The Best Gifts for Hunters 2025 

Hunters can present a challenge when it comes to gift buying. They already have one of these or two of those. They don’t particularly care for Model A or Brand B. There’s always the $100 Gift Card, but you really don’t want to be that impersonal, now do you? 

Fortunately, there’s an almost endless array of “I’d love one of those” gift ideas whether the hunter on your list chases waterfowl, big game, upland birds, or small game. This year, the following gift ideas will help you put the right hunting gear beneath the tree.

Hunting Gear Gift Guide 2025

The Best Gifts for Hunters

Best for Travel: Pelican V800 Vault Double Rifle Case

Built to handle rough roads, bad weather, and air travel, this is a gift that tells someone you understand their passion and want to protect the tools that make it possible. It’s designed to hold two scoped rifles, with thick protective foam inside and six sturdy latches that keep everything sealed tight. Whether you’re shopping for a hunter that drives to the deer camp or flies out west for elk season, this case gives them peace of mind that their firearms will arrive zeroed and ready to hunt.— Scott Einsmann

Best for DIY Butchers: Cabela’s Deluxe 12 Vacuum Sealer

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Securely packaging your hard-won wild game, be it fresh venison, wild turkey, or mallard duck breasts has never been as easy as it is now, thanks to Cabela’s Deluxe 12 (D12) vacuum sealer. Weighing just four pounds, the D12 features a heavy-duty commercial vacuum pump designed for years of service. User-friendly, easy-to-clean, and programmable, the D12 takes up little counter space, while offering multiple modes of operation including manual seal, pulse, Auto/Vac, Standard, and Extended, as well as ‘Canister’ option great for preserving tough-to-seal foodstuffs. 

Best Trail Camera: Tactacam Ultra

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A cellular trail camera is a perfect gift for any deer or turkey hunter. If the hunter already has a cell cam, they’ll be happy to have another (you can never have to many cameras out there). And if they don’t have camera get, then your gift will get them in the game. And there’s not a trail camera out there that’s more effective and easy to use than the Tactacam Ultra. The Outdoor Life crew thoroughly tests trail cams every year, and the Tactacam Ultral won their editor’s choice award, hands down, in 2025. Features include: Up to 4K photo definition, up to 96 feet of flash range, Low-glow or no-glow flash settings, 16 gb of internal storage, powered by 12 AA batteries, live video, on-demand photos, GPS enabled. 

Best for Backcountry Hunters: PRO Chest Pack

This chest pack is designed to holder a hunter’s binoculars, and much much more. For backcountry hunters, a chest pack is a critical piece of gear and there are few out there that offer more features than the Kuiu Pro. It includes: magnetic closure for maximum quietness, adjustable main pouch for proper bino fit, rail-lock system for bottom accessory, rail-lock mount for ammo holder, plus a variety of extra pockets. It comes in five different camo/solid color options (I don’t think you can go wrong with solid Ash). This is an ideal gift for a big game hunter or even a turkey hunter, who needs quick access to optics and other critical gear. 

Best for Outdoor Life Readers: OL Merch

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Maybe the hunter on your list already has … well, everything. If they’re a gearhead and a gun nut, there’s a good chance that they’re also an Outdoor Life reader. In that case, there’s no better gift idea than an item from our new line of merch. We’ve got slick “Rooster” hoodies as pictured in the photo above, plus t-shirts featuring more classic art from our archives. There’s also cover prints, OL branded knives, and more. Check out our full line of merch here.

Best for Duck Hunters: Northern Flight Waterfowl Backpack

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Sure, the description says ‘Waterfowl Backpack,” and all duck hunters should have one of these, but don’t let the name fool you. This well-built large capacity pack has 101 uses in the field, e.g. camera bag, lunch box, blind bag, and dry clothes storage to name just a handful. With over 1,550 cubic inches of interior space, the Northern Flight backpack is crafted of rugged 600D polyester with a water-resistant polyurethane coating to help keep what’s inside nice and dry. There’s plenty of pocket, glove-friendly zippers, a huge main compartment, hydration pouch, and MOLLE attachment points for additional capacity. In other words this is an excellent hunting pack for a variety of scenarios. 

