Retirement gift ideas

[Northpark]

A very good friend of mine who was my mentor when I first started working for the Forest service and who turned into my elk hunting mentor as well if s retiring in October. He’s into hunting obviously but also fast cars and is a quiet guy.

First thought was a custom knife maybe but what else you guys got?

 

[bozeman]

Custom steering wheel?

 

[eddielasvegas]

Any chance he smokes cigars? If so, an engraved travel humidor is nice.


Eddie

 

[Laramie]

A budget would really help us make good suggestions.

 

[Northpark]

Let’s say maybe $500ish for a budget.

 

[Laramie]

Custom knife is a solid gift. Few other ideas- Handgun, nice pack rod, new pack, guided fishing trip or upland hunt, Cabela's meat processing set w/grinder, gift certificate for boots or other gear.

 

[Opah]

A custom Knife with it being designed of him would be great.
I made a Bowie knife for a friend getting married with a beautiful front glass case,
Looking at it in the case the blade said FOR BETTER and if you removed it the back side said FOR WORST. Needless to say his soon to be wife hated it!

 

[Ingo]

A custom Knife with it being designed of him would be great.
I made a Bowie knife for a friend getting married with a beautiful front glass case,
Looking at it in the case the blade said FOR BETTER and if you removed it the back side said FOR WORST. Needless to say his soon to be wife hated it!

That's awesome

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[eddielasvegas]

A custom Knife with it being designed of him would be great.
I made a Bowie knife for a friend getting married with a beautiful front glass case,
Looking at it in the case the blade said FOR BETTER and if you removed it the back side said FOR WORST. Needless to say his soon to be wife hated it!

Maybe she would have liked it better if it said "FOR WORSE"


Eddie

 

[Opah]

I am sure I didn't misspell it on the Knife. it was a beautiful knife

 

[Brian Fahs]

I'm closing in on retirement myself. If your buddy is anything like me he has enough knives and more gear than he needs.
While gifts are fun and enjoyable, regular visits and spending time afield with him would probably mean a lot more to him.

 

[Northpark]

I think so far a custom kitchen knife set and a trip back to the elk woods is at the top of the list.

Might still look into a handgun of some flavor as well.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

32 Oz. gold bar. He is a very good friend after all.

 

[menhaden_man]

A very good friend of mine who was my mentor when I first started working for the Forest service and who turned into my elk hunting mentor as well if s retiring in October. He’s into hunting obviously but also fast cars and is a quiet guy.

First thought was a custom knife maybe but what else you guys got?

But him a tag somewhere... buddy bought me an antelope tag for a wedding, was the best thing I got that day

 

[mikechek1212]

I think a custom knife would be a great idea. I know custom hunting knives are popular but a chef knife is something that he would use daily. I am really into knives and could point you in the right direction with finding a maker. I have a $160 henckels chef knife and a (good) custom chef knife blows it out of the water with performance. It really makes it a joy to cook. PM if I can help point you in the right direction.

 

[ReddingArcher]

If going the knife route, I'd say custom kitchen knife. I think the guided fishing trip is a great idea too. If he is a whiskey drinker, a good bottle of whiskey is never a bad choice.

 

[caesAR15]

While I love the idea of a custom knife (custom knives are awesome), one of the previous posts made a good point -- if he's like us odds are he's already got knives he knows and uses and is accustomed to.

My general line of thinking is the best gifts are the things the person receiving want for themselves but would never (or could never) buy for themselves.

You know the guy better than any of us (obviously) but of the suggestions on this thread so far, I'd be inclined to buy him a tag for some new species or new location that you guys can hunt together. Reason being, it's something new and totally unique to the two of you, and making a few new memories will be more meaningful 30+ years from now than some knick-knack or widget. That's my $0.02

Whatever direction you go, good on you for acknowledging this guy and the impact he's made on your life. Someday I hope to be able to do the same in my own life.

 

[ptmn]

I agree with others on the custom knife. It was a regular retirement gift in the Special Forces Regiment. A lot of Microtech's, Mick Snyder's and a few Randall knives were given out.

If your buddy is one of those rare guys that isn't into knives, but is a reloader, an RCBS Chargemaster would be a really nice gift if he reloads rifle rounds. I'm not talking about FMJ or plinking rifle rounds, I'm talking about either precision long range or big game hunting rounds.