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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: acolobowhunter on October 23, 2008, 12:21:00 PM
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Every year we go to Texas and hunt javelina, turkeys, and white tails. The rancher lets us hunt for nearly nothing and provides a house for us. We try and give him and his wife a gift each year, but are running out of ideas - need help.
Have given in the past: pocket knives, elk skin gloves, candy, book on the "Great Ranches of the West", etc.
Does anyone have a suggestion - we share the cost between 4 of us.
They are in their 40's, he mostly rifle hunts but has shot a compound.
Would appreciate your suggestions.
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Cabela's gift certificate
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Some nice artwork or a nice portrait of his homeplace,send him and wife to a very nice resturant and pick up the tab or a weekend trip somewhere.Massages for him and her(don't laugh)very enjoyable,A wine club where they send a new brand every month or something like that.You notice many gifts include the wife when Moma is happy everybody is happy.Kip
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With the price of ammo he may appreciate a few boxes of his caliber.
And Kip, guys shouldn't go outside of the house for a massage lol :p
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Good ideas, thanks. Can't see him getting a massage, would probably have to spit out his chew first. Ha Their ranch is 40 miles from town and not much at that town either. Gift certificate might work, but not real personable.
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They can get crazy expensive...but kitchen knives? Actually, for the price of a complete "set" of nice kitchen knives you could have 2 or 3 matching knives made by hand. A Chef's, a Santoku (sp?), and a boning knife. They don't have to be fancy to be gorgeous. White micarta handles with red liners are stunning to me. Would have to "fit" the rest of their house though. PM me if you need help on this.
There's the old standby of some of the actual meat you harvest. Don't know if your setup to properly process the meat there while you're in texas...but every deer has two backstraps. ;) (I priced some beef last night...even some lesser cuts were $4/lb!!!)
What's his favorite caliber/gun? Ammo can be personal with some people...some people don't care at all as long as it goes bang.
In honesty, I like kips ideas. If they're time-sensitive gifts make sure they don't interfere with the "busy time" for whatever the couple does for a living. Uncle is a farmer and once got some tickets for somethin' or other in September...that's the dead of harvest!!!
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Something I've considered but not yet done (I usually go the route of gift certificates for local steak houses/restaurants) is to get a piece of polished marble or something with the ranch's brand (logo) sandblasted in it. I'm guessing a tombstone or monument company could do this. It could be done large to sit in their drive, or maybe smaller to fit on a mantle or even a paperweight for the desk. Just an idea I had that I think some western ranchers might appreciate.
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custom knives for he and the Mrs? a general purpose utility/skinner type and a nice kitchen chopper for her? Unless she is a hunter too and wants the same as him!
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process some of what you kill there into summer sausage and such. Who does'nt like meat?
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Who doesn't like money !
If he ranches for a living he's not getting rich.
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All great ideas,
I have a local farmer who lets me hunt and fish on his property and I always show up during hay time to lend a hand "bucking hay" or "fixing fence." On birthdays and holidays they get a card.
steve
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I get my farmer friends walmart gift certificates every year.
Dave
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A framed aerial photo of his ranch.
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My wife and I usually make up gift baskets full of locally made products (jams, sauces, specialty coffee, etc.) and throw in home made fudge and cookies and a Christmas tree ordainment or 2. We get the baskets from the local $1 store and the whole basket we might have $20 in, which is good when you have multiple land owners that let you hunt. If that doesn't work for you, try Harry & Davids gift baskets. I've never known anyone who didn't appreciate those. :)
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ok as a former guide i can honestly tell ya a few tricks that d work wonders ya say he shoot s a copound ?? how about the mrs ? we make bows dont we???? well why not make a matchin set ?? i did that for a couple and i have a place to hunt as along as he owns the ranch ,, so you never know worth a try but then other things can help also but 2 staves and a lil elbow grease might do wonders good luck brock
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and gene i forgt to say hi buddy been a long time no see haha brock
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Thanks for your suggestions. We already pay a small fee to hunt for the entire week. He sets that fee, so to pay him more I don't think is an option. He also reloads all his own shells - must have 30-40 rifles, etc. He shoots all their game meat, so giving him some of ours is not an option. We live 800 miles away so helping with chores is out. We had him and his wife come up and hunt elk with us a yr. ago. This loved the mountains here in Colo. He drew a late NM tag this year. Might have to go the gift cert. route or maybe the kitchen knives as he has a ton of hunting knives.
