Cabela's

[Nevada Ed]

I only go there for the fudge

The store in Reno does not have a food court any more, closed it down.

I sort of miss the Elk, Bison, and other specialty items that had for a nice lunch.

I have not checked their fudge out, in the last four trips there.
They do have some "Crazy" type Jerky sticks, though. that the kids love for a Christmas gift.

 

[Narragansett]

My family and I use to make the almost 4 hour pilgrimage to the Hamburg (PA) store before they opened the Christiana (DE) store, which became my local haunt since it's perhaps an hour away.

Prior to BP absorbing Cabelas, the Delaware store sponsored my rifle club's Mid-Atlantic Long Range Regional Championship, which draws shooters from the entire east coast and as far west as the Dallas region of Texas. When BP took over, they never extended the courtesy to inform the Club that it was withdrawing it's sponsorship. That, in itself, pretty much ended my visits to Cabela's!

What is truly sad, is that there is a BP 16 miles from home in Atlantic City, and if I'm lucky, I barely walk in there once every 3 years! They refuse to sell HPBT bullets for reloading due to state law on hollow point ammunition, and they built an indoor rifle and pistol range when the store was built that will NEVER BE FIRED IN! Instead, it is an archery test range!

For me, it is worth the extra price to pay for shipping and hazmat fees!

I used to live in PA near Hamburg, and as I said, I go for the fudge.
Bass Pro, I never go in them, and never, never go in Dick's

 

[Skeet 028]

Cabela's gun pricing is a joke especially in a Gun Library. Either there way over priced or way under priced. Sometimes even their descriptions are laughable.

Year and half ago I bought 2 S&W M-41s one 1st year 7 3/8 the other was a couple years later and it had aftermarket target stocks. Paid 800 for both + 50 dollars delivery? but my FFL picked up. Both were worth 7-800 each. Sold the 2nd one for what I had in both.

I too have mostly bought odd things online from Cabela's...mostly bullets but that has dried up too. yesterday while there they had plenty 223 and 9mm. They also had 2 boxes of Remington 264 Win Mag 75 bucks a box. All ammo was way to pricey

 

[llowry61]

I am truly disappointed with the changes since the buyout.

I am and have been a black card holder for many years with significant points that I am trying to figure out how to use wisely.

I am not sure if any of you remember or received their hardbound catalogues. I have several I received throughout the years that I retained unopened and in the original mailing package as I thought they may have some value in the future.

They used to treat me as a valued customer, however I do not feel that way today.

I may use the points on a signature hunt or experience, but this company is not what it once was.

My status will expire in 2023 and unfortunately, I don't really care at this point. I have moved on to a more considerate rewards card.

 

[Inland7-45]

After I retired last year I spent a few months as a part time firearms outfitter at the East Hartford CT store. The changes since the buy out are obvious and are not for the better. Their real focus is on pushing the club card on the customer. At one time you could have compared this place to Kittery Trading Post. Now days it is about one notch above Dick's only because they still sell firearms and hunting related stuff.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm not going to jump in here with both feet but I will make a comment. I was very sad when I heard Cabela's sold out to Bass Pro Shop. I knew the prices would go up and the merchandise would be lacking. Unfortunately I was correct, a great loss for the sporting, fishing and camping community

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I do have a Cabela's card. It's handy for the club discount.
I found that plus the military discount to be handy.
The cashier asks me if I want to apply my credit balance to my bill.
I say yes And she subtracts the usually two or three dollars I have in my credit balance.
I pay all of my credit card bills as soon as they post So it's not a big deal for me to use their card.
Recently I have bought ammo and Ruger LCP max From Cabalas.
Last time I was there I didn't buy anything.
Went to the nearby Warehouse and bought A 555 box of Win 22.

 

[LostintheOzone]

I'm confused about all the negative comments. In my local store I don't see any difference. IMHO its the pandemic and politics, because nothing seems to have changed since Bass Pro took over.

