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

A couple of people have compared Sportsman's Warehouse to Cabela's. I find that the selection at SW is substantially better than the local Cabelas. Larger selection of rifles and pistols (including black firearms) and hunting accessories. SW also carries some specialized gear like Ckye pods etc.

If I have to choose a store to go to, I would pick SW.....which is not saying much. However happy it is there because there are not many options anymore.
 
I occasionally walk through the Cabelas near me (about 20 minutes away). I really miss the "bargain cave" that used to be on the second floor. I would walk through it only for the entertainment of seeing things like a broken trail cam that was 10% off, that had a sticker saying "BROKEN-DOES NOT WORK- PARTS MISSING- NO RETURNS". Wow what a bargain, and I could save a whole 10% off a new one.
 
How do they possibly stay in business? Look at the overwhelming consensus of the post on here, and all hunting forums for that matter.
 
How do they possibly stay in business? Look at the overwhelming consensus of the post on here, and all hunting forums for that matter.
Cabelas can't be raking it in anymore. If I go to the Kansas City store there's usually 10-30 cars, depending on time of day. Go to the Scheels store and the parking lot is PACKED. Mostly, it's people getting athletic gear, but the second floor outdoor area is always busy too.
 
Back in the day my friend always hit the Bargain Cave. I never had much luck finding anything. However it seemed like a huge draw. Why would they get rid of that?
 
The bargain caves I have seen were a separate room off of the main floor. Local Cabelas bargain cave was converted to fly fishing. Never see anyone in there expect the cabelas salesman.
 
The local sporting goods store here called Green Top is beating the pants off of Bass Pro. Better merchandise also to include fishing gear.
 
they suck. I've tried stopping at a couple to try out optics and their selection is crap. Why a store that big can't keep some optics in stock to try out blows my mind.
 
As a Californian, the Cabelas in Reno used to be Mecca. A real destination with an overnight at the casino in the next parking lot over. Then Bass Pros started popping up all over the state, the merger went through, and all the novelty wore off. Now when I go to Reno, I drive right past Cabela's on the way to Scheels
 
Cabela's is definitely not what it was prior to the BP takeover. Sadly, this is a real story of shareholder greed. I'm not anti-capitalist by ANY stretch of the imagination but Cabelas' downfall was going public. Prior to that they were, by any yardstick, a very successful, profitable business. But when they went public shareholders wanted more ultimately forcing the sell off.

I used to love Cabela's branded boots and clothes. They were every bit as good quality as LL Bean without the LL Bean price tag. Red Head brand stuff SUCKS! I usually stop at our Cabela's on Black Friday on my way to hunting camp. I bought a pair of jeans last year that was worn out by March. Thin material, cheap stitching. Horrible.

Back in Cabela's days, you could go look for something and have multiple choices. Now lucky if they have one of anything you are looking for. They do generally have a great inventory of guns but they are all overpriced. Everything from used to new is far more expensive. And they won't take the trigger locks off anything until you are ready to leave the store. (I think all the big box stores are the same hence I don't buy guns at box stores.) Their best ammo prices are terrible.

All that said, I still shop there occasionally. We don't have a Scheel's or Sportman's Warehouse nearby and most of the other local sporting goods places long-since went under. So if I want to put hands on something prior to purchase, it is the only choice. I do have my Cabela's card and am able to get a lot of things "free" which is nice.
 
As a Californian, the Cabelas in Reno used to be Mecca. A real destination with an overnight at the casino in the next parking lot over. Then Bass Pros started popping up all over the state, the merger went through, and all the novelty wore off. Now when I go to Reno, I drive right past Cabela's on the way to Scheels
i worked at that cabelas as a job right out of high school. it use to be poppin! The food was good the store was stocked well and it was the place to be. Even before the whole bass pro deal, that store really started to suck. at this point i am surprised its even open still and any time i do swing in there, its totally dead. Their prices are horrible now too.

Scheels is king in this area for sure. Sportsmans was never the same after bass pro touched their no-no spot either.
 
I buy a few things here and there. I really like their "Instinct" uplang gear. It is good stuff. I watch their sale flyer, they do have really good deals on firearms and ammo at times. I get most every thing from Scheels now.
 
Cabelas is an OK stop for me, with two conditions: I do not expect to find something specific and I do not expect to talk to an employee that has specific expertise. In other words, I will stop there when I'm driving past to browse. Occasionally I find a decent deal or something useful! Just don't get your hopes up.

Sportsman's Warehouse is usually not nearly as big of a store, but I can almost always find what I need there. Had good conversations with knowledgeable Sportsman's employees in Wasilla and Soldotna this year, for what its worth.
 
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