A Cornucopia of Outdoor Gifts

Story by Elliot Heggenstaller, Age 16

For some reason, non-outdoorspeople seem to find it difficult to choose proper holiday gifts for outdoorspeople, tending to feel that anything camouflage or vaguely natural is a suitable gift. The best answer to this is to let them know what you want, so you don’t have to feign happiness over a camouflage ruler and rosin antler wine rack. That’s why I’m here with a few suggestions that I think you’ll end up enjoying much more than that camo can cozy.     

We all have those relatives who give books in an effort to counteract the electronic trend sweeping the world. Unfortunately, good solid outdoors books about hunting and shooting can be far and few between. So without further ado, here are suggestions for two books you’ll actually read:

The Last Ivory Hunter: The Saga of Wally Johnson by Peter Hathaway Capstick. Detailing the life and times of narrator and former professional hunter Wally Johnson with occasional notes by Capstick, this book is lurid with the gory (some folks who are tougher than I might say “realistic”) detail that any book by Capstick unleashes. It also has several sections of pictures.

American Rifle: A Biography by Alexander Rose. Rose gives the who, what, when, where, why and how of every American military rifle. Rose writes excellent prose and includes swathes of information throughout the text. Read this book several times and you‘ll have the equivalent of a B.A. in American military arms.  
 
Other good books include Journal of a Trapper by Osborne Russell, The Rifle Book or The Hunting Rifle by Jack O’Connor, Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, The Winchester Handbook by George Madis, Pet Loads by Ken Waters and Firearm Blueing and Browning by R.H. Angier.
 
Beyond books, here are some gifts which may seem mundane, but which you will use for the rest of your life:
Get a compass. I don’t mean those plastic jobs that come in the box with your fast-food meal, but a decent compass that will last your entire life pointing north. Last year I got lost hunting deer, but if I had had a compass, I would have figured out the right side of the mountain before I walked into a cow pasture.

Wool Socks. The socks you’re looking for should have so much wool in them that they baa. These will keep your feet warm whenever, wherever. When I got lost, the rest of me was hypothermic, but my feet were toasty warm.
 
A no-frills pocketknife. Here is the important part to remember: You’re a hunter, not a tactical operator. You don’t need some Super-Stainless, window-smashing, seatbelt-slashing, potato-mashing wonder that legally qualifies as a sword. You want a straightforward old pocketknife with carbon steel blades and handles that are meant to help you hold the knife, not scale fish or grind pepper. I usually carry an old Imperial Kamp-King with awl, can opener and screwdriver/bottle opener.
 
Neatsfoot Oil. If you have anything leather, you need this. Brush it on boots and slings to preserve them and keep them soft. It smells a little odd, but try to convince yourself that it’s the smell of the wild outdoors.
 
Well, that’s it. They may not be the fanciest gifts, but you don’t need fancy, you need quality, irregardless of haute couture or smell!