If your fall calendar already has a duck blind on it along with a surf rod, Kittery Trading Post’s Hunters Gear Up Weekend is worth circling. October 9-12, the Kittery, Maine outfitter is running four days of seminars, giveaways, and firearm specials built around hunting season — and a handful of the perks are worth knowing about even if you’re mainly an angler. There’s free knife engraving all weekend with any Benchmade purchase, a chance to test-fire Ruger firearms at the Blueline shooting trailer, and a kids’ Maine lifetime hunting & fishing license up for grabs. Saturday morning kicks off with a free hunter’s breakfast and Q&A with Tom Miranda and Croix Nowell, and there’s more than $5,000 in prizes handed out over the weekend.
Worth a stop even if deer season isn’t your thing
This one skews toward hunters, but a few things on the schedule have appeal no matter what you chase:
- Free Benchmade knife engraving — Friday-Sunday, 9am-4pm, with any Benchmade purchase. Good excuse to pick up a new fillet or fixed-blade knife.
- Kids’ Maine lifetime hunting & fishing license giveaway — in the Archery Dept, all weekend.
- Blueline Shooting Trailer — Saturday & Sunday, 9am-4pm. Test-fire Ruger firearms, first 5 rounds free.
- Free hunter’s breakfast — Saturday, Oct 10, 8-9am, with Chef Tim Barr and a Q&A featuring Tom Miranda and Croix Nowell. Over $5,000 in giveaways handed out.
- Boot giveaways from LaCrosse, Ruger, and Irish Setter throughout the weekend.
If you’re in the woods this fall too
For anglers who double as hunters once the water cools off, the weekend leans into deer, waterfowl, and bowhunting specifically:
- Tom Miranda bow hunting & trapping seminars — Saturday & Sunday, 11am and 2pm.
- Croix Nowell saddle hunting demos — Saturday through Monday, covering deer hunting tips and technique.
- Waterfowl Calling Contest — Saturday, 1-3pm, with a $100 gift card on the line.
- Firearm and gear giveaways all weekend, including rifles and shotguns from Savage, Mossberg, Henry, and Weatherby, a Bear Archery bow, Leupold optics, a First Lite jacket, a Tethrd saddle kit, tree stands and blinds, and a Thompson Encore Pro Hunter rifle valued at $1,149.99.
- Exotic Game Meat Recipe Contest — submit a recipe for a shot at a 500-watt meat grinder ($189.95 value).
- KTP Photo Contest — tag a hunting photo in KTP apparel for a chance at a $100 gift card.
Plan your trip
Hunters Gear Up Weekend runs Friday, October 9 through Monday, October 12 at Kittery Trading Post, 301 U.S. Route One, Kittery, ME. Full seminar times, contest rules, and giveaway details are posted at kitterytradingpost.com/hunters-gear-up-weekend.