Does anyone shop at Cabela's anymore? I don't anymore........selection

[fisherman983]

I never really have and dont nor will I.
Cabelas/bass bro shops are like the Walmart of hunting stuff. It has a small selection of a bunch of garbage in a very large store.

I can get the specific things I need for hunting/shooting at other places for cheaper.

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[HairyScandinavian]

They permanently lost me when they refused to sell me 9mm ammunition in South Dakota, because I had a NJ drivers license. They also won't ship ammunition to NJ, even though it's legal with an FID card. They're like the Vichy government during WW2.

The Basspro merger destroyed them. I consider them one step up from Dick's right now. There's a good video floating around on how damaging that merger was to the community in Nebraska where Cabela's got its start. Cabela's is just one of many victims of private equity greed.

I get most of my stuff from Midway. I just accumulate stuff in my cart until I hit the free shipping threshold, which doesn't take long.

I'll occasionally buy one off items that I need immediately from Amazon. But given a choice, I'd much rather give my business to Midway, which has been nothing but good.

I dunno man, a company not wanting to deal with a state that has goofy laws and FID checks sounds more like a NJ problem than a store problem. You can blame attorneys and rogue prosecutors and DA's for that probably.

 

[DuckDawg22]

We have a Bass Pro about 25 minutes from us and there's a Red Robin across the parking lot, so if the wife and I ever need to kill an hour with the kids (two under 3) then that's the move. Fishies and French fries have saved many a day for us, and my two year old thinks "Sammy the Sturgeon" is her pet lol. But we've been there monthly for the past two years and I haven't bought one thing for myself. Bass Pro has always kind of been that destination trip though, where Cabelas still had some allure of exclusivity to it. Now it's all the same junk

 

[Britt-dog]

I very rarely go into a cabelas and never search them online. That said I just bought something from Mack’s Prairie wings and was surprised to find they are owned by bass pro also.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Not unless I have to.
Will be shocked if there around in 5 years.

 

[JohnsIsl]

I have found some decent deals on cases of shotgun ammo and/or in-stock shells online that isn’t easily found locally in bulk. Their used gun section on their website has some nice shotguns at decent prices sometimes.

I don’t have a Cabelas or Bass Pro locally, but I do have a Sportsman’s that I do not think is really any better. The last time I went in there it was a pretty sorry state of affairs.

 

[JVS]

Nope
Cabelas card got cut up too.
It’s just not the same since bass pro bought it. When it was just Cabelas they would run solid sales multiple times a year. They still send me their flyers and it’s lack luster to say the least

 

[mad_angler]

None really local. So... no

 

[mad_angler]

Not local. So no

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The cabelas in Anchorage has a good selection of fishing gear. (Not so much fly fishing though).

All the fish swimming in the aquarium look sick though they are all pale and rounded and wierd looking.

 

[taskswap]

I missed most of the earlier thread, but just reacting to the title, I rarely shop there any longer but probably mostly because I have the luxury of better options. We live very close to a Jax Outdoor, a small locally-owned chain that competes with the big box stores but has better selection and customer service any day of the week. There's rarely more than 1 person waiting at the gun counter, so service is fast too. Prices are a bit higher than online (that's retail) but worth every penny for some instant gratification and solid customer service.

If they don't have what I need, within an hour's radius I have several Murdoch's and Scheels locations, and those are both excellent for different reasons (larger selection than Jax but still great service and a good shopping experience vs massive 3-level-circus selection with pretty awful service, at least in-store (they're perpetually under-staffed) but in a if-they-don't-carry-it-it-probably-doesn't-exist kind of way. It's so nuts (they have an aquarium and ferris wheel in the lobby) that we hit it once a year just to bring a visiting friend or family member, so if I need something odd I get it there.

For most other things like ammo, optics, and electronics, I've been getting those online for years and only buy locally if I need something quickly like not realizing I'm out of pheasant loads before the opener (I don't really consider myself a bird hunter so it's just a lark if a friend is going and asks me to join, so I don't really track my stock of ammo for it...)

