Gifts for Hunters Under $50 That Come Out Every Season

The best gift for a hunter under $50 is the Outdoor Edge WildLite: a six-piece field-to-freezer knife kit in a hard case, with a gut-hook skinner, a caping knife, a boning knife, gloves and a sharpener. It's complete, it's useful whether they're dressing a deer in the woods or trimming it at home, and it looks like a gift when it's opened. If they already carry a field kit, the Victorinox semi-stiff boning knife does the kitchen-table work, and the LEM Jerky Gun is the fun one.

All nine picks come from the same product catalog our category roundups draw on. We haven't bench-tested them; each is here on its maker's published specs, with a note on what to check before you order and what else the hunter would need to use it.

How the $50 line works

Several of these sat well under the line at our last check, which makes them easy to pair: a jerky gun with a seasoning kit, or a boning knife with a meat lug. A pair can land above $50 combined, so let the live prices on the buttons tell you whether it still fits your budget.

Who these gifts are for

This list is for the hunter who takes the deer home and does the work: skinning, boning it out, grinding, making jerky or sausage. That's a real amount of meat. Ohio's Division of Wildlife weighed 115 deer and found an average of 52.19 lb of venison per deer (Ohio DNR venison yield study), so a knife, a lug or a jerky gun gets steady use every season, not just once.

If they drop their deer at a processor instead, the knife kit, the boning knife and the thermometer still land; the gambrel, the lug and the summer sausage kit won't. For a first-season hunter, the WildLite kit is the place to start, and our guide to processing a deer at home shows what each blade in it is for.

The picks, in plain terms

Ranked by how safely each one lands when you don't know what they already own, starting with the gifts that are hard to get wrong.

1. Outdoor Edge WildLite 6-piece kit

Why it lands: Outdoor Edge lists a gutting and skinning knife with a gut hook, a caping knife, a boning knife, game-cleaning gloves and a two-stage carbide and ceramic sharpener, all in a compact hard-side case. The blades are full-tang 420J2 stainless, and the handles are blaze orange, which makes a knife easier to find if it gets set down in the leaves. Check first: it's a field kit with no saw, so any bone work needs a separate one. If they already carry a field kit, go to the Victorinox instead. What they'd add: nothing to start. The deer processing kit roundup has the bigger kits if you'd rather stretch the budget.

2. Victorinox Fibrox Pro 6-inch semi-stiff boning knife

Why it lands: this is the knife that comes out once the deer is home, for separating muscles and taking meat off the bone. Victorinox describes a pointed tip for piercing and a curved, semi-stiff 6-inch blade that gives a better working angle close to the bone. The handle is built for a non-slip grip when wet, the knife meets NSF sanitation standards, and it carries a lifetime guarantee against defects. Check first: the semi-stiff version, not the flexible one, which Victorinox aims at more delicate cuts like chicken and fish. What they'd add: nothing, though a sharpener helps down the road.

3. LEM Jerky Gun

Why it lands: it turns ground venison into jerky strips or snack sticks, a welcome change from another round of burgers. LEM's listing says it holds 3/4 lb per load, has a semi-transparent barrel so you can see progress, and comes with two nozzles, a packet of Backwoods jerky seasoning and a one-year warranty. Check first: they need a dehydrator, a smoker or an oven. What they'd add: a thermometer; see the safety note below. Our jerky gun roundup compares it with bigger guns.

4. Hi Mountain Original Blend jerky seasoning and cure kit

Why it lands: it's the smallest-ticket gift on the list and it can't duplicate anything, because it gets used up. The kit includes a seasoning packet, a cure packet, a shaker bottle and instructions, and Hi Mountain says it seasons up to 15 lb of whole-muscle meat or 10 lb of ground meat. Check first: flavor; Hi Mountain's Hunter's Blend is made specifically for wild game. What they'd add: the meat and a way to dry it.

5. ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2

Why it lands: jerky and sausage both hinge on temperature, and this is the thermometer that answers the question. ThermoWorks lists readings in 2-3 seconds, accuracy of ±1°F, a 1-1/4-inch backlit display that auto-rotates, IP67 waterproofing and an individual NIST-traceable calibration certificate. Check first: this one sat closest to the $50 line at our last check, so look at the live price on the button. What they'd add: nothing.

6. LEM Heavy Duty Meat Lug

Why it lands: it's the tub that holds meat on processing day, and one lug holds up to 50 lb by LEM's figure, about the meat from one average deer. LEM lists food-grade HDPE rated from -30°F to 183°F that won't crack, split or warp even in the freezer, at 21-3/4 by 15-1/2 by 7 inches including handles, with a one-year warranty. Check first: nothing much; it's hard to own too many. What they'd add: a lid if they want one, sold separately.

7. Hi Mountain jerky slicer board and knife

Why it lands: even slices are the fiddly part of sliced jerky, and this board takes the guesswork out. A hand-pressing plate holds the meat while a 13.5-inch serrated 420 stainless knife follows the guide at either 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch thickness; the board has juice grooves and non-slip feet, and it's dishwasher safe. Check first: this is for whole-muscle jerky cut from a roast, not ground-meat jerky from a gun. What they'd add: meat and a way to dry it. See the jerky slicer and board roundup for the alternatives.

8. Highwild gambrel and hoist kit

Why it lands: it gets the deer off the ground for skinning and quartering, and the pulley lets one person do the lifting. Highwild lists a 700 lb rating, a 4:1 lift ratio with a self-locking pulley, 44 feet of rope and a folding design; the gambrel and hoist can also be used separately. Check first: they need something solid to hang it from, like a sturdy tree limb or a garage beam, because the rating covers the hoist, not the anchor. What they'd add: nothing. If they hunt out of state, remind them to check that state's carcass-transport and chronic wasting disease rules before bringing a whole deer home to hang.

9. Hi Mountain Original summer sausage kit

Why it lands: for a hunter who already grinds, it's a new use for the season's venison. Hi Mountain lists two seasoning packets, two cure packets and ten 2-1/2 by 20-inch mahogany fibrous casings that hold up to 3 lb each, enough to season up to 30 lb of meat. Check first: this is last for a reason. The instructions call for mixing the venison with ground pork, grinding, stuffing the casings, resting them in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours and then cooking them in a smoker or oven to a set internal temperature. What they'd add: a grinder, a way to stuff casings, pork and a thermometer. Buy it only for someone who already grinds; our venison summer sausage guide shows the whole process.

Pairings that make a bigger gift

Two small gifts that work together often land better than one bigger one. These pairings each solve a whole job:

• The jerky starter: the LEM Jerky Gun, a Hi Mountain jerky kit and the ThermoPop 2. The gun shapes it, the kit seasons and cures it, and the thermometer confirms the 160°F step.
• The processing-day pair: the Victorinox boning knife and a LEM meat lug. One takes the meat off the bone, the other holds it.
• The new hunter: the WildLite kit and the Highwild gambrel, for the first deer they bring home themselves.
• The sausage maker: the summer sausage kit and the ThermoPop 2, only for someone who already owns a grinder.

For bigger budgets, the grinder, sealer and premium thermometer picks are on our full gifts for deer hunters list.

How to choose without knowing the gear

Under $50, the risk isn't wasting money on the wrong machine. It's buying something they already own, or something they can't use without gear they don't have. Three quick filters sort that out.

Tool or consumable?

Consumables, like the jerky kit and the summer sausage kit, get used up, so they can't be duplicates. Tools, like the knives, the jerky gun and the thermometer, last for years but might double up on something in the garage. If you have no idea what they own, lean toward consumables and the lug; if you know they're missing something, a tool is the better gift.

Does it work on its own?

Food-safety basics to pass along

That's why the thermometer shows up in two of the pairings above. Our jerky time and temperature guide covers the rest of the drying process if the recipient wants the details.

If they don't process their own deer

Stick to the knife kit, the boning knife and the thermometer. All three are useful to anyone who hunts or cooks, and none of them needs a garage full of processing gear to earn its keep.