Went into Cabela's in Billings this evening.

[Rpg]

We’ve had two Cabellas open in the Denver area in the last few years and we have a bass pro that’s been here several years longer.

I’ve never visited either Cabellas. The only Cabellas I’ve been to was in Nebraska. I’ve been in the local bass pro, but never bought anything but lunch.

You can tell, I don’t shop at big box sporting goods stores much.

 

[scattershot]

Herter’s?
That’s Cabela’s House Brand.
It’s usually the lowest price Ammo there and the one they put on Sale.
A while back there was a recall of Winchester 9mm.
That included a bunch of the Herter’s which is apparently made by Win.

Sadly, Herters is just a brand name now. Back in the day, the original company published a catalog full of useful,stuff. Best ever made, according to them. It was a kick just to read the catalog. Those days are gone, I’m afraid.

 

[Green Frog]

If your in/near Richmond Va try Green Hat. They are a local sporting goods outfit that moved into Cabelas old store. Last month I passed through and they were very well stocked with firearms, ammo and reloading components. I wouldn’t know about now but I’m planning to swing by there next year on my yearly Baltimore trip. I did find a Winchester Model 1912 20 ga at cabelas at the west Richmond store this year. Neat old sg.

I think you’re referring to Green Top which was named for its original little building up on US 1 that started out selling mostly bait then ammo from a little service station.

When Gander Mtn opened a big new store within a mile or so of them, most of us figured they’d never last, and we were right… GM was on the skids, and GT bought that nice new building and moved into it when that GM went under. It’s hard to beat a locally owned store with big box reach but good employees and management! The last gun I bought there was a pre War Marlin Model 90 in 410 bore. Now that’s a rare bird!

The Bass Pro is only a few miles away and used to have a truly wonderful seafood restaurant in it. I haven’t been to Richmond since COVID hit so I don’t know whether it’s open now… I certainly hope so. Richmond is just close enough to the shore to expect pretty good seafood. The Richmond Cabella’s is still further out of town, but AFAIK is still in business.

Froggie

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Guess who owns Sportsman's Warehouse now.....?

Answer - Cabelas.....

NOPE............That deal fell through.

 

[Ameshawki]

While Bass Pro didn't do Cabela's any favors with the buyout, Cabala's decline pre-dates BP by several years. The chain was struggling before Bass Pro took them over. Had BP not taken them over I question if they could have survived much longer.

 

[Roofuss]

My wife goes to Cabelas when she's looking for scented candles, I go in with her to use the men's rest room, that's it. She gets her candles and we leave and go to a local mom & pop sporting goods store and that's where I shop, lol !

 

[Old Corp]

For years I was disappointed that none of the 'big box' sporting goods stores would locate in my area Central NC - Raleigh area.....
Then - within a handful of years there was a Cabela's, a BP, a Gander Mountain, and the ill-fated 'Field and Stream'.

The Cabela's started out great. Interesting gun library. Several friends and some of my retired LE buddies worked there p/t.
Then - the BP buy-out occurred - and as predicted things went downhill quickly.
Management and it's philosophy changed - guys were not given any leeway on when they were scheduled to work. Mandatory arrive early/stay late for stocking, unloading deliveries, etc.
Guys that had been department managers were called into a short meeting and given pink slips and a week's severance pay.

The Gander Mtn. store was a joke. Very limited stock and not a single knowledgeable employee there that I could tell. Their entire stock of reloading supplies would fit in one shopping cart with room to spare.
Clothes - all cheap Malaysia/Vietnam/China stuff that all ran small in size.

The Field & Stream, aka an effort for Dick's Sporting Goods to be relevant folded after about 18 months. Store was located in extreme yuppie suburbia. Little reasonably priced stock, and again - no employees that knew much beyond golf and basketball.

Have moved East 3+ hours and miss none of those stores. Get most of what I need online now.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Just came from Cabelas.
Big crowd there. Bad weather, and a sale.
Bought Socks - for my Son.
Then went over and looked at the ammo. Asked a guy stocking Ammo if 45ACP was ever coming down.
He replied our Herter’s is the cheapest, but it flies off the shelf.
Then he heads for the stockroom and returns with a box of 45ACP.
For my SIL. Then I got a box of Herter’s 380 and headed to the checkout line.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

While Bass Pro didn't do Cabela's any favors with the buyout, Cabala's decline pre-dates BP by several years. The chain was struggling before Bass Pro took them over. Had BP not taken them over I question if they could have survived much longer.

Now. The clothes/hunting clothes are CHEAP over seas made junk. As stated above their bathroom is about all they got going for them now.

Cabelas while still under family ownership was a great store.

 

[TheTinMan]

So what is a better credit card alternative? I really liked being able to go into the Cabelas in Scarborough, Maine and get a new pair of jeans, a shirt and some ammo for “free”. Now they don’t have ammo in stock, don’t carry Wrangler jeans, and generally stink. Oh and their used gun prices are stupidly high. The guys there don’t have a clue what their inventory actually is so they just mark it up so much they can’t possibly make a mistake.

