The 2025 Shooting & EDC Gift Guide: What to Actually Buy for Shooters and Hunters
Let’s be honest—shopping for the gun enthusiast in your life can feel impossible. They probably already have opinions about every piece of gear in their collection, and giving them something they’ll tolerate (let alone love) means doing your homework. The good news? We’ve done that homework for you.
This isn’t a random list of products we’re trying to move. These are the shooting gifts, hunting essentials, and EDC gear we actually use, trust, and recommend without hesitation. Whether you’re shopping for a precision rifle competitor who obsesses over sub-MOA groups, a hunter who spends weeks in the backcountry, or someone who’s constantly optimizing their everyday carry setup, this guide has you covered.
And if you want to see everything in action, we put together a complete video walkthrough where we dive deeper into each product, explain why we chose it over alternatives, and show how it performs in real use. Worth checking out if you’re torn between a few options.
Best Gifts for Precision Rifle Shooters
Precision Rifle Series competitors don’t mess around. They’re chasing tenths of an inch at distance, and their gear has to perform flawlessly when match pressure is on. These picks deliver the accuracy, consistency, and reliability that serious competitors demand.
Defiance Ruckus Tactical Action
If someone on your list is building or upgrading a competition rifle, the Defiance Ruckus Tactical is one of the best foundations you can give them. This action is engineered for rigidity and repeatable precision—exactly what match shooters need when they’re sending rounds downrange at 1,000 yards. It’s proven, it’s trusted by top competitors, and it’s built to last a lifetime.
Perfect for the shooter who’s ready to build their dream precision rifle or upgrade from a factory action. This is competition-grade hardware that serious shooters will immediately recognize and appreciate.
🔗 Shop Defiance Ruckus Tactical Action
Shield Precision Contoured Palma Rifle Barrel Blank
A precision rifle is only as good as its barrel, and the Shield Precision Contoured Palma blank is exactly what match shooters want under the hood. The Palma profile offers the perfect balance of weight and stiffness for competition use, and the craftsmanship behind these blanks is top-tier. If they’re building a custom rifle or working with a gunsmith on their next competition gun, this barrel blank is the kind of gift that shows you understand what they’re after.
This is for the shooter who’s past factory rifles and ready to build something truly custom. It’s a serious gift for a serious competitor.
🔗 Shop Shield Precision Palma Barrel Blank
SG Pulse Scope Level
Here’s a small gift that makes a massive difference: a quality scope level. The SG Pulse is designed to eliminate cant error—one of the biggest culprits behind missed shots at distance. It’s fast to reference, competition-ready, and simple enough that it never gets in the way. Every precision shooter needs one, and most are still using mediocre levels that don’t quite cut it.
This is the perfect stocking stuffer for any long-range shooter. It’s affordable, practical, and immediately useful.
Best EDC Gifts for Everyday Carry Enthusiasts
EDC people are always looking for that next piece of gear that makes their daily carry setup just a little more efficient. These products are practical, well-designed, and built to handle real everyday use—not just look good on Instagram.
Shield Arms Junk Sack
The Junk Sack is one of those products that people don’t know they need until they have one. It’s a rugged, fast-deploying concealed carry pouch that keeps essentials accessible without the bulk of a full bag. Toss your wallet, keys, knife, flashlight, and spare mag inside, and you’ve got everything you need in one grab-and-go package.
It’s small enough for daily carry but tough enough to handle abuse. If they’re always juggling pockets full of gear or looking for a better way to organize their EDC items, this solves that problem elegantly.
Gamble Renegade Knife
A quality EDC knife is something people use every single day, and the Gamble Renegade checks every box. It’s sharp, functional, beautifully designed, and built to last. Whether they’re opening boxes, prepping food at camp, or just need a reliable blade in their pocket, this knife delivers.
This is a gift that gear lovers and knife collectors will genuinely appreciate. It’s not a cheap gas station blade—it’s a legitimate everyday tool that looks as good as it performs.
Viktos Counteract SBR Backpack
For the person who needs discreet carry for compact firearms or just wants a seriously capable EDC backpack, the Viktos Counteract SBR is hard to beat. It’s designed to carry short-barreled rifles, PDWs, or folding pistols (including the Shield Arms SA-9) without screaming “tactical backpack” to everyone around you.
The feature set is deep—dedicated weapon compartment, organizational pockets, durable construction—but it maintains a low profile. Perfect for anyone who needs to carry serious gear in everyday environments without drawing attention.
