Cabelas-SMH

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I'd say as far as where I actually shop for gun stuff, if I'm not shopping around online via gun.deals (for actual firearms or ammo) or Amazon (for accessories), I usually go to Rural King for actual firearm oogling and some cleaning supplies and such. Wal-Mart or Farm & Fleet are where I usually shop for ammo, though even that I usually wait for a good deal and order online. If it's a more niche accessory, I usually end up looking at Brownells then MidwayUSA.
 
So how many think cabelas will be closing locations due to poor sales now that they slashed anything gun related?
 
Yes- The Colorado Cabela's have shrunk the shooting and hunting equipment sections drastically, resulting in huge new displays of toys, rustic furniture, knick knacks, and sunglasses. What was once the "Worlds Foremost Outfitter" is now the "Worlds Foremost Outdoor Lifestyle Store".
So true. I hate change... I love the memories of traveling with my folks and going into cabelas, kittery trading post, etc... The only big corporate outdoors store near me is a dicks sporting goods store and I refuse to shop there, my disdain for DSG predates their decision to eliminate the MSR from their shelves. Rest assured, they suck.

I recently had the opportunity to go into a Gander Mountain in South Carolina while I was there and was pretty pleases with their selection and prices. They had better selection than DSG or Runnings...
 
Most of the important points have been well covered, but having been on board while at least four big box sporting goods stores went down the tubes, I have a little more insight than some folks. First, look at management. C&BP don't really have any gun people among the upper management. A few years ago, for example, they were extremely proud to announce they were hiring some guy from Tractor Supply. Some of us remember when TS sold firearms and ammunition, but anyone who has been in these stores know they don't sell very many gun related items apart from gun safes. The bright guys out of business school don't really understand the gun business and are certain that you can't tell them anything about it they don't already know. I've stood face to face with them while they ranted and raved that selling guns was like selling anything else. It's not! All aspects of the firearms business from guns to ammunition, to duck decoys have very limited production capacity. Consequently, if you don't buy it when it's available, you probably won't get it. In addition, much of the firearms industry is seasonal. Since these bright business boys are tied at the hip to just in time shipping and keeping no inventory, when they place orders for an item 2 weeks before the season opens, they're shocked when it doesn't arrive. Then, rather than change their order system, their response is simply to quit selling that item.

That leads to the second issue which is markup. These same bright-eyed business school idiots can tell you how much each and every square foot of store brings in revenue. A teeshirt that they buy from China for .49 cents, brings in about $19.00 when they sell it for full price. They admit it might be sold for less during a sale, but it still makes a bigger percentage of profit than a thousand dollar firearm. At the same time, these same business types refuse to admit that the guy who comes in the store to look at the thousand dollar firearm is buying all this other stuff, and it's the firearms that are getting the customers in the store!

Finally, there is the public relations/legal aspect of all this. You're all probably familiar with the situation regarding Dick's Clothing and Sporting Goods. Yea, that's what they prefer to call themselves or at least they did when I tried to help them. Not only is it all about clothing, but even though they might have "lost" some business because of their actions regarding firearms, they contend that the positive publicity they gained for their clothing and all of their other products far outweighs the losses and will benefit the sale of those items for years to come. On the legal side, the liability and the legal work involved in selling firearms outweighs all other products combined. When the markup on firearms includes all the legal costs involved as some marketing and legal departments insist, the price for a box of ammuntion or a firearm goes through the roof. When you put all of these ingredients in front of the bright folks from the business schools, guess what happens?

I've seen it take many forms. Some businesses try to continue to sell firearms but they struggle and eventually fail. Some buinesses have quit selling firearms and generally manage to survive somewhat longer, but the same closed minded attitude that the business school types have towards firearms tends to rub off into other areas as well and they too go out of business. Anybody know who was the biggest seller of firearms in 1967? It's the best reason I know to support your local gun shop... only you can keep them in business.
 
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We have two cabelas in my area. They still stock firearms, ammo, reloading and shooting supplies. I order guns through my small-time ffls. But I think I've noticed fewer sales on ammo and reloading at cabelas, including online. I used to count on ordering some reloading supplies or ammo on sale monthly. Can't remember the last sale I noticed with reloading. In ammo, sales seem more limited in calibers and amount. My spending there has dropped significantly. I've been picking and choosing online.
 
So how many think cabelas will be closing locations due to poor sales now that they slashed anything gun related?

I don't think you've been hearing what we've been saying.......


