With Christmas just days away, there is still time to buy that perfect stocking stuffer or additional gift for under the tree. Typically, the problem is deciding what to get. Here are 10 shooting-oriented ideas. The best part? Each of these presents will fit inside a Christmas stocking or fill that last hole under the tree with a guaranteed smile on Christmas morning.
Precious Metals
If you are not going to give gold or silver, give ‘em some lead! One guaranteed gift every shooter will love and definitely use is ammunition. It does not matter how many rounds a shooters has, they will always find room for a few more boxes—or even a case or two.
Defense-oriented handgunners will appreciate something along the lines of Hornady’s Critical Duty, Double Tap DT Tactical, Winchester PDX1 Defender, or Federal HST or Hydra-Shok. Have a lever action? Look for Hornady LeverRevolution. Waterfowlers always snap up a case of two of shotshells for the range and the field when on sale.
What’s the point of having extra ammunition without having a few extra magazines or a speed loader to maximize shooting time during your range visits?
Something to Punch
Shooters need targets. Paper targets, steel targets, clay pigeons—you pick the game, and Cheaper Than Dirt! has the targets. You can choose a standard, silhouette, bullseye, splatter, Walking Dead, spinner, multi-color, archery, popper, plate and a whole host of others. There is no wrong target to a shooter!
Get ‘em Some Glass
Hitting the target is so much easier when looking through the right glass. Pistol shooters will appreciate a reflex scope ranging from UTG’s Red/Green Circle Dot Reflex Sight to Trijicon’s RMR. Hunters with slug guns or those who enjoy frustrating themselves in the name of fun, have too much hair and like pulling it out a handful at a time, or screaming colorful metaphors in open fields and woodland settings (often referred to as turkey hunters) will appreciate a new scope.
Lock Up
Owning a firearm is a huge responsibility that we all undertake. Whether you own a firearm for self-defense at home or on the road, you have a responsibility to safeguard it by locking it up. Full-size safes won’t fit in the stocking, but smaller gun vaults are perfect for the nightstand or bedside. However, if your shooter already has a larger safe, consider a few accessories to preserve the contents and keep them organized.
Unload/Reload
It is a cycle. We get the ammunition, take it to the range to send bullets downrange, pick up the brass and load it up again for the next trip to the range—shoot, reload, repeat. If your shooter has never reloaded, there are complete starter sets. To add to the fun under the tree or in a stocking, look for dies, powder, bullets and brass, or a reloading manual (sort of a cookbook for reloading) for the stocking. Of course, you’ll want to be careful about sparking up the ‘ol fireplace with gunpowder in the stocking or you’ll really have a holiday to remember… when the local fire department visits.
Cleanliness Is… Work
Whoever makes the mistake of breaking into my house should be worried about contracting a case of lead poisoning, but not infection, because the gun it was fired from will have been squeaky clean. Just because your shooter has a cleaning kit, does not mean you can skip this category. Solvents, lubricants, patches—they run out and need to be replenished. You can opt for an complete kit, or let them try something new such as the environmentally-friend FrogLube (Invented by a retired Navy SEAL) or one of the most useful cleaning accessories—Swab Its. Once they try them, they’ll never want to be without them again.
Tinker or Fix
Half of the fun of shooting guns is doing a little work to them. It can be as simple as mounting an optic, replacing a trigger, or fixing something that went wrong as soon you arrived at the range or hunting camp. Either way, your shooter will want a few basic items to have on hand. A few of my favorites include Wheeler Engineering’s Gunsmithing Screwdriver kit or a simple multitool, you’ll be the hero when your shooter needs it most.
Eyes and Ears
All shooters need hearing protection. We are not just talking about one set either. All shooters should be wearing dual hearing protection. First they need some type of plug in the ear and a set of muffs to go over the ear. The concussive forces from the gasses leaving the barrel can cause damage to the inner ear over time, just as the loud report can. Protect your shooter from both.
Eyes are another body part that is hard to replace, so get a few sets of safety glasses—the more coverage, the better. Even the sound of that sentence makes you cringe. Regular glasses will not do the trick. Get a piece of hot brass between your glasses and eye one time, and you’ll know why. Likewise, you should have something that is rated for an impact such as splatter or a ricochet.
Everyone Needs a Gun (Even Chocolate)
Ok, admittedly, your shooter may have a closet full of each of the previous items on this list. One thing they are sure to appreciate, regardless of whether they are male or female, young or old is chocolate! But who wants to give the same old, tired box of chocolates they can get at the local supermarket? Why not give them the chocolate they really want shaped like a gun, bullet, or hand grenade, complete with a case from Chocolate Weapons.
Cheaper Than Dirt! Gift Card
Admittedly, gift cards are a bit cheesy and less creative than a bandolier of chocolate bullets, but a gift card from Cheaper Than Dirt!—in any denomination—is a gift sure to earn you a smile and a hug from your shooter, ensuring you gave them the perfect gift—the one they pick out for themselves from the hundreds of thousands of items online at cheaperthandirt.com.