Do you struggle with the ads for Father’s Day and all the unnecessary commercialism surrounding “Just what dad wants!”? Perhaps a better plan is to turn off social media and the TV ads and think about what your dad would like; what is important to him? Here are a few ideas to help you start thinking about giving a gift that comes from the heart and with sincerity.
Plan an Outing
If your dad likes to hunt, consider how much he might enjoy spending time outdoors with you, your family and his grandkids. Maybe that means planning a hunting trip for the fall, or scouting a new hunting area, blazing trails, or repairing or building blinds for hunting season. Summer is a great time to get ahead on the year’s hunting goals. Maybe it’s just cleaning out the freezer and making his favorite dish with wild game.
Ideas related to hunting:
- Plant a food plot. Research your state regulations on food plots and consider what you can do to attract and nourish game where you hunt.
- Check on the hunting blinds. Clean out debris. Cut a clear lane of fire in areas you commonly see game travel. Inspect your blinds for any animals that might be trying to make them a home—like the neighborhood squirrels.
- Blaze new paths or scout new hunting areas. Perhaps your dad wants to hunt a new location for deer. Consider a drive and time spent together investigating new hunting spots on public land.
- Find an outdoor show or gun show and check out new products related to the hunting you do together.
- Inventory hunting ammo for the coming year.
- Go over what cuts of meat might be in the freezer from last year’s hunting and decide where to focus for the coming year. Maybe dad decides that he wants to make venison bacon and your research what the best place to take the meat for processing is going to be.
Head to the Range
Maybe your dad is a serious gun geek and likes to go to the range or competitive shooting matches. Consider going with your dad to the range. You don’t have to be serious about competition to enjoy time with your dad.
Suggestions for those of you with dads who are gun enthusiasts:
- Surprise him and sign up for a competition with him. You don’t have to do anything super complicated—a steel challenge match is low-key and you just need a .22 rimfire.
- Register for a round of shotgun shooting somewhere local. Many shooting clubs offer 5-stand or clay shooting that is relaxing and features a nice walk in the woods in the process. You can even build your own “range” in the right place and shoot shotguns at clays with some simple gadgets—maybe this is actually a gift you buy because it’s fun to share! But shooting clay targets is an enjoyable way to learn safety and accuracy while keeping it low key.
- Just go to the range and plink. Think of the times you’ve spent with your dad on the range zero-ing for hunting season or just setting up a new rifle. Maybe you have never done this, so now is a great time to let Dad pass down his knowledge and give him the gift of your company.
- Build a new gun for hunting or home defense. Maybe your dad has always said he’d like to help you set up a rifle for hunting or a home defense firearm. Make time to do this with him.
Share History
Father’s Day doesn’t have to be a holiday forced on children or parents. Perhaps just your presence and company is enough of a gift. You don’t need any reason to say hi to your dad and spend time with him.Memorable ways to share time and history with your dad:
- Bring some photos over that you have never printed from hunting trips. Or spend time together deciding what photos to print. This could be a great project for grandchildren—to sit with grandpa and hear stories of past hunting adventures.
- Clean out the safe and inventory ammo. Every gun owner’s safe can generally use a little TLC in terms of going over guns and ammo: are things properly wiped down with oil? Are magazines stored with the correct firearm? Is ammo properly labelled? Maybe dad has great stories about the history of a firearm that’s a family heirloom. This is a great time to share that.
- Go visit a place you hunted in the past or the back forty of the farm grandpa grew up hunting on. Maybe it’s just an excuse for a road trip and a meal.
- Work together on mounting that turkey tail fan or your skull mount from last year’s hunting.
Time spent with loved ones is a bigger gift that we can sometimes understand. Giving of yourself and your time are bigger investments than gadgets and gear. So whatever way you choose to celebrate your father, do it with intent.