🔗 Shop Viktos Counteract SBR Backpack
Shield Arms S15 Magazines for Glock 43X/48
If they carry a Glock 43X or 48, they need S15 magazines. Period. The S15 gives them 15 rounds in the same flush-fit footprint as the factory 10-round mags—that’s 50% more capacity without sacrificing concealability. Made from steel, backed by a lifetime warranty and Spring for Life guarantee, these magazines are the single best upgrade for Glock slimline carriers.
This is one of those gifts where they’ll immediately understand how much thought you put into it. Every serious 43X/48 carrier wants these magazines.
🔗 Shop Shield Arms S15 Magazines
Gifts You’re Definitely Buying for Yourself (But Wrapping for Someone Else)
Look, we all do it. You see something awesome, realize it would make a “great gift,” and then somehow it ends up in your safe instead of under the tree. Here are the products most likely to trigger that extremely relatable problem.
Shield Arms SA-9 Folding Pistol
The SA-9 is a compact, modern 9mm pistol built on Shield Arms’ patented folding lower receiver technology. It folds in half for discreet transport, fits in small bags (like that Viktos backpack we just mentioned), and shoots like a full-size pistol when deployed. It’s innovative, it’s fun to shoot, and it’s absolutely the kind of gift you’ll “test out” before wrapping.
Let’s be real—if you’re buying this as a gift, you’re also buying one for yourself. That’s just science.
🔗 Shop Shield Arms SA-9 Folding Pistol
Shield Arms S15 Magazines (Again, Because You Can Never Have Too Many)
We already covered these above, but seriously—if you’re buying S15 magazines as a gift, you’re grabbing extras for yourself. That’s not greed, it’s just smart planning. Magazines are consumables in the long run, and having backups is never a bad idea.
Plus, at this point, you’ve already justified the purchase in your head. Just embrace it.
🔗 Shop Shield Arms S15 Magazines
Skald Coffee
Great coffee isn’t just a gift—it’s fuel for early morning range trips, late-night reloading sessions, and those 4 AM wake-ups before hunting season. Skald Coffee is small-batch, high-quality coffee roasted right here in Montana. It’s Norse-themed (because why not), tastes excellent, and pairs perfectly with any outdoor or shooting lifestyle.
This is the gift you buy “for them” and then immediately order another bag for yourself because you’re not sharing your good coffee with anyone.
Best Gifts for Hunters and Backcountry Enthusiasts
Hunters need gear that can handle harsh terrain, long days, and whatever nature throws at them. These products are built tough, designed for field use, and proven in real backcountry conditions.
Tricer Tripods
Glassing from a stable platform makes all the difference in the field, and Tricer builds some of the best ultralight hunting tripods available. They’re engineered to provide rock-solid stability for spotting scopes and binos without adding unnecessary weight to your pack. For the hunter who spends hours behind glass looking for game, a quality tripod is essential gear.
This is a gift for serious hunters who understand that weight matters but stability matters more. If they’re still glassing freehand or using a cheap tripod, this upgrade will change their entire hunting experience.
Nimrod by Shield Knife & Tool
Every hunter needs a reliable field knife, and the Nimrod is purpose-built for processing game and handling campsite tasks. It’s durable, functional, and designed by people who actually use knives in the field—not designers who’ve never left the office. Whether they’re breaking down an elk or prepping firewood, this knife handles it.
This is the kind of knife that becomes a trusted tool for decades. It’s not a showpiece—it’s a working blade for working hunters.
Initial Ascent IA5K Pack System
If they’re packing meat out of the backcountry or hauling camp miles from the trailhead, they need a pack system that won’t quit. The Initial Ascent IA5K is a modular, high-end pack designed to carry heavy loads comfortably over long distances. It’s built for extended hunts where your pack is literally your lifeline.
This is a premium gift for serious backcountry hunters. It’s not cheap, but for someone who spends weeks in the wilderness every year, it’s worth every penny.
🔗 Shop Initial Ascent IA5K Pack
The Gear We Actually Trust
We put this guide together to help you find shooting gifts, hunting gear, and EDC essentials that actually deliver—not just products that look good in marketing photos. Everything on this list is something we’ve tested, used in the field, and would buy again without hesitation.
Whether you’re shopping for a precision rifle competitor, an everyday carry enthusiast, or a backcountry hunter, these gifts hit the mark. And if you want a deeper breakdown of each product—why we chose it, how it performs, and what alternatives we considered—check out our full video walkthrough. It’s worth the watch if you want to make the absolute best choice.
Happy shopping, and remember: if you accidentally buy yourself a few of these items while “shopping for gifts,” we won’t tell anyone.