But to answer your question instead of detailing your thread. We bought my soon to be 11 year olds a hunting trip, in our case ducks, a couple years ago for Christmas now that’s all they ask for. They have loved it.

or a gun

Lifetime hunting & fishing license. Got mine in 89 when we moved back to Alabama, and when the saltwater license came along I was grandfathered in a no additional cost. It is still good even if you move out of state.

This. These are something he can pass down

I got a lifetime hunting/fishing license when I was 13 and it had been one of the best gifts I have ever received.

I think the custom hand made calls are really cool. Duck, turkey, or deer.

Hunting trip out of state if the budget allows for it.

Lifetime License.

A nice rifle and scope.

A shotgun.

A really nice leather bound Bible with their name on it.

Instead of a gift, how about an experience? When my boys turned 13 I took them on a trip that was geared toward their interests. Just my boy and me. My oldest loves to hunt so we went on a guided duck hunt in Arkansas. We didn't kill too many ducks although he did kill his first one. But we still talk about the guide being an Illinois football fan and letting my son shoot a decoy because the hunting was so slow! The memories of that trip are still talked about. My youngest was really into Elvis a that time so we took a trip to Tupelo and Memphis to tour his boyhood home and Graceland. We don't have any trinkets from those trips and they have long left their teen years but we still talk about those trips.

I have nothing from age 13 now. I do still own the first gun I was ever given at age 12 but other than that, I had no long term appreciation for any gift other than that gun.

We got my 11 year old his lifetime hunting and fishing for his bday last month.

Get him a good 30/30

Flip

I was 13 and went on my first quail hunt using dogs and a guide and I still remember that hunt! So as others have said, some type of hunt or trip where you are spending quality time with your son and doing something fun and something he has not experinced before.

Ok backstory lol
My son been hunting since 3, and I literally just took him on an Arkansas duck hunt this past November for his birthday. I’ve got him a franchi 20 and a 6.5 which I wanna sell or swap for something.
The duck hunt was his wish for bday, but wife wants something he can cherish and keep.

Bought one son a hunting trip. We both have great memories from that. Bought my other son a Honda Foreman ATV. He still rides it and obviously that was a great gift.

This

I got a 30/30 iron sight as a first rifle when my dad decided I was old enough to sit by myself. I still have this gun and hunt with it and still has no scope. He bought me a lifetime hunting and fishing as a graduation present from high school. License is a good idea but won’t mean as much to him right now as it will when he gets a little older.

I got a ice cream cake from the dairy queen🤷🏻

The late Olin Humphries gave my boy a turkey call several years back. The boy is 11 now and has somehow not lost the call. He hasn't even lost the striker. It is a wonder. Mr. Olin's grandson means to make calls in his grandaddy's shop, btw. I never saw a fella that young that ate up with turkey and calls.

A custom duck call and lanyard may make it through the years. A quality o/u, adjustable stock and a fitting session would for sure last.

Lifetime license. It’s the one thing I kick myself for not buying before I moved out of state. Would have paid for itself plus some by now.

Sounds like the young man has a good deer rifle so maybe a high end shotgun would fit the bill. A custom call or two would be nice but it’s a lot harder to lose a gun than it is a call. If you could get some form of custom engraving on a shotgun that would make it unique but I also understand that may not be in the budget.

Another vote for lifetime license. My son has one, my grandson will have one soon.