Gifts for Gun Owners: What to Buy When He Already Has Everything
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Buying for a gun guy is genuinely hard. Anything mechanical he probably already researched harder than you ever will, and buying the wrong optic or holster is an expensive way to be wrong. So most people give up and buy another gift card.
Here is a better way to think about it: buy consumables, comfort, or personality. Those are the three categories he will actually use and almost never buys for himself.
Skip the gear he has opinions about
Do not buy optics, holsters, triggers, slings, or anything that bolts onto a firearm. These are personal, expensive, and he has a preference you do not know about. The return rate on well meaning gear gifts is brutal.
Category one: things he burns through
Range consumables are always welcome. Targets, ear protection, cleaning supplies, a good bore snake, quality gun oil. Nobody gets excited unwrapping cleaning solvent, but he will use every drop of it. Gift cards to his actual local range also land better than a generic retailer card.
Category two: comfort he will not buy himself
Guys will spend nine hundred dollars on a rifle and then use a folding camp chair from 2009. A decent range bag, a quality mat, a real chair, good gloves. This is where you win, because it is the stuff he has been meaning to replace for three years.
Our tactical duffle bags work for the range, the gym, and weekend trips, which is why they stay in rotation instead of living in a closet.
Category three: personality
This is the easiest category to get right and the hardest to get wrong. A shirt he actually wants to wear costs a fraction of gear and gets used constantly.
The trick is matching the humor to the person. Some guys want dark humor and parody. Some want straightforward patriotic and 2A designs. Some want something that makes people laugh at the range without saying anything political at all. Know which one he is before you order.
Two sizing notes that save returns
First, check his actual size rather than guessing. Graphic tees are not standardized between brands. Second, if he is tall, look specifically for XLT sizing rather than just buying a bigger number. A 3XL and a 3XLT fit completely differently, and the tall version is usually what he actually needs.
The reliable fallback
If you genuinely do not know, a shirt he likes plus range consumables is a better gift than one expensive thing he might return. It also looks like you paid attention, which is most of the point.