Dec 10, 2016 4 min read

The traditional deer season is a thing of the past.

The passing of the season means things get back to normal but to many of us it is like the familiar feeling of a child when Christmas has come and gone.

Some will find a glow after the success passed on to a child. Dominick Montani of Eighty Four had such a feeling when his grandson, Shane, downed his first buck, and Bobby Rogers of Prosperity witnessed the first buck taken by his son, Steven.

You see, there are other things to find satisfaction in besides just bringing home a buck.

After all, it is the hunt itself that really matters.

I find it enjoyable just saying I still hunt at an advanced age. I know I am not as good as I used to be but nature compensates. It doesn’t matter quite as much, but I’m still plugging away.

I saw Bucks this year but few hunters. I even had a coyote get by me as I watched antlerless deer mill around me. That gets the heart to pumping and the cold just disappears.

Maybe I am jumping to conclusions but it seems that the harvest was off a bit this year. Maybe it was the weather or a lack of hunters, but I have received very few calls on scoring a buck for the record book.

Maybe later or hunters are waiting for the winter sports show. I can only speculate.

Christmas is just around the corner. Most hunters forget that and are just now beginning to shop.

It might be a little early for that.

On the other side of the coin, what do outdoorsmen want for Christmas? I know he can’t have a Geisha girl but you could buy him a new rifle. For a bargain in the rifle field, look at a low-cost Ruger American. It’s a good bargain and most shooters know that, like other offerings from Ruger, it is reliable.

Maybe he needs a new .22 and none is better than the Henry, and it is made close to home.

You can’t afford a new rifle? What about a Leopold Scope? There is no American scope better or even as good as a Leopold. It has the best guarantee of any product that I know.

Still too expensive? What about Nikon for a compromise? I have a few and they aren’t bad. New hunting boots are a good idea and they can double as footwear when shoveling snow.

Forget that dress shirt. Instead, what about a new wool or heavy flannel shirt?

It still cost more than the old man’s worth? Well what about heavy socks? I would wager he could use them more than that fancy tie.

Most hunters aren’t that particular with a few exceptions. The ammo they use must be a certain weight and brand, buying anything else can be a waste of time.

Much the same can be said about hand-loading components, so unless you know more than the average about the subject it is best avoided.

I say that’s easy. A truckload of IMR 4350 or Varget and I could get by until that day my friends look down on me and I hope I leave some of it to them.

The angler can always use new line. Maybe one of those large spools of the most commonly used line. A few Roostertails or some Power Bait makes a nice gift.

Personally, I need a new creel and some No. 8 hooks for trout fishing. There is always a new fishing license that comes due the first of the year. You can purchase a license for someone else. However, that is one thing I don’t need and haven’t needed since I turned 65 years of age

There is no doubt that after deer season has come and gone there are a lot of rifles out there that could stand a good cleaning. With that in mind, a good cleaning kit makes a good inexpensive gift.

Just make sure he uses it. Like I said, grown men and women act like it’s Christmas when deer season comes so it is never wrong to give a gift related to the deer hunt.

Ohio now allows hunting with a rifle if the cartridge it utilizes has a straight walled case.

A Henry in .44 mag. would fill the bill as would one done in 45-70. But no, you can’t use the reliable 30-06. I is bottle necked.

George H. Block writers a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.