherman
• Small Axe – Swedish steel makes the best hatchets and axes. You’d be hard-pressed to find a nicer one than the Gransfors Bruk Small Forest Axe. On multiple trips, I’ve carried one across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and found this small axe infinitely handy – $225 – Gransfors Bruk.

Gifts for Upland Hunters

If you have an upland bird hunter on your list, we guarantee they’ll enjoy one of these items.

• WaterPORT GoSpout 2 Gallon Portable Water Tank – I’m really digging the utility of having a pressurized rinse kit on pheasant hunts. It’s super handy for rinsing birds before bagging them up and for cleaning your game shears. The 2-gallon capacity is more than enough to rinse half a dozen pheasants thoroughly.  – $160 from WaterPORT
• Upland Game Vest – Every upland hunter would appreciate a new upland game vest; we have all our top choices detailed HERE
• Waterproof Upland Pants – Last year, I hunted pheasants all day in freezing rain. I was soaked and cold. This year, I wore LL Bean’s excellent Tek Upland Waterproof Briar Pants, and I was warm and dry. Any upland hunter will appreciate a pair of these pants for the inevitable cold and wet days. – $199 – LL Bean.
• Game Shears – I’ve cleaned hundreds of pheasants over the years using game shears; they are the perfect tool for the job. Gerber game shears are a favorite. – $16 – Gerber
• Pheasants Forever Membership– A fail-safe gift is membership in Pheasants Forever. They offer a variety of membership levels with associated benefits. Click to join

Big Game Hunting Gifts

• OnX Hunt App – If you know anyone who isn’t using onX, I’d be surprised, but if you have a “late-adopter” of tech on your gift list, buy them an Elite OnX membership. They’ll have complete access to all 50 states of private/public land ownership and a growing list of map overlay layers. More than anything I’ve tried in the last ten years, OnX has been a game changer for how I hunt. – $29 per year for one state, $99 for 50 States – OnX Maps
• Gunwerks Elevate 2.0 Bipod – Any western big game hunter needs a solid bipod. This Gunwerks Elevate 2.0 bipod is full of innovative features and was designed to be the perfect bipod to pair with any lightweight hunting rifle. – $395 – Gunwerks
• Primos Trigger Stick – I recently carried these trigger sticks on a moose hunt, and they doubled as walking sticks. These innovative sticks are instantly ready to provide a solid rifle rest and are a must-have for every hunter. – $150 – Primos Trigger Sticks 
• Wool Shirt – You cannot beat wool. LL Bean’s heavy Maine Guide Shirt is my favorite wool hunting shirt, and it’s been quite lucky over the years. – $150 – LL Bean
• Cellular Game Cam – A cellular game cam will keep a deer hunter entertained all year, and they can always use another one. The Stealth Cam Fusion is a solid, moderately priced choice.  – $144 – Stealth Cam

Gifts for Duck Hunters

• Duck / Goose Calls – Waterfowl hunters love to collect duck and goose calls. It’s as close as they get to “bling”. This Duck Commander Jase Robertson Pro Series Duck Call in fancy Chartreuse Acrylic is a solid gift choice. – $45 – Duck Commander
• Duck ID Guide – My buddy Doug can identify ducks from a half-mile away. “What’s that?” I’d ask, “Ringbill,” Doug would reply – while it’s entirely plausible that Doug is just guessing – every duck hunter who wants to be able to identify ducks on the wing better would appreciate Delta Waterfowl’s North American Waterfowl Identification Guide – $24.95 – Delta Waterfowl

Shooting Gifts

• Tipton Best Gun Vise – A gun vise is a core piece of equipment for any shooter. I use mine constantly for mounting scopes and cleaning rifles. – $90 – Tipton
• Boyt Harness Signature Series Gun Case – This is the only case I trust with my rifles and shotguns; it makes a great gift, too! $124 – Boyt Harness
• Noise Cancelling Ear Muffs – I was just at a busy shooting range and was so glad I had high-quality hearing protection. If you spend any time at the range, you need quality hearing protection. For the price point, the Walkers Razor Slim Electronic Muff is an excellent option. – $50 – Walkers

Gun Pick: Turnbull Finished Ruger Mark IV

The gun I would REALLY like under my tree this year is this custom Turnbull Finished Ruger Mark IV in .22LR

Starting with a factory-new Ruger Mark IV pistol, Turnbull polishes the tube and barrel and then color case hardens it using their signature traditional bone charcoal method, creating a truly unique heirloom-quality gun.

Available in Target and Standard versions starting at $750 – Turnbull Restoration

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