On The Hunt: Guns as Christmas Gifts
The Christmas Season usually mean a huge increase in the number of gun sales here in the United States. Most of these sales can be attributed to the “gifter” wanting to give the “giftee” a tool that falls into one of two categories. A firearm that can be used for a lifetime of shooting sports or hunting activities, or a personal protection firearm to protect someone for a lifetime.
Shooting Sports or Hunting
If your gift is designed for a lifetime of fun in the shooting sports or hunting arena, it is important to choose the right firearm. Prices can vary wildly depending on if the intended firearm is for sporting clays, rimfire competition, bird hunting or deer hunting. Growing up, I shot sporting clays, rimfire competition and hunted for both birds and bucks and I was truly fortunate that my dad was a great gun “gifter”. For sporting clays, I was gifted a Browning Citori. For rimfire competition and plinking I had both an Browning Semi-auto rifle and Browning buckmark pistol. For hunting I got a Weatherby Vanguard in .243 Winchster. You don’t have to give an expensive firearm, but I encourage you to select a quality gun. In my case, my “gifts” are over forty years old. They have become more than just a tool, they have become a treasured family heirloom that will be passed down to my boys someday.
Personal Protection
When gun owners are asked why they bought a firearm, the number one reason given is for protection. If your intended purpose of the gift is to provide protection for a loved one, then it is imperative that they can rely on the gun when needed the most. Handguns from Glock and Smith & Wesson are some of the most reliable options out there. If you choose a shotgun, then it is hard to beat pump actions from Remington or Mossberg. Again, your gift doesn’t have to be the most expensive make or model, but focus on practical quality over gimmicky or novelty options.
Other Considerations
When deciding on which gun to give, I encourage you to reach out to trained professionals like those at Boondocks. When you spend as much time on the range working with students, you get a pretty good idea of which firearms work best for your intended purpose, and more importantly, what works best for the intended person. It doesn’t matter how nice the firearm is, if the end user doesn’t enjoy shooting the gun then the purchase doesn’t completely fulfill the purpose.
Another great option is to give the gift of training and then a gift certificate for a firearm. That way they get the best of both worlds. The knowledge and the option to pick out the best firearms for them.