I don't hate Cabela's. I do hate their gun counter but mostly because it's always so busy you have to wait like an hour to get some help. But when I have better options I use them, and I usually do, so I don't get by there much. Hey, look at it this way. If they didn't exist, all the better options would be mobbed with that traffic.

 

[Grassymike]

I go to the Bass Pro in Calgary just to look at all the taxidermy. They have some tremendous Sheep in there. The only thing I buy is Nosler 120 gr. Ballistic tips in 7mm. (only place I have found them). When my kids were younger we went on an epic Interstate 80 road trip and hit at least 6-7 Cabelas ,yeah Bargain Cave days. Owatanno Minn, East Grand Forks, Sidney and Kearney Nebraska are the ones I remember. Those were amazing stores and I still have a fair bit of Cabelas stuff.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I dont do business with them, anymore. In the '70s, '80s and '90s, I spent a lot of money with them. Since Jim and Dick are out of the picture and Johnny Morris took over, Cabelas has gone from a 10/10 to about 2 or 3/10. The innovation and quality have disappeared, replaced by cheap Chinese BassPro crap.

 

[Mr. October]

I would put Bass pro Shop in the same bucket, seems more like a tourist attraction than having good gear anymore

They are one and the same now since Bass Pro bought Cabela's.

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

i have no use for Morris-Mart

 

[wyosteve]

They must not be doing too poorly. I just saw they are building a new BassPro/Cabelas at Loveland, CO., just a mile or so away from Scheels. This in addition to the Bass Pro on the east side of Denver and a Cabelas at Thornton and LoneTree.

 

[ColPenguin]

Stopped in at the store at Southridge in WV on my way through that area. Was going to get primers and powder. Have bought bullets and powder here before, no problems or hassle.

Go to component section, primers are behind counter and apparently so is powder. Go to gun store counter and wait, one guy ignores me and walks off as another counter employee returns and asks if I've been helped yet.

Asked do you have any CCI or Winchester #41 primers. Holds up a sleeve of 100. Can I get a brick? (Who buys just a little sleeve of 100 primers?) Gun counter employee says no.

Ok, can I get a pound of N540? Gun counter employee looks confused. When he understands what I am asking, he says, I can't handle anything not related to guns. I point, and say yet you are handling primers, that makes no sense. Points at a different counter, and says you can ask over there at the counter with the sign that says "hunting", and they can get what you want from the back.

Walk in the direction, of the hunting counter, and nobody is even manning the station. Grab wife and kid and leave.

I think I am done. There is no reason to visit, other than a clean bathroom on the way through.

 

[Reece123]

Stopped in at the store at Southridge in WV on my way through that area. Was going to get primers and powder. Have bought bullets and powder here before, no problems or hassle.

Go to component section, primers are behind counter and apparently so is powder. Go to gun store counter and wait, one guy ignores me and walks off as another counter employee returns and asks if I've been helped yet.

Asked do you have any CCI or Winchester #41 primers. Holds up a sleeve of 100. Can I get a brick? (Who buys just a little sleeve of 100 primers?) Gun counter employee says no.

Ok, can I get a pound of N540? Gun counter employee looks confused. When he understands what I am asking, he says, I can't handle anything not related to guns. I point, and say yet you are handling primers, that makes no sense. Points at a different counter, and says you can ask over there at the counter with the sign that says "hunting", and they can get what you want from the back.

Walk in the direction, of the hunting counter, and nobody is even manning the station. Grab wife and kid and leave.

I think I am done. There is no reason to visit, other than a clean bathroom on the way through.

This is pretty sad. But unfortunately, it's not just cabalas/BPS that's this way. It's just about every single store you walk into. I swear ive never had to try so hard to give someone my money before. People used to take pride in their job and actually care about customer relations and the products they sold. Now they are just there to collect a paycheck and clock out.

Boomer rant over....and im not even 30 yet, ouch.

 

[streamerfish]

I do occasionally. Picked up some primers the other day because they had the best local price.

Grabbed some one shot...things like that.

 

[Joshk358]

Ony with gift cards anymore. I'd agree that pre basspro/cabelas was better that it is currently. If im looking for any hunting/fishing gear....classifieds are where I look first. One can find better deals on new or lightly used stuff.