I really appreicate all your help and suggestions. I am sure we all like to tell the land owner we appreciate him giving us access. If you think of anything else it would be appreciated!!!
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Hey Brock - sorry you have me stumped. I give up. Need more information - probably getting short timers here,memory failing. Ha
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Kip nailed it. A framed piece of artwork that reflects his land/lifestyle or a well done photo book of ranch buildings, landscapes and animals on his ranch would really show that you value and respect his property. Since he is so far removed from town, some of the mail delivery items would be great as well.
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I build antler lamps on the side. I have given a 6' tall, six elk antler floor lamp to a couple different ranchers that have let me hunt.
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All the suggestions have been good. Like the idea of a special piece showing respect for his property.
Kip mentions wine club, along the same line I have had steaks, and smoked meats shipped to property owners after hunting. Have also done this for no apparent reason as a surprise during the year. Lets them know your thinking of them and keeps you high on their list.
I also have had an entire thanksgiving dinner delivered to one family after hearing they were having some hard times. They were extremely grateful! When they called to thank me I told them it was a return gift for their hospitality, They never knew I heard about their financial troubles, and I saw no reason to tell them.
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The guys a TEXAN, therefore anything TEXAN. Some very cool books have been put together about the history of cattle in Texas, brands, and the land in general. Items with the lone star are also good gifts.
kirk
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Thanks guys. I have started a list of all your good suggestions. This has been interesting as I have run into this same situation in the past. You were all a lot of help.
Also during this post, I received a note from a long ago friend that I had lost touch with.
I really appreciate you all. If you have any more suggestions, please continue.
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Primal Dreams DVD.....shows your dedication and enjoyable to both hunters and non-hunters. Also a subscription to good outdoors magazine. I give one rancher a Montana Outdoors, and it's arrival in the mail reminds him every time who it's from. I've also given bows, both custom and not to appropriate ones, and I make sure kids and grandkids get set up with gear.
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I should add, gifts need'nt be "expensive", just thoughtful. Also, make sure the "missus" gets something too.
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Gene,
BMN hit it on the head! I have hunted several ranches over the years, and have given framed aerial photos as gifts many times. It is a nice gesture and actually very useful to a rancher/farmer. I generally give 16X20s. Go to the local NRCS field office. You can get them free in a digital format (be sure and bring your own disk and request a high quality format). Then take the disk to a shop that digitally enlarges photos and have it done on high quality paper. They even have a new medium that looks like canvas and makes a really neat looking print. Might cost a hundred bucks or so all done and framed nice, but I think you said you were splitting it 4 ways.
It is good of you to do this for your landowner. If it wasn't for the farmers and ranchers of this great nation not only would a lot of the world be hungry, there would be dang few places to hunt.
OkKeith
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You said he was a rancher. Most ranchers buy feed and or supplys from a local feed store or ranch store. Find out where he buys all his equiptment or feed from and talk to the manager of that place and set up an account with a credit. Or pay down part of his account if he already has one. That way the next time he goes in for something he will get a nice surprise. You can do the same for the Mrs. Really, IMO most hard working honest people will appreciate any thoughful gift.
Good luck
Gilbert
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"A framed aerial photo of his ranch."
Exactly what I was going to suggest.
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The ranch signs lazer etched in natural stone like Wary Buck mentioned are also really cool and personal. I know Landmark Stone in Hot Spruings, SD is one place that does them. Don't know if they have a website or not.