We can all remember some "issues" in the last 10 years. I won't mention names because I don't want the thread to get closed down.

Anyway, during the last crisis ALL their ammo was sold out and many of the guns were gone as well. But then during the period roughly 2016-2020 the shelves in MY store were full and the prices were reasonable.

Then, in mid 2020, when only "essential" stores were allowed open, there was a run on ammo and guns. The shelves at Cabelas were bare again.

As of right now, they have about 1/3 of the shelves full of ammo, and the gun counters are maybe 50% full.

OTOH, the shoes, clothes, camping, fishing, boats, etc. are the same as they have always been. No change there.

The gun library was always a farce anyway. Only a novice would buy a gun there.

Now Gander Mountain was the place top go. I bought an unfired Pre-27 8 3/8" for $299, and a Pre-14 for $199. That wasn't all that long ago. Their merge with Camping World is what devastated them.

Not always. The Library at my local store would negotiate a price and you could do a decent deal occasionally.

I bought a S&W 36 (60's mfg) there for $450 in excellent condition. Also a Howa Mini .223 for $250 NIB. Cabela's isn't the same store after the buy out. They lost me.

 

[ike1518]

Went to the local Cabela's(Billings) today. The best that can be said about the visit is Wow...Since Bass Pro bought the company it's sure gone downhill. They had no..none reloading items. Did have a few dies etc..10 dollar Lee shell holders etc. no reloading supplies at all. The only thing I found in there was some 3 inch Herter's 410 shotshells...and they weren't cheap...15 dollars a box. I bought the only three they had...and not even for me. A friend asked me to look out for some 3 inchers over a year ago. I must admit...Scheel's outperforms Cabela's by a large margin. It's sad!

A number of years ago saw Steve Scheel talking about their dream to catch-up to Cabela's. Mr. Scheel said they not only caught up to Cabela's but have Cabela's firmly in their rear view mirror and intend to keep them there. No one is perfect, but Scheels is a high integrity retailer.

 

[lihpster]

Unfortunately, the 2 closest Scheel's are in Missoula and Reno. If you figure in gas, it would be about the same price. I only go into Cabela's occasionally to check for ammo. But even that is usually more than I want to spend. Rather buy at my LGS. At least then I'm supporting a local business.

 

[Fishinfool]

My Cabala's story. Went to the grand opening of the Hamburg, PA store. WOW, I was in heaven. Got the Cabals's reward card. Maybe a year later, I had enough points and discount offers to go shopping - purchased a beautiful Canadian made insulated leather jacket, worth almost $400.00, for free.

Fast forward to last month. Went to the same store, after years of absence. Wore my old Cabala's leather jacket. Place looked picked over, though still decent. Noticed in the clothing section a rack of jackets just like mine. Curious, I took a closer look. I was shocked - virtually the same jacket, though now made in Pakistan. Everything looked and felt cheaper, and it weighed about half of what mine weighs. A big dive in quality. Priced at a little over $400.

And that about sums up today's Cabala's.

Larry

 

[TXBryan]

From a Fox News blurb from December 2019. This still bothers me - a lot. Follow the money? You bet!


Major Republican donor Paul Singer has very few fans in this town (Sydney, NE) of 6,300 people, where 80 percent of voters backed Donald Trump in 2016.

The town's mayor, Roger Galloway, told Tucker Carlson Tonight that the merger cost Sidney 2,000 jobs.

The sale of Cabela's to Bass Pro Shops was announced in 2016, a year after Singer's Elliott Management disclosed an 11 percent stake, and said Cabela's should explore a possible sale. Cabala's was profitable at the time, but in mid-November 2015, Elliott Management "stated that they believed the Company should be sold through a public auction process" and that if they didn't engage in the sales process, the hedge fund "was prepared to take further steps with respect to the Company," according to securities filings.

After the sale announcement, the stock price surged and Singer's hedge fund cashed out within a week. Elliott Management reportedly made at least $90 million.

