Father's Day Gifts for the Hunter Dad

Gift certificate to LL Bean. He'll never shop there himself unless he absolutely has to, too expensive, he says! Well, if you get him a gift card to the store, then he doesn't have much of a choice! He can choose between shopping online, or going to any number of retail stores, or he can make a trip of it and head to the huge complex of stores in Freeport, Maine, where there's a Hunting and Fishing store, the Flagship store, and the Outlet store all within feet of each other. This way, he can pick and choose from the accessories he may not have. Alternatively, a gift certificate to any outdoor store can work.

Cleaning kit. Find out what kind of gun/guns he has, and head to a local outdoors store to find him some cleaning supplies. My dad uses old shirts for cleaning and says they work better than the rags that come with the kits, so don't go overboard with cleaning cloths, but oil and other products that need to be replaced over time are a good idea.

Gun cabinet. This is going to be a pricey gift, but if the one that he has is old, or even if he doesn't have one, a gun cabinet is a safe and handsome way to store all sorts of guns. Many come in different wood finishes, with windows that sometimes have etchings of wildlife on them. If there are kids in the house, especially young ones, a gun cabinet is a necessity. Safety is very important to most of the hunters I know, especially the ones with kids!

Camouflage or Blaze Orange gear. Depending on where you live and what kind of hunting Dad does, clothes are part of the hunting experience. In Maine, a lot of hunting is done during the end of fall and beginning of winter. It's cold! Long johns are important that time of year. Also, during most hunting seasons, hunters must wear at least two articles of blaze orange clothing. A hat and a vest is what most people wear. For bow hunting, camouflage is the attire of choice.

Gift certificate to a meat cutter. It sounds utilitarian, but the price of meat cutting is nothing to scoff at. Look in your local yellow pages or ask around and find out where he usually goes when he bags his buck, and see if they'll do a gift certificate for you. That way, it will be there next time he has a successful hunt.

Happy Father's Day!