 

[fordson]

Don’t have a Cabelas anywhere near us, so can’t really comment. Got two Bass Pros about equal distance 2.5 - 3 hours drive away. One in Savannah GA, the other in the h*ll-hole of Orlando. Big treat for us to visit the one in Savannah, whenever we’re there. Was at the Bass Pro in Knoxville a couple of weeks ago. Wife picked up a nice outer jacket and I scored a pound of H110 for $34.00. Good deal all around……

 

[ArchAngelCD]

So what is a better credit card alternative? I really liked being able to go into the Cabelas in Scarborough, Maine and get a new pair of jeans, a shirt and some ammo for “free”. Now they don’t have ammo in stock, don’t carry Wrangler jeans, and generally stink. Oh and their used gun prices are stupidly high. The guys there don’t have a clue what their inventory actually is so they just mark it up so much they can’t possibly make a mistake.

Since you ask about credit cards, I use the Discover card almost exclusively. They give you cash back on every purchase and have quarterly specials where you get a full 5% back. (like at gas stations and supermarkets) The money piles up quickly and you can get the cash, donate it, pay down your Discover bill and even use it on Amazon.

Just a thought since you asked about credit cards.

 

[Gamecock]

If your in/near Richmond Va try Green Hat.

Green Top?

 

[llowry61]

I agree with all that has been said about Cabela's, the BP merger and subsequent decline.

I have had their black card for many years and have built up close to 3 thousand dollars in bonus points. I plan to use them to book a hunt next year then we will go 100% on the Discover Card as mentioned by another poster.

Paul in Nevada I would be interested in what the wholesale prices of primers are. It would tell the whole story. You can't blame a company for making a profit, but if it is way out of line then it is just another negative data point for them.

 

[Model 15-4ever]

Those kinds of margins are not all that uncommon in retail.

Yes, in clothing, footwear and other cheap goods. Firearms and ammunition always had smaller margins.

 

[balin]

I only started shopping at Cabelas about 15 years ago when they started to come into my area. I found they were generally over priced and the quality les then I could get elsewhere. And services was less then friendly,especially the guys at the gun counter. I would just go there for a change of pace

 

[Paul in Nevada]

Paul in Nevada I would be interested in what the wholesale prices of primers are. It would tell the whole story. You can't blame a company for making a profit, but if it is way out of line then it is just another negative data point for them.

Let me look into it and I will give you an update.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

Paul in Nevada I would be interested in what the wholesale prices of primers are...

After looking into it, the store prices run with 33-42% margins. This is consistent with pre-pandemic margins, at least for big retailers. So if a box of 1k retails for $90 the cost is between $52-$60 at wholesale.

If you think of it that way, the current wholesale cost is double the retail of three years ago.

 

[llowry61]

After looking into it, the store prices run with 33-42% margins. This is consistent with pre-pandemic margins, at least for big retailers. So if a box of 1k retails for $90 the cost is between $52-$60 at wholesale.

If you think of it that way, the current wholesale cost is double the retail of three years ago.

Thanks Paul, that helps me understand the economics of the primer costs.

Ironically, a store near me sent a notice email that they had primers in stock.

Winchester 209 shotgun primers $64.00 per thousand and Winchester SPP $74.00 per thousand. The SPP are a little over 2X what I used to pay.

CCI were in the $85.00 range, and they had some match rifle primers that were around $115.00.

I bought a thousand SPP even though I have a pretty good supply and in case the naysayers are right that we will appreciate these prices 2 years from now. I figure I can buy some and then the ones I paid $35.00 will still keep my overall loading costs much lower than factory ammo today.

The shotgun primers were something I did not have and while I don't currently load shotgun, I have the press powder wads some hulls and shot from a bulk buy I made years ago. So, I figured might as well grab a thousand for the heck of it. Again, a just in case purchase. If the prices go down will by a couple thousand more and dollar cost average into a lower cost per round.

Unfortunately, I could not see how many they had in stock. They had them in the storeroom and only brought out the ones you asked for. Limit was 1k per type per customer per day.

The email went out on the 8th and the other locations were sold out already.

I think it is a good sign that they had powder bullets and primers in stock.

They have had bare shelves for close to 2 years.

On the other hand, they had pallets of ammo out for sale. Prices still high.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Speaking of #209 shotgun primers, I have a little over 600 left. While I have never loaded for the shotgun I did buy a box lot of primers years ago at a local auction. There were almost 800 #209 primers in the lot, I saved them since I don't get rid of anything I might use in the future. Well, then came along a killer deal on a used inline muzzleloader rifle. Of course then I needed #209 primers which I just happened to have.

I have used up part of one of the boxes of 100 and I gave away 100 years ago. A guy came into the gun shop I and a few friends hang around looking for #209 primers for a small cannon he got his son. For some reason he couldn't find them anywhere so I offered him the primers. I went home and got a box of 100 and gave them to him. He tried to pay me but I didn't want the money since it was for his son. (they were only a few dollars back then) I very happy I kept them all those years ago, they have come in very handy. (I'm sorry, I did it again, never stop talking)