The implication here is that the "merger" was not necessary and happened to fatten an already fat cat. I have complete respect for capitalism but this was just plain unfortunate.

About the time this was happening a hunting buddy was having buyer's remorse on a recent high-powered rifle purchase from Cabella's. He took back the new, in the box, rifle to see how much they'd give him for it knowing they'd low-ball him. He paid just over $800 for the rifle only weeks earlier. They offered him $150 for it. He related that even though he knew they'd try to hose him he flew into a rage (and he's not the raging kind). I was with him when he used this same rifle to take his first elk a few months later. He's learned to like it.

 

[johnjohn]

From what you folks say;Scheels is the place to go. Wish we had some down here. I don't know of any in the state of La. Please tell me I'm wrong.

 

[Poncho Catalina]

I used to take my daughter to cabela's to see all the mounts. She said it was like going to the zoo. I bought some clothes from them. Never bought a firearm from Cabela"s or BP, always bought from a local Mom and Pa store. A lot of small m&p stores have come and gone. It the last few years several stores with ranges have open in my area, but are part of a larger co. They are nice clean well lit stores. Nice place to go and shoot.

 

[ike1518]

From a Fox News blurb from December 2019. This still bothers me - a lot. Follow the money? You bet!


Major Republican donor Paul Singer has very few fans in this town (Sydney, NE) of 6,300 people, where 80 percent of voters backed Donald Trump in 2016.

The town's mayor, Roger Galloway, told Tucker Carlson Tonight that the merger cost Sidney 2,000 jobs.

The sale of Cabela's to Bass Pro Shops was announced in 2016, a year after Singer's Elliott Management disclosed an 11 percent stake, and said Cabela's should explore a possible sale. Cabala's was profitable at the time, but in mid-November 2015, Elliott Management "stated that they believed the Company should be sold through a public auction process" and that if they didn't engage in the sales process, the hedge fund "was prepared to take further steps with respect to the Company," according to securities filings.

After the sale announcement, the stock price surged and Singer's hedge fund cashed out within a week. Elliott Management reportedly made at least $90 million.

The implication here is that the "merger" was not necessary and happened to fatten an already fat cat. I have complete respect for capitalism but this was just plain unfortunate.

About the time this was happening a hunting buddy was having buyer's remorse on a recent high-powered rifle purchase from Cabella's. He took back the new, in the box, rifle to see how much they'd give him for it knowing they'd low-ball him. He paid just over $800 for the rifle only weeks earlier. They offered him $150 for it. He related that even though he knew they'd try to hose him he flew into a rage (and he's not the raging kind). I was with him when he used this same rifle to take his first elk a few months later. He's learned to like it.

Another Scheels story: I purchased a 7mm-08 that had a terrible copper fouling problem. Scheels sent it back to the manufacturer to see if it could be corrected. It could not be corrected to my satisfaction so Scheels gave me back every cent I paid for that rifle including taxes and the fancy scope mounts I bought for it as well. No questions asked.

 

[tug700]

Cabela's in Allen, Tx is a nightmare when buying a gun. I went in 2 months ago wanting to buy a gun and waited 40 minutes for a salesperson to sell it to me. He shows up and acts like he is doing me a favor showing me anything. I left after he told me it would be 1.5 to 2 hour checkout. 3 Weeks ago, I went back at opening time and got a really nice salesman. We walked down the counter to the Sig 365XL and i said I will take it. He found a NIB in stock and we proceeded to check out. 1 hour after we started to checkout, I left the store. I went through the turmoil to use my capital one card points. Never again will go through a 1 hour checkout to buy a gun.

 

[LostintheOzone]

I just tried to buy a revolver from a Cabela's in another state. They needed a credit card and the state sales tax which was about 7%. Then they could ship it to a Cabela's near me. If I transferred the revolver in my state I have to pay the 9% sales tax again. I know state laws can become cumbersome but why can't they just ship the revolver to my state and do the sale/transfer/tax here? I have the option of refusing the actual sale at my local store so it's not a sale until I say it is. I was agreeable with the $25 shipping but not double sales tax. That would have been $125.