Best Gift for a Deer Hunter: TideWe Heated Hunting Chair

How many times have you wished for some warmth while waiting out that trophy whitetail from inside the chilly confines of that late January ground blind? Thanks to the innovative minds at TideWe and their heated hunting chair, turning up the thermostat just became possible. At first glance, the chair seems ordinary enough – adjustable height; swiveling through 360 degrees; armrests; and a detachable gear pouch. But this chair adds a little spice in the form of battery-powered heat. Three heat levels (100 through 130 degrees), long 10-hour  battery life at the lowest setting, and a fast three-hour charge time make this ‘hot seat’ a Must-Have this winter.

Best Gift for a Turkey Hunter: Quaker Boy Road Warrior Boat Paddle Call

Seventeen inches sounds ridiculously long for a turkey box call, eh? Quaker Boy’s Road Warrior Boat Paddle is all that, but she brings to the spring woods a sound unlike any other. Insanely high pitched with an unheard-of backend rasp, the boat paddle is the right medicine for those situations where wind, distance, or hunting pressure prove a challenge. If you hunt Rio Grandes in Texas or Merriams in open country, you absolutely need a Road Warrior in your turkey vest this season. But she’s a doozy coast to coast, regardless of the subspecies.

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There’s nothing worse than slipping your feet into cold wet boots. Fortunately, the folks at PEET Dryer have the answer in their original boot dryer. The PEET dryer uses convection to push warm air upwards through specially designed chambers and ports to dry shoes and boots of all shapes, sizes, and material types. Safe enough to operate 24/7, this makes the perfect gift for anyone who goes outside, but especially hunters who are prone to get their boots wet.

Best EDC Assisted Open Knife: Benchmade ‘Claymore’

A good knife is something special. It has to be sharp, able to hold an edge, easy to maintain, and perhaps most of all, tough. That in a nutshell is Benchmade’s Claymore. The non-serrated Claymore  (Model 9070BK) sports a 3.6-inch blade and a lightning fast push-button automatic opening system with an integrated safety lock. Note: there is also a semi-serrated variant. The Grivory handle stays in your palm, even when wet. Give your bestie the sharpest gift this year. 

Best Portable Solar Charger: Dark Energy Spectre 18W

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You don’t have to be a techie to appreciate the indispensable value of Dark Energy’s Spectre solar panel. Providing 18 watts of maximum output, the Spectre is built around an incredibly lightweight (20.5 ounces) array of three Photo-Skyn foldable solar panels, all encased in and protected with Armor-Flex, that posting a 200-pound crush rating. This waterproof unit features both USB-A and -C ports, and is best paired with Dark Energy’s Poseidon PRO portable power bank, which the Spectre will charge fully in four hours. This is an ideal gift for hunters who camp (or who might not have power at the shack). 

Best Foraging ID Book: “All That the Rain Promises and More” 

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Hunters often like to forage while they’re in the field. But wild mushrooms are nothing to be guessed at when it comes to their edibility. Some make wonderful meals, while others can make a person terribly sick, or worse. This makes a good mushroom identification book an absolute necessity for the forestland forager. And few are as comprehensive as David Arora’s All That The Rain Promises, and More. An educator in the field of micology, Arora’s easy to understand descriptive prose, along with his excellent photographs, takes much of the mystery out of separating the ‘good’ from the ‘not so good’ when it comes to fungi.

Best Tactical-Style Boot: 5.11 ATAC 2.0 8” Shield Boot

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It’s not often I get all verklempt about footwear; however, I’ve definitely made an exception with 5.11 Tactical’s ATAC 2.0 Shield boot. My first pair were purchased as wildland firefighting boots in 2023. Since then, I’ve worn those ragged and am now wearing Pair #2. Every. Single. Day. The ATAC Shield’s are as comfortable as slippers, but tough as iron. Whether fighting fire or running chainsaw, I’ve come to appreciate the boot’s lightweight protective Carbon-TAC toe, strong ankle support, and non-slip outer sole. Plus, the side zipper makes for quick ‘n easy on/off. The hunter in your life will appreciate these boots during hunts and general days in the field.

