• Camouflage clothing can be a useful gift for a hunter.duck hunter image by cherie from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether it's the holiday season or just a birthday, shopping for a hunting and shooting enthusiast can be difficult when you aren't one yourself. After all, if you've never fired or even held a rifle before, it's virtually impossible to just guess what the hunter in your life might want or need. By paying attention to his hunting habits, talking to his friends and focusing on universal gifts, though, you can determine just what he might like.
  
  

Field and Storage

• Practical gifts are surely welcome, especially when hunters have so many expensive accessories to buy for themselves. If you aren't sure what to get, you might be thinking too specifically. Don't buy a scope or a reloading mechanism for a gun you aren't even sure your recipient owns. Instead, think of big-picture items. Every hunter and gun enthusiast needs a sturdy, high-quality gun cabinet, for example. Hunters may benefit from field dressing gifts, like knife sharpeners or tools that help dress carcasses. Other useful items may include a new compass for navigation or a higher quality tree stand than he already owns. If your gun lover only carries a sidearm, she may appreciate a stylish, high quality holster.
  
  

Memberships

• Gun lovers and hunters need an outlet to share their love with others, since simply going into the woods alone may be lonely for some. Buy your significant other a membership to a local gun club or shooting range where he can practice his shooting while trading tips and socializing with other local gun enthusiasts. On a national level, a membership to the National Rifle Association (NRA) is appropriate for all gun owners, whether or not they hunt. If your gun owner already belongs to these organizations, consider something personally useful. For example, you may be able to buy the hunter's hunting and fishing license from the state. Some states even sell lifetime licenses, so if you're feeling generous, you could equip him with the right to hunt for years to come.
  
  

Clothing

• Wearing the right clothing is crucial for a hunter, particularly one who hunts in the colder fall and winter months. Heavy-duty, waterproof boots and thermal socks, for example, can protect your hunter's feet from the harsh elements when wading through rain, mud and snow. Insulated hunting suits are similarly useful, but do some careful sleuthing to see if she prefers orange or camouflage patterns. Gloves are also important. Give your hunter a thin, tight pair of cotton gloves to wear under a bulkier pair of insulated gloves.