If Cabelas closes stores because of poor sales, it will not be that they slashed anything gun related, but in spite of it. Again, major businesses like Cabelas pay folks to do market research. They pay accountants to tell them what sells the most and what products that do sell, make them the most monies. Online Gun sales like Bud's and Davidson's and the sale of other sporting goods thru places like Midway and even Amazon have hurt the big box stores and they have had to adjust their inventory appropriately. Don't blame them, blame us, their customer base.
 
The Cabelas in West Chester, OH is the same as it has always been. However, once Bass Pro took over they moved to having those red trigger locks on all of their pistols. Ruined the experience for me. In their defense, I usually only used them as a show room for guns that my LGS doesn't have in stock, then ordered from my LGS. They have a good stock of ammo and I usually buy that from them though.
 
However, once Bass Pro took over they moved to having those red trigger locks on all of their pistols. Ruined the experience for me.
We have trigger locks on all of our guns. When we sell a gun or redeem one out of pawn it must be locked in some way before handing it to the customer. This is an insurance thing. According to our insurance people there has been cases where a customer comes into a store with a loaded magazine in pocket, asks to see a certain pistol, it's handed to him mag out slide back. Customer pops loaded mag in, drops slide and proceeds to start shooting. If a customer asks to feel a trigger pull or some such, I'll unlock the gun but my hand goes to my EDC. Too easy in this world of ours today for a crazy to start shooting and I'd like to see what 70 feels like in a couple of years.
 
The KCK store still has a lot of guns,ammo and reloading stuff. Saw about 20 Moisans on the rack in the Gun Library last time I was there.
They are pricey but they do have some things that just are not available where I am. SMS...
(Shrug My Shoulders ;) )
 
We have trigger locks on all of our guns. When we sell a gun or redeem one out of pawn it must be locked in some way before handing it to the customer. This is an insurance thing. According to our insurance people there has been cases where a customer comes into a store with a loaded magazine in pocket, asks to see a certain pistol, it's handed to him mag out slide back. Customer pops loaded mag in, drops slide and proceeds to start shooting. If a customer asks to feel a trigger pull or some such, I'll unlock the gun but my hand goes to my EDC. Too easy in this world of ours today for a crazy to start shooting and I'd like to see what 70 feels like in a couple of years.

I will have to respectfully disagree. I will always choose to shop somewhere that doesn't seem to believe that people can't be trusted with guns. This holds true for gun shows that don't allow concealed carry. If asking to hold an unloaded pistol without a trigger lock warrants the clerk moving their hand to their pistol... then again, I wouldn't choose spend my money there. Most gun stores I have ever been in seem to require open carry of their employees, and I think that serves as ample deterrent.

I would have to believe the cases where someone buys a magazine and ammo for a specific gun only to shoot up a gun store is incredibly rare. I would argue that installing locked trigger guards in response to that threat is analogous with knee jerk gun regulations in response to gun crime.

Furthermore, many gun stores have a gun range where you can rent guns, with magazines and ammo. Seems like an easier target than bringing your own loaded mag....
 
I will have to respectfully disagree. I will always choose to shop somewhere that doesn't seem to believe that people can't be trusted with guns.
If you want to run a business, you want insurance. If your insurance company says that you have to have gun locks on all guns that customers have access to or we aren't issuing a policy, you buy a bunch of cheesy locks. It's why gun manufacturers ship guns with locks now. In case of an accident or a child accessing the gun at home the maker can say "Hey, we shipped it with a lock, wasn't our fault."

This holds true for gun shows that don't allow concealed carry.

Perhaps there are reasons for not allowing concealed carry. Rented facilities can have many reasons for not allowing firearms in their locations. We sell guns but also have a sign on the door prohibiting loaded guns being brought into the store. There are pawn shops within a few blocks of our location that don't allow their employees to carry. They are robbed often. As for shows, it can be a facilities rule thing or even event insurance. Having a "If you don't want my gun here then you don't want me here, either." mentality is fine, but understand that if someone has to carry insurance that costs twice what a non-carry policy would cost, that's going to reflected in the prices as operating costs do take a bite out of gross profit.

If asking to hold an unloaded pistol without a trigger lock warrants the clerk moving their hand to their pistol... then again, I wouldn't choose spend my money there. Most gun stores I have ever been in seem to require open carry of their employees, and I think that serves as ample deterrent.

For most scenarios, yes, the Anaconda on my hip is a sufficient deterrent. 99.9% of our customers have no issue with a plastic lock on the display gun and don't ask for it to be removed. I should have been more clear, my hand doesn't drop to the butt of my gun, but merely moves to the general area rather than laying on the counter. I watch where the other hand goes. I am merely more aware of what he'd be doing. I frequently rest my forearm on my holstered revolver just as a handy place to rest my arm. An armrest. Like in my pickup.
Also, it does bring to mind the question of why someone finds it necessary to remove the lock. Do you want to dry fire my merchandise 142 times before deciding whether you want to buy it? Are you going to ring the cylinder on that brand new revolver? If the trigger pull is a question, I have a trigger pull gauge and snap caps.

I would have to believe the cases where someone buys a magazine and ammo for a specific gun only to shoot up a gun store is incredibly rare. I would argue that installing locked trigger guards in response to that threat is analogous with knee jerk gun regulations in response to gun crime.

As outlined above, there are several reasons to lock a gun, probably the least being someone dropping a loaded mag in it to shoot up the store. But it has happened. So our insurance company is nervous about it and we kinda like having insurance. I never said it was our choice to do it or not do it, it's our choice to have insurance or not have insurance. Just as a landlord must sign off on the idea of a tenant store in their building carrying guns or not, there's a lot of factors that go into it.

Furthermore, many gun stores have a gun range where you can rent guns, with magazines and ammo. Seems like an easier target than bringing your own loaded mag....

Yes, but they have different and more expensive insurance than we do. Most ranges locally won't rent a gun to you if you don't have one, however. Just google "suicide rented gun". If you don't' want to do business with our company because we have gun locks or signs asking you not to carry a loaded firearm into our store, I can understand that. I can respect that. But, please understand that there are reasons and factors that go into such rules other than the perception that the owner and management are jerks.
 
The only big corporate outdoors store near me is a dicks sporting goods store and I refuse to shop there, my disdain for DSG predates their decision to eliminate the MSR from their shelves. Rest assured, they suck.

Agreed. I absolutely refuse to go there since the last time I bought ammo there. Felt like I had to give them everything short of a urine sample to buy some 9mm. No thank you.

I really liked the Gander Outdoors my wife and I stopped at in Wisconsin while we were up there. Selection wasn't HUGE but prices were pretty reasonable and I liked the optics display they had set up so you could check out the different scope models and actually look through them. They also were carrying Freedom Munitions ammo at the time, which was the first time I'd seen it anywhere but FM's website. Stocked up on .380 while I was at it.
 
That leads to the second issue which is markup. These same bright-eyed business school idiots can tell you how much each and every square foot of store brings in revenue. A teeshirt that they buy from China for .49 cents, brings in about $19.00 when they sell it for full price. They admit it might be sold for less during a sale, but it still makes a bigger percentage of profit than a thousand dollar firearm. At the same time, these same business types refuse to admit that the guy who comes in the store to look at the thousand dollar firearm is buying all this other stuff, and it's the firearms that are getting the customers in the store!

If it don’t make dollars it don’t make sense.
 
Most of the important points have been well covered, but having been on board while at least four big box sporting goods stores went down the tubes, I have a little more insight than some folks. First, look at management. C&BP don't really have any gun people among the upper management. A few years ago, for example, they were extremely proud to announce they were hiring some guy from Tractor Supply. Some of us remember when TS sold firearms and ammunition, but anyone who has been in these stores know they don't sell very many gun related items apart from gun safes. The bright guys out of business school don't really understand the gun business and are certain that you can't tell them anything about it they don't already know. I've stood face to face with them while they ranted and raved that selling guns was like selling anything else. It's not! All aspects of the firearms business from guns to ammunition, to duck decoys have very limited production capacity. Consequently, if you don't buy it when it's available, you probably won't get it. In addition, much of the firearms industry is seasonal. Since these bright business boys are tied at the hip to just in time shipping and keeping no inventory, when they place orders for an item 2 weeks before the season opens, they're shocked when it doesn't arrive. Then, rather than change their order system, their response is simply to quit selling that item.

That leads to the second issue which is markup. These same bright-eyed business school idiots can tell you how much each and every square foot of store brings in revenue. A teeshirt that they buy from China for .49 cents, brings in about $19.00 when they sell it for full price. They admit it might be sold for less during a sale, but it still makes a bigger percentage of profit than a thousand dollar firearm. At the same time, these same business types refuse to admit that the guy who comes in the store to look at the thousand dollar firearm is buying all this other stuff, and it's the firearms that are getting the customers in the store!

Finally, there is the public relations/legal aspect of all this. You're all probably familiar with the situation regarding Dick's Clothing and Sporting Goods. Yea, that's what they prefer to call themselves or at least they did when I tried to help them. Not only is it all about clothing, but even though they might have "lost" some business because of their actions regarding firearms, they contend that the positive publicity they gained for their clothing and all of their other products far outweighs the losses and will benefit the sale of those items for years to come. On the legal side, the liability and the legal work involved in selling firearms outweighs all other products combined. When the markup on firearms includes all the legal costs involved as some marketing and legal departments insist, the price for a box of ammuntion or a firearm goes through the roof. When you put all of these ingredients in front of the bright folks from the business schools, guess what happens?

I've seen it take many forms. Some businesses try to continue to sell firearms but they struggle and eventually fail. Some buinesses have quit selling firearms and generally manage to survive somewhat longer, but the same closed minded attitude that the business school types have towards firearms tends to rub off into other areas as well and they too go out of business. Anybody know who was the biggest seller of firearms in 1967? It's the best reason I know to support your local gun shop... only you can keep them in business.

I worked behind the counter for 13 years. I lived through the Herman's fiasco. I know exactly where you're coming from. We had people from New Jersey tell us that they know our market better than we did. Even though our stores were selling more per square foot than was Nordstrom's was.

Mismanagement is the bane of every business. The blood sports businesses, fishing, hunting, and trapping are unique. You can't compare them with any other business model. Thankfully I got out of that before the internet made things really hard.
 
Yes- The Colorado Cabela's have shrunk the shooting and hunting equipment sections drastically, resulting in huge new displays of toys, rustic furniture, knick knacks, and sunglasses. What was once the "Worlds Foremost Outfitter" is now the "Worlds Foremost Outdoor Lifestyle Store".
Because the profit mark-up on those items FAR exceed guns and ammo, plain and simple. BP inherited a debt load from Cabelas in the BILLIONS; that's a lot to pay back.
 
Because the profit mark-up on those items FAR exceed guns and ammo, plain and simple. BP inherited a debt load from Cabelas in the BILLIONS; that's a lot to pay back.

Yeah, but that area of the store in now dead, and people for some reason are still jamming the shooting and hunting sections.
 
We have one Bass Pro and two Cabelas near me in Colorado. I was at the Northern Cabelas last year to buy a knife ( Buck Vanguard S30V Rosewood handle purty yes indeed )

Store was very disorganized and they told me they were downsizing the hunting clothing and other hunting gear to make room for furniture. Right from the horses mouth. Yep no hunting here in Colorado.
 
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I was at the Northern Cabelas last year to buy a knife ( Buck Vanguard S30V Rosewood handle purty yes indeed )

On a different note, my buddy and I are kind of knife nuts and the Cabelas up by his folks in Maine has given their knife display a good kick in the ass, I havent seen it personally but my friend said they now have a pretty big selection. I wish more gun shops would incorporate higher end knives into their business model.... Also I didnt realize Buck used S30 steel now. My old buck was good ol 420 SS, horrible edge retention.
 
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Visited the Springfield, MO Bass Pro last week. This is their HQ store. Had used junky Hi Point and Taurus pistols in the fine gun room!!!
 
Our Cabalas is in the outskirts of Cook County, IL. They have to charge the counties $.05 per bullet tax, which per their store manager really hurt their gun and gun related sales. They made changes and expanded their clothes section out of necessity. I don’t like it but understand why they’d do so.
 
There are 2 Cabela's and one BPS within an hours drive from here. I vacationed on Colorado earlier this summer and stopped in the Original Sydney NE store as well as the Kansas City store. None of the 4 are as good as they were before being bought out by BPS. But they all have plenty of shooting and hunting gear.

BTW, if you ever get a chance to see the KC store do it. The trophy rooms alone are worth the visit. It is huge, we killed over an hour there and ate lunch in the grill upstairs.

They have ALWAYS sold a fair amount of non-hunting clothes and gear. They are an "Outdoor" store, which also includes fishing, camping, hiking as well as work related clothing. That part of the stores have ALWAYS been the majority of the items sold even when they only had one store and did almost all of their business from a catalog. And it is perfectly normal for that segment to grow and the hunting segment shrink. We only have a fraction of the hunters we did 30 years ago. They can't stay in business catering only to a shrinking number of hunters.
 
Margins are better on everything than guns.

Yes, everyone crowds the gun counter to fondle the merchandise and buy it online from from their phone for 10-20% less as they walk away.

When I sell a gun, even on Armslist, even here on THR, people love to kick the tires with no intent to own. Know who’s to blame for Cabelas alleged “decline” in gun stuff? The consumer, me, you, everyone.
 
Have a Bass Pro about 30 minutes away. I don't visit often and the last time was about 6 or so months ago. Plenty of pistols, ARs, shotguns, and rifles. Targets, reloading supplies, etc. Bad prices though.
 
If you want to run a business, you want insurance. If your insurance company says that you have to have gun locks on all guns that customers have access to or we aren't issuing a policy, you buy a bunch of cheesy locks. It's why gun manufacturers ship guns with locks now. In case of an accident or a child accessing the gun at home the maker can say "Hey, we shipped it with a lock, wasn't our fault."



Perhaps there are reasons for not allowing concealed carry. Rented facilities can have many reasons for not allowing firearms in their locations. We sell guns but also have a sign on the door prohibiting loaded guns being brought into the store. There are pawn shops within a few blocks of our location that don't allow their employees to carry. They are robbed often. As for shows, it can be a facilities rule thing or even event insurance. Having a "If you don't want my gun here then you don't want me here, either." mentality is fine, but understand that if someone has to carry insurance that costs twice what a non-carry policy would cost, that's going to reflected in the prices as operating costs do take a bite out of gross profit.



For most scenarios, yes, the Anaconda on my hip is a sufficient deterrent. 99.9% of our customers have no issue with a plastic lock on the display gun and don't ask for it to be removed. I should have been more clear, my hand doesn't drop to the butt of my gun, but merely moves to the general area rather than laying on the counter. I watch where the other hand goes. I am merely more aware of what he'd be doing. I frequently rest my forearm on my holstered revolver just as a handy place to rest my arm. An armrest. Like in my pickup.
Also, it does bring to mind the question of why someone finds it necessary to remove the lock. Do you want to dry fire my merchandise 142 times before deciding whether you want to buy it? Are you going to ring the cylinder on that brand new revolver? If the trigger pull is a question, I have a trigger pull gauge and snap caps.



As outlined above, there are several reasons to lock a gun, probably the least being someone dropping a loaded mag in it to shoot up the store. But it has happened. So our insurance company is nervous about it and we kinda like having insurance. I never said it was our choice to do it or not do it, it's our choice to have insurance or not have insurance. Just as a landlord must sign off on the idea of a tenant store in their building carrying guns or not, there's a lot of factors that go into it.



Yes, but they have different and more expensive insurance than we do. Most ranges locally won't rent a gun to you if you don't have one, however. Just google "suicide rented gun". If you don't' want to do business with our company because we have gun locks or signs asking you not to carry a loaded firearm into our store, I can understand that. I can respect that. But, please understand that there are reasons and factors that go into such rules other than the perception that the owner and management are jerks.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I can appreciate there is a wider spectrum of hidden issues like insurance that make things like trigger locks/no cc necessary for some. However, it is my experience that they are used at larger corporate type dealers and I have never seen them in smaller more local type shops.... Also these smaller shops in my area are typically less expensive.... so perhaps, luckily, insurance companies in my area haven't caught on to using them to reduce premiums.

Originally when I read your post, I thought you implied agreement with the trigger locks from a safety standpoint due to your "hand going to your edc" rather than as an insurance requirement. That is the line of thought I tried to expand on in my post, which I stand by.

I'm aware of the rented gun range suicide... It's disturbing and sad. However, I've never heard of not being rent a gun if you don't already have one in my area.

I appreciate all of the additional perspective from an industry insider standpoint. I don't think shop owners/clerks are jerks because of the trigger locks. I just don't like them and since they are the exception rather than the rule in my area, it's not difficult to shop places that do not have them.
 
I'm aware of the rented gun range suicide... It's disturbing and sad. However, I've never heard of not being rent a gun if you don't already have one in my area.

https://www.nexusshooting.com/rentals
Nexus is one high tech range/gun store. They have a paper side and a proprietary holographic side where you can shoot at moving holographic targets with your firearm. Their rental rules are specifically written to prevent rental suicides.
https://shoot-straight.com/faq/gun-rental-policy/
Shoot Straight is a chain of gun shops with at least 8 locations in Fla.
Not sure if this is just a Florida trend, but seeing some of the news media reports of the absurd nuttiness that goes on in this state from time to time.
 
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