Cabela's just needs to get out of the business of selling firearms on the internet if they can't figure this one out.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

My Cabala's story. Went to the grand opening of the Hamburg, PA store. WOW, I was in heaven. Got the Cabals's reward card. Maybe a year later, I had enough points and discount offers to go shopping - purchased a beautiful Canadian made insulated leather jacket, worth almost $400.00, for free.

Fast forward to last month. Went to the same store, after years of absence. Wore my old Cabala's leather jacket. Place looked picked over, though still decent. Noticed in the clothing section a rack of jackets just like mine. Curious, I took a closer look. I was shocked - virtually the same jacket, though now made in Pakistan. Everything looked and felt cheaper, and it weighed about half of what mine weighs. A big dive in quality. Priced at a little over $400.

And that about sums up today's Cabala's.

Larry

That same Cabela's is my closest store too. I used to take a trip there with my wife every few months unless a sale came up before that. My wife really liked their cloths but that has now all changed, not the same quality. I still have a gift card with over $50 on it that I just can't find anything worth buying online. It's very sad since the store is only 72 miles from my home.

The gun library in that store was not all that bad but I have to agree, they never seem to offer a fair price for buying anything you bring them.

They also closed the food court like mentioned in this thread. I too will miss the elk and other game meat especially the gator burgers.

I see no reason for the buyout at all. Very sad indeed. They ruined a very good outlet for the fisherman, hunter, shooter and outdoorsman.

 

[Bumpus13]

I'm confused about all the negative comments. In my local store I don't see any difference. IMHO its the pandemic and politics, because nothing seems to have changed since Bass Pro took over.

We can all remember some "issues" in the last 10 years. I won't mention names because I don't want the thread to get closed down.

Anyway, during the last crisis ALL their ammo was sold out and many of the guns were gone as well. But then during the period roughly 2016-2020 the shelves in MY store were full and the prices were reasonable.

Then, in mid 2020, when only "essential" stores were allowed open, there was a run on ammo and guns. The shelves at Cabelas were bare again.

As of right now, they have about 1/3 of the shelves full of ammo, and the gun counters are maybe 50% full.

OTOH, the shoes, clothes, camping, fishing, boats, etc. are the same as they have always been. No change there.

The gun library was always a farce anyway. Only a novice would buy a gun there.

Now Gander Mountain was the place top go. I bought an unfired Pre-27 8 3/8" for $299, and a Pre-14 for $199. That wasn't all that long ago. Their merge with Camping World is what devastated them.

I'm going to agree wholeheartedly with you. My local Cabelas (Wheeling, WV) doesn't seem much different … other than the effects of the current panic that have hit literally everywhere else as well. Seems to me the ammo came back there first, and the prices began their decent there first as well. New firearms started filling their cases again before pretty much anywhere else locally & the prices were basically MSRP (no change from previous times) … Sure, I could find better deals on GB but not much locally that I could inspect in person first.

Except for the gun library (which usually was on the high side anyway) … now, it's just plain nuts. I actually saw a beater M10 there last weekend that they wanted $1,100 for. As recently as late 2019 you could still find the occasional deal there - not these days. ALL of their used S&W revolvers are sky high.

That being said, I absolutely still go in. Mainly to keep tabs on ammo prices as I wait for them to continue to drop (I'm still well stocked from before the current insanity on most calibers) I did replenish a little bit of the .45 acp I've been burning through the last couple of years. They had Herters for $27/box - not great yet, but not completely insane either.

 

[Skeet 028]

The Herters 45s at Billings the other day were also 27 dollars and no limit... But only 7-8 boxes on the shelf. I load my own 45s. The 9mms IIRC were19 dollars. Cheaper 9s at the local farm store...no tax in Mt though...4% in Powell Wy