Christmas Gun Buyers Guide

Oh noes!  Why post this so close to Christmas when the lines at the gunstores are out the door and parking is a madhouse!

Ok, ok.  I'm probably not telling most of you gift-recievers anything you don't already know.   And most potential gift BUYERS have learned this lesson, too. 

It's hard to put up a real Buyers Guide.  There are too many factors when selecting a gun.  The personal preferences alone are nigh impossible to nail down when buying for someone else.  It's like putting up a generic car buyer's guide.  "Tell me what car I want..." "Easy... You want a Honda Civic.  Next."

Plus there is the whole issue of buying a gun FOR someone else, even if you know the exact thing they want, and getting into hot water with the FFL and/or the BATF for straw purchasing.

If you are buying Junior his first .22, well I can’t help you in selecting that.  Junior’s mentor is way ahead of me on that. 

Buying Uncle Jimmy, who collects French Army Blurfles, another Blurfle is a possible thought, but if he is really a collector what are the chances you will get him a variant he wants?  He might still appreciate the trade fodder for the next swap meet of Blurfle Collectors.

No, there really isn’t any true Buyer’s Guide I can put up here unless the recipient has been VERY specific on make and model. 

“Well how bout accessories when I don’t really know what my target giftee prefers?” you may be asking.  This angle is a little easier, but not much.  Gunnies like pistol shaped cufflinks the same way YOU enjoy cufflinks related to your job or hobby.  Same with gunnie themed socks, ties, etc.

You could spy a bit for ideas.  Is her range bag too beat up?  Is his hard rifle case over dented?  A new model, even with an upgrade in quality, can be good.  Notice they use plain old ears for hear protection?  Get them the electronic sound dampening kind!  Even if that gift is their SECOND set, they now have a spare for taking n00bs to the range and still be able to hear each other.

Plinking ammo in a caliber they actually own is your best bet.  If someone gave me 10mm or .357 Sig I’d go all gift face, as I don’t own a gun in those calibers.  Nor do I know someone with that flavor heater that I could even TRADE with. 

So, give them a 500 count box of .22.  If they don’t own a .22, well, they SHOULD.  And it could be a lifesaver during the coming Zombie Apocalypse.

[Update:  I had a dream on this very subject, last night.  Someone gave me a gun pricing guide from 1933.  As if they had collector price guides back then.  The prices were sick.  I have no idea how accurate they were, but a funtioning Colt SAA for pennies?  That can't be right.  In the same gift was a collection of news magazines with story titles like "What will the end of Prohibition mean to YOU!" with advice on how to conduct your life.  Don't worry buddy.  I'm sure people muddled through somehow.]