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As mentioned above we've also give framed aerial photos of the family ranch/farm. Similar to what Bryce said, we also had a log cut with the ranch name or family name cut through the log. One guy hung it over his ranch/drive entrance. Another suspended it between two big boulders in his drive. We also had a guy carve out another rancher's brand into a giant slice of a tree. Actually that one the guy burned in, rather than carved it. One of my favorite ideas, believe it or not, is to have fresh, LIVE lobsters flown in from Maine. Most ranchers/farmers don't get much of a chance to eat lobsters. That way the Mrs. gets to eat too and cooking is nothing more than boiling the water. Additionally, eating a lobster dinner at home is a great social event for the entire family. Very few people don't like lobster. Just make sure someone will be home the day they are going to be delivered. Another good one is a company called Bittersweet Herb Farm. They have a website. I've often ordered the gift pack of their dipping sauces that come packaged in a little wooden crate. My favorites are the Wasabi/Ginger and the Maple/Chipolte. Absolutely great stuff to dip your venison into before each bite. Take it from a fat guy! BW
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I think BW wins the *cool* ideas award! :thumbsup:
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I think something you or your crew hand made would mean more than a gift card.
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Like others, I have given framed aerial photographs, but that gift is only good once for each land owner. Most of the ranchers and farmers where I hunt are annually given baskets full of freshly baked goodies; cookies, various breads, fudges, and venison, elk, or bison, salami and hunter sticks. Often, in the basket is a gift certificate to a nice stake house or other type of restaurant they, especially the wife, likes. I once had a farmer who really, really, really, liked his Jim Bean, so several of bottles mysteriously appeared in his barn each year the week before Christmas (you might want to be careful with the alcohol if his wife doesn’t approve of drinking). You said that he once hunted with you in your home state, invite him on another hunt. I hunted a ranch for a couple of years before discovering the owner, a native bowhunting Montanan, had never been in or hunted, any of the wilderness areas in Montana. The next fall I took my brothers and my horses and guided him on a three day (he wouldn’t leave his ranch any longer than that) wilderness bowhunt for elk and mule deer. He actually converted to shooting a longbow from a compound after that trip and is still a close friend even though the ranch sold several years back. Not quite as nice as Barry’s Lobster (thanks for the idea Barry), but a couple of times we have given landowners fresh salmon from Alaska. Like Mark, a couple of them have received a selfbow built by me. Each land owner I know has different things they like; what these things are best learned through personal relationships developed throughout the year, not just during hunting season. Not knowing your landowner it is hard to determine a personal gift, which is the type gift I have found they appreciate the most. Like you, I am continually looking for thing they might like throughout the entire year.
All said and done, most land owners I know are satisfied to know you respect their land, their lifestyle, and their family, anything beyond that is like icing on the cake, deeply appreciated but not always mandatory.
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Get him an ACS-cx or a BW...PR
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How about a hunt of some sorts. We take the guy who we lease off of on a pheasant hunt every year.
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How about a good Kings rope?
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Barry,
You can come hunt my farm whenever you want. But make sure the lobster is fresh! :biglaugh:
Mike
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My family has always allowed the public to hunt on our ranch and have received many gifts over the years from appreciative hunters. One year a party of hunters discovered that the inflow pipe was broken off on one of our stock tanks and they did a nice job of repairing it for us. Although I appreciate the thought when a hunter gives me a bottle of whiskey, one big problem is -- you could be perceived as "one of those half soused slob hunters". One of the more appreciated gifts that I have received was a wire gate closer from a farm supply store. Everybody dislikes wrestling with wire gates, but these gadgets seem somewhat extravagant to buy for most ranchers, but if given one, it will quickly be installed on one of the "mulier" gates that is regularly traveled through. Gifts that are somewhat reflective of you will help you to be remembered. Jars of honey from a guy whose family kept bees or a cheese basket from a dairyman from Wisconsin are good examples. I have a virtual parade of people knocking on my door during hunting season and it is much easier to remember the person and the gift if it connects in some way to their occupation or interests.
I am much better at remembering faces than names, Often --if I remember someone's name it is because they caused trouble. So -- when you return, don't be bashful about reintroducing yourself and asking if the honey was good or the gate opener worked ok etc. That gives the landowner a chance to "place you" and remember that you were one of the good guys.
One of the greatest gifts, is to simply report anything that appears amiss to the owner. Gates left open, dead, sick or injured livestock, damaged fences or crops, dry stock tanks etc. One time a hunter stopped to tell me that he wasn't able to close a series of gates where a ranch trail meanders through neighboring pastures. Even though he didn't have permission to be driving through there, I appreciated his character in informing me and I was saved many hours of hard riding by getting those gates closed before all the cattle got mixed together. :coffee: