It had to happen, sooner or later. They took down the Cabela's sign to replace it with the Bass Pro sign. They claim the only things that will change is the sign out front and the color of the employee's shirts. We shall see.

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The best I can with what I got

Pretty soon even the LGS will be a Bass Pro Shop!! Cabelas, Gander Mountain and who else have been bought up?

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I thought the same thing and got over it. I rarely leave empty handed on my weekly visits. Just be thankful you have such a nice amenity.

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213th FBINA

Oh, believe me I am appreciative. We don't have a lot of choices when it comes to sporting goods. Pretty much it's them, Dick's or smaller independents.
Still, I'm gonna miss Cabela's. When I was a kid I found some postage paid postcards and sent them to all the places that advertised in the back of Sports Afield and Outdoor Life and asked them to send catalogs. One of them was Cabela's. We've been ordering or shopping with them ever since. That was 1980. 45 years of patronage. We used to get the big hardbound book of a catalog twice a year. They didn't open the store here until 2014. Before that I remember my dad calling them on the phone and ordering. He usually had a pretty good chat with The Lady on the Phone. 2-4 weeks later, the brown truck would show up with the goodies.
When my parents took an RV trip to the East, can't go far to the west, they put Nebraska on their itinerary for 2 things. The Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron and Cabela's in Sidney. What I called The Temple of Cabelacism.
Boots, boats, bows and boomsticks, all were purchased from them. Sometimes we paid a higher price just because we liked dealing with them.
Of course, nowadays online ordering is king. But it's going that way for everything. Even banking. Or utilities.
Ahhh, heck. Just being nostalgic. One of the hazards of growing older.

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The best I can with what I got

Back when I was in high school, I can remember browsing at the original Cabelas in Kimball NE, it was about the size of a railroad boxcar.

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Eccentric old coot

I have several Cabela’s-branded items, and each is of the highest quality.

The brand will be missed.

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- Post No Bills -

The brand will be around, but the stores will be named Bass Pro. Bass Pro has said that they are well aware of the value of the brand.

Edit: As to the quality, again, we shall see.

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The best I can with what I got

We never dealt much with Cabela's as it was not in business yet when I was a kid. We used L.L.Bean, and I still have some stuff my Grandparents and Father ordered from them. Been to a couple of Cabela's and liked them. Hopefully Bass Pro will leave them as they are set up, but I doubt it.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

The quality diminished not long after BassPro bought-out Cabela's in my opinion. Sad....I rarely even look at the their store brand items anymore.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

I was a faithful Cabela's shopper...firearms, ammo, fishing gear, clothing. One of my favorite items of clothing was Cabela's heavy chamois shirt. Top quality. When Bass Pro took over, the original heavy chamois shirts were no longer available. They had a substitute that wasn't even close. The closest thing to the Cabela's chamois shirt I've been able to find is the one from L.L. Bean.

So, the sign out front and the color of the employees' shirts aren't the only thing that has changed. At least that's my view from the saddle.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Our Gander Mountain (Roanoke VA) converted into a Camping World with the parking lot full of campers,

Ours is not the only one,, the Camping World TV ad shows a building identical to our converted GM..
The building is identical, but, the neighboring buildings are different,,

I’ve never been able to buy much from Cabela’s but I kind of hate to see the name go away. There are bound to be changes, but nothing much has survived for very long in the import-everything market.

Very true. My father had a Cabela's brand wool cruiser coat that was awesome. He thought it was a little big for him, but it fit me fine. I lost it recently and was looking to replace it. Nothing of the sort from BP/C's. And for a similar high quality one from Filson etc... you're looking at $5-600. I finally settled on a wool jacket from Legendary Whitetails. Much cheaper, but less quality. Still a pretty good quality jacket though, just not as good.

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The best I can with what I got

My mother cursed the day when those went away. Until then she had a guaranteed hit Christmas present for her husband and 3 boys. Every year. We even started picking out our colors beforehand.

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The best I can with what I got

I stopped at the Cabela's in Lone Tree the other day on my way home from the VA (Rocky Mountain Regional AKA Fitzsimons). I did not get halfway through the door before one of these sales associates hit me up for a Cabela's Club credit card. She was like a used car salesman. I walked around the store for about 20 minutes just to look around. The prices were insane and it's a clothing store. It's not an Outfitter anymore it's clothing store.

I kept expecting to run into Mike Baxter.

I won't be back

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Retired Career Security Guard

The outdoor sporting goods stores have been going down hill ever since Herter's closed.

I used to make an hour drive to Cabellas to shop and really enjoyed the gun library. Never bought a firearm there but bought ammo and some fishing and other stuff. I was really an LLBean fanboy at the time as far as clothing and my hunting outfits are pretty much exclusive LLBean, especially when there was an outlet store next town over. I got some GREAT bargains there. They built a Bass Pro a couple towns away but I never really go there. High prices in my opinion. My buddy bought his new Pontoon Boat there however and it’s really nice (Tracker).

My parents both grew up in Sidney, NE so I've been a Cabelas shopper from the time I was little. I remember the boots I bought when their only brick-and-mortar store was in downtown Sidney. (And it actually was a brick building!)

Went to the grand opening of their super-store out by the interstate with my parents and my grandparents on my mother's side. That was quite an event for the folks in Sidney!

I was very sorry to see them get bought out.

I remember back in the early 70’s when they were a catalog order co. My grandfather received the Cabela’s catalog. It was smaller then, about 8” x 5”. Then about 1987 I think it was, they opened up their first store in Kearney, Ne. There was a huge aquarium to the right, as you walked into the main store from the entry way. Several large fish native to Nebraska were kept in it, walleye, large mouth, smallmouth, channel cat and flathead catfish, white bass, crappie, bluegill, etc. we enjoyed takin our children there. There were many stuffed animals throughout the store. It was really something.
Then came store #2 at Sidney, NE. (1991) It was even greater! More aquariums, more stuffed animals and fish. More of everything!
They had great deals. I took advantage of their spend $500 get $150 off. I built up a 150 count flock of Canadian goose decoys that way. Bought a great Blue Diamond compound bow.
The store was fantastic when the Cabela’s family were majority stock holders.
When the family sold their ownership, the new owners began cutting the fat. The Kearney store took the brunt of the cuts first. The aquarium came out. The stuffed animals an fish on the wall, got thinned down. The bargain cave didn’t have real bargains anymore.
Since Bass Pros took over they have managed to cut even more fat, if you could call it that. My biggest gripe is when I go in and can’t find what I want in the store, the clerk will say “We can order it for you”, to which I reply “ I can do that myself”. There is no need for me to drive 120 miles to go to the store anymore. I used to spend more money when there was a reason to go there. Now I am sure I save money because I just order what I need and I am done. No more impulse buying. No more 240 mile round trip drive. No more spending money to eat out or taking my wife to other stores to spend more money. No wonder my checking account has been growing!
I miss that old business ideal of “What can we do for the customer?” Does anyone think that the baker’s dozen (donuts) will ever come back?

I don’t shop at BassPro, might go in to buy something specific if it’s on sale. Horrible customer service if you don’t know exactly what you want.

As for chamois shirts go I use to buy those at a Boot Box store in Meadville, Pa. They sold Moose Creek Chamois shirts. I have about 20 or so of them, mostly different colors. The Boot Box changed ownership and the Moose Creeks were gone. Still find them on line though.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Best Cabelas I ever shopped BITD were Hamburg PA and Hartford CT.
Both the Cabelas and BPS around here are weak.

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I’m your Boogie Man, uh huh.

I am a FFL and have a sales tax permit. whenever i have bought a gun there, it takes 5 employees to figure out how to sell me the gun without the 4473 and how not to have sales tax charged. It never has taken less than an hour. how terrible !!

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Gun Control= Using Both Hands

Bass Pro? I stopped in to get some Bass for a Friday fish fry and they didn't even have any.
I'm with you guys, No more BP.

We had 3 Cabela's and some Bass Pros around here. The Cabela's were great until BP bought them out. They immediately became unattractive to me and all my gun friends. BP doesn't know anything about guns. That's all I will say about them. It doesn't matter if the sign changes, the inside was ruined a long time ago.

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protocalldesign.com

Gander Mtn.....Was not a fan of their handgun pricing, but they had everything. Hated to see them go

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Hipcocked & Locked

We didn't have Cabela's in this area but we do have a Bass Pro. I used to shop there once in a while but haven't in months. I got tired of being ignored when I walked up to the gun counter whether there was another customer at it or not. I had to flag one of the staff that was walking around down to get some handgun ammo that was behind the counter because the three salesmen at the gun counter were too busy talking to each other and not interested in helping me and other customers standing there.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

Got a few cheap folding knives from both stores.
Funny thing is I got the Cabela's knife at Bass pro and the Bass pro knife at Cabela's.
These shops are functionally identical

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it just needs more voltage

Gander Mountain went through a LOT of different changes before the end. I believe the current ownership, one Marcus Lemonis (google it) got it.

It isn't so much camping anymore except RV's and RV products. I was informed that Mr. Lemonis is not a fan of firearms so they were the first to go when he took over and the rest of the camping stuff soon followed.

Basically, it is an RV dealer so I no longer put it in there with places like Gander Mtn, Cabellas, Bass Pro, or Academy.

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The Last Standing Knight

and the serpentine route to the gun section
A Henry big boy 357 followed me out of that store

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it just needs more voltage

BP’s Redhead brand seems comparable to Cabelas labeled stuff.

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213th FBINA

While I agree generally that the quality has gone downhill since the Bass Pro takeover, I have still found some good stuff in the gun library at times.

Used to buy work-type, canvas, and chamois shirts from Cabela’s
Bass Pro shirts are not an even close comparison.
Kevin G


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am glad I lived here where I can go to Academy in addition to Bass Pro/Cabelas's.

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6/23/2022

Before I read the OP and had only seen the title I was going to say “If you don’t have anything good to say don’t say anything.”

I’m glad that the comment in not shopping at Cabelas anymore was just a tongue in cheek about the change in signage.

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

I was in the Hamburg, Pa Cabela’s a few weeks ago. Definitely not what it used to be. The prices, particularly ammo, were absurd. Not as big a selection of merchandise either.The store was also dead compared to ten years ago. No one even looking at guns, never mind buying one.

The Hamburg store opened, I think, in 2004. I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to take a drive and we went for the first time near Christmas the first year they were open. It was an experience. A immense variety of guns, mind boggling array of ammo, good quality clothes, and a cafeteria. I was amazed to find .38 Long Colt on the shelf, and for a reasonable price. Dad liked the reloading selection, and Mom got a winter coat that she still has all these years later. We also enjoyed a nice meal. It became an annual Christmas tradition, even after Dad passed away. We stopped around 2018, the store just wasn’t the same anymore. I do have lots of good memories from the old days however.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

Have both of them across the street from each other about 20 miles from me.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I have more reloading components on the shelves that the local Bass Pro.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

MY undies have been twisted ever since Herter's closed. Bass Pro/Cabela's are just cheap imitations.

I used to love shopping at the old Cabelas......There is a Cabelas/BP in Augusta Georgia......Last 2 times I went in I came out with NOTHING....Today Academy is much better.

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S&W Accumulator

'

...we have 'Sportsman's Warehouse'. Are the all the same company?

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

My late hubby and I were Cabela's customers for over 30 years. When they built the second big store in Owatonna, MN in 1998, we would go 2 or 3 times a year. Hubby was a big time cold weather waterfowl hunter and purchased all of his clothing and gear there. He would be appalled at the offerings now days. Like the canvas shirts that were mentioned, none of the silk and wool underwear we both liked, no bargain cave, and no elk sandwiches.
Prior to the sale to BP I purchased 2 handguns there with my FFL and had no problem then.
I do still shop there, I like the Natural Reflections women's casual clothing.

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Super Snooper

Been to the local Cabelas and Bass Pro a few times over the last 15 years or so.

Never found much that impressed me.

Full MSRP on guns and knives. Less than knowledgeable staff. I keep my money at local mom and pop shops.

I do however find the gun library interesting.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I wonder a couple of things. First, will Bass Pro keep the Gun Libraries? I have always enjoyed checking them out whenever I visited. I always liked that they would ship guns from other Gun Libraries around the country to my local store. Second, for those of you that have both stores close to each other, will one of them close? I can’t imagine them keeping both open if they are located close together.
Larry

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Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

I used to live just outside Reading, PA so when Cabela's opened the Hamburg, PA store it was like a homecoming of sorts. Just set the cruise control on the Batmobile and run up I-78. Every so often they would have fantastic sales on .223 shells and my late uncle and I would share cases of shells I bought up there. I miss those days.

Have never been there. Don't think there is one in my area.

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No baby we aint

Yeah, I think the closest one to you is the one I am speaking of, in Tualatin. Unless you're closer to Springfield, but I thought you were northern Oregon.

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The best I can with what I got

I have a Bass Pro here in Humidity, GA. I go there on occasion. The customer service is great. They got me a resident fishing license when I was transitioning here.

So far my only complaint is that the Uncle Bucks, jerky is nasty. It is ground up and formed into a strip with a mealy texture. Thankfully, I have a meat market nearby that makes jerky.

Cabela had home made fudge. Great stuff!

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I worked briefly at a Cabelas once, for the holidays. The Cabela employees weren't too fond of the takeover. Bass Pro is more fishing oriented (obviously) and Cabelas was more hunting/shooting oriented. Mine had a huge gun department/gun library. They sold so many guns it was incredible.

There were a lot of reasonably priced used guns. Some not, but mostly fair priced. The new guns you could buy cheaper elsewhere, unless maybe it was on sale. But mostly they were full retail.

I think the way they stay in business is their credit card. A very high percentage of sales were paid for by points at my store. I know I like them. I've got $200 in credit there right now. I'll spend it. There were a lot of guys that came in and bought a gun entirely with points. Not uncommon.

We have a Bass Pro here in SA, a Cabela's in Buda right up IH35 North. It's just easier to order on line delivered to the house or pick up at the front door versus searching through out the store.