Best Waterproof Gear Box: YETI Loadout Gobox 1 Gear Case

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Virtually indestructible. That’s the best way to describe YETI’s latest introduction, the Loadout Gobox 1 Gear Case. Built out of what the company refers to as ‘Defender II Material,’ the Gobox 1 is the perfect hard case if you’re looking to safely store items such as a wallet, passport, keys, portable power, or anything else. The Gobox 1 seals out Mother Nature, while providing roughly 56 cubic inches of interior space, yet only weighing 1.7 pounds. The Gobox 1 is ideal for kayakers, rafting enthusiasts, off-roaders, mountain bikers, and of course, hunters. And it’s available in five different colors.

Best for Around $25: ThermaCELL MR300 Portable Mosquito Repeller 

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There are about 101 different ways to repel mosquitoes but few are as effective and easy to use as a ThermaCELL. The lightweight MR300 uses a cylindrical fuel canister to gently warm a small metal plate, which in turn activates the material infused into the unit’s repellent mat. This repellent diffuses into a 15 square-foot zone of protection around the unit, keeping mosquitoes at bay within 15 minutes and (under optimal conditions) for as long as four hours. No batteries. No DEET sprays. And it’s safe to use around pets. 

Best for Around $50: Wildgame Innovations Terra XT Cellular Trail Camera

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Once thought of as a tool strictly for deer hunters, digital trail cameras have grown in popularity across the entire outdoor spectrum. The Terra Xtreme Digital Trail Camera from Wildgame Innovations is a user-friendly 16 megapixel (MP) camera capable of shooting both still photography and video, and detecting movement out to 60 feet. Powered by eight (8) AA batteries (not included), the Terra Xtreme features a lightning-fast 0.7-second trigger speed, meaning you won’t miss that big whitetail, nesting barn owl, or the half-grown opossum that’s raiding your retriever’s food bowl at midnight.

Best for Under $100: Minus 33 Raglan T-Shirt

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The problem with base layers is they’re often bulky, proving uncomfortable when worn as intended. That’s not the case with Minus 33’s ‘Woolverino’ Microlight Raglan t-shirt. Made of 84 percent incredibly soft and indescribably warm merino wool, this lightweight true-to-definition base layer tee weighs 136 grams. It features a crew neck, compression style fit, and a full range of motion; and did I mention how ridiculously warm it is? Oh, and Minus 33 offers a terrific line of socks, too. 

Best Gun Cleaning Kit: Breakthrough Clean Technologies Universal Cleaning Kit

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Firearm maintenance should be a concern of all hunters. Fortunately, the Allen Company’s Breakthrough Clean Technologies Universal Cleaning Kit helps make the job much easier. Included in the tough ammo can container are a variety of nylon brushes, brass patch jags, two multi-section cleaning rods, patches, swabs, a silicone gun cloth, solvent, and a bottle of ‘Battle Born’ high purity gun oil. It’s everything you need to clean a gun in one place.

Best Multi-Tool: Leatherman BOND Multi-tool

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With most humble beginnings in Portland, Oregon, in 1983, the now-famous Leatherman multi-tool has become one of the most recognized pieces of outdoor equipment ever crafted. Today, Tim Leatherman’s ‘BOND’ model contains everything an outdoor enthusiast needs to fix…well, anything. Weighing in at less than six ounces, the BOND packs 14 different implements, including a knife blade, Phillips and Flat screwdrivers, awl, file, and, of course, a strong set of pliers. 

Best Entry-Level Air Rifle: Crosman 760 Pumpmaster

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Even in these modern times of precision air rifles, there’s still something to be said about Old School stuff — like Crosman’s 760 Pumpmaster air rifle. Now here’s a tool developed specifically to introduce young or new shooters to the shooting sports. The 760 handles both .177 caliber pellets and BBs, sending them downrange at 615/700 and 645 feet-per-second, respectively. A crossbolt safety, synthetic stock/fore-end, grooved receiver to accommodate a 4x scope, and traditional front/rear blade sights make this the perfect gift for all ages.