Dick Martin: Gift ideas abound for outdoorsmen

Dec. 15, 2013

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

There’s still plenty of time to buy gifts for that outdoorsman or woman though, and some gifts are obvious. Like a new firearm or fishing rod, hopefully purchased with plenty of imput from the recipient. Or a new Gortex jacket or pair of hunting pants.

But if none of these is needed or feasible, what then? You buy them some “neat stuff.” And there’s plenty to choose from.

One of the top gifts this year is likely to be a trail camera. There are several brands and any can be placed along a well-used trail to see what’s moving there each night. You might be surprised to find that a whopper buck is one of the travelers, or coyotes or foxes or even a bobcat.

Electronic gear is good too. Calling coyotes or foxes is coming back strong, and an electronic caller makes a fine gift. You can get one at most sporting goods stores with a call already inside, a howler, rabbit squeal or distress call. In some cases they can be downloaded with other calls from the Internet.

One good choice is a pair of shirt-pocket-sized walkie-talkies. I received two of these several years ago, and they’ve been useful. Like for calling up a partner in the squirrel woods to say, “Time to head back to the truck.”

Or putting one man at the end of the Huron Pier and another at the blockhouse.

“Are you catching some?”

“Yeah. Come and join me.”

Any of the larger area sporting goods stores should have them.

Books are always a good choice, and there are thousands to choose from. Check Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble.com and you’ll find bass fishing books on literally any subject from fly fishing to working structure. Ditto for walleye, panfish, trout, and more.

Local book stores can order many of these, and get them to you before Christmas. Don’t forget e-books, either. I have one myself, “Dick Martin’s Hunting and Trapping Tips.” It’s $2.99 from Barnes & Noble (Nookbooks) or Amazon (Kindle).

One of the best presents I ever gave to my outdoor loving nephew was a gift bag of fishing gear. I walked around a department store fishing department and filled a bag with hooks, sinkers, splitshot, fishing line, floats, some crankbaits, even a few ice flies, and a stringer.

He got some nice sweaters, shirts, and pants that Christmas morning, but he kept coming back to the bag, playing with its contents, arranging the lot in his tackle box, and making plans for spring.

Other Neat Stuff?

A new knife is usually welcome, maybe a razor sharp Rapala fish cleaning knife or something to dress a deer with. It never hurts to buy him or her a compass for deer or turkey hunting in strange country.

I had a wrist watch that had a compass mounted on the band, and until it died used it often. If I’m hunting new land, I check with a compass that the road is pointed north and south or whatever. If I hunt to the east I just head west to reach my pickup truck. There’s no need to keep looking over my shoulder and worrying about getting lost.

A kit is always a good gift. Depending on their interest, area sporting goods stores and such places as Cabella’s.com and L.L.Bean.com offer fly tying kits, muzzleloader rifle kits, spinner building kits, and more.

One of the best presents I received some years ago was a kit to make a single shot muzzleloading pistol. I whiled away some long winter hours working on that one.

There are flashlights too, always useful, that don’t need batteries and will shine a nice beam every time. Some will give you an hour of use for one minute of winding and others need only a little shaking to produce their light.

You might buy a wind proof lighter for times when a fire is needed in a hurry. One that Cabela’s sells will produce a super hot flame in 80 mph winds. Don’t forget multi-tools, those pocket-sized or belt sheath gadgets that combine everything from pliers to scissors and knife blades to can openers in a single tool.

And such neat stuff as knife and hook sharpeners, maybe a game processing kit, heated dog bowls, the list goes on and on. Plenty to buy and still time to buy it.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.