The Decline of Cabela’s

State of the Union Edition

Any of you guys visit recently?

>Be me, go to Cabelas Hamburg, PA yesterday PM
>Waiting for GF to get out of work, have 3 hrs. Something seems off
>Lot almost empty, even as fudd boners prepare for deermageddon.
>Many outfitters standing around in the store, talking, pacing around, staring, impotent
>Walk through the used guns, overpriced garbage. Disorganized and very low selection
>$350 shit tier Mosins. $700 shit tier Schmidt Rubins, overpriced beat to shit shotguns
>Black rifles on the floor rack were all scratched and finger fucked, 20%+ overpriced
>Smelly foreign people pointing them around
>Decide to look through wheelguns. Outfitter tries selling me a S&W model 64
>Could be a nice gun for $400 but star is beat to shit, side plate seam damage and screw damage
>The K22 I looked at next had such bad timing that the firing pin had marks between chambers
>The SP101 I looked at didn't even lock up correctly. I could pull the hammer back and the cylinder would fucking spin
>"Yeah, they're all tight guns." Look at the guy and down at the gay, immovable trigger lock
>Guy rants about Bass Pro, complaining about management openly. Visibly disgruntled
>Feeling in my stomach that the guy is low IQ and angry about his shitty job
>They guy offers no insight into what other guns they may have and doesn't know the product
>Realize that I'm not spending money on any of these guns, even for half price. Walk away
>See $49 Anderson lowers, have enough points and gift cards to make it worth it.
>Ask another outfitter and he grills me about being 21 to buy it, I am 33

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cont.

>"I don't care what you do with it. We just can't sell them because people would make pistols. You can make a rifle but a pistol, I am certain that is up to you."
>Da fuq? Just to troll him, I tell him about my 3D printed AR and VZ-61 lowers
>I can feel the seething rage and confusion about black rifles and non-fudd gun culture
>Decide to bite because I'll get it for free with my Cabelas bucks
>Just as I am doing my paperwork, I see an IJ-70 Russian Makarov PM for fucking $149
>Outfitter dosn't know what I am talking about, pulls it out from under the counter
>"Yeah, its an Iminez." Laugh to myself for about 30 reasons. It looks mechanically decent.
>Lower is in the white, so it'll make a nice shooter.
>Realize the only reason I am getting it is because illiterate fudd retards grade the guns and must have missed it.
>Trying to check out and this huge fat neckbeard is playing street lawyer with the manager
>He's wrong but insists he can buy a gun if he does not have his current address updated
>Super cringy and autistic, 3 guys are talking him down. It ties up my check out for over 30 minutes.
>Lady checking me out does not know how to clear the gun and keeps sliding it around on the counter
>Final price for the gun and lower comes to $218, actually paid $135 with giftcards I bought online and some points I had to use
>Took over 3 hours for the inspections, BG check and to be able to leave the store
>Looked at a upland game vest but the online inventor did not match what was in the store
>The lady looked at me confused when I asked if she could check the inventory for me
>Most times I go anymore, the store has no deals. I think I got lucky this time around
>Place was disorganized and had a poor selection and prices. Outfitters and customers were seemingly unhappy and unfriendly

What are your thoughts about the direction of Cabelas? I try to shop at my LGS as much as possible these days. Their bad policies and poor management are showing these days.

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Homie, in the same plaza there is a breddy decent surplus store, why would you fool around at a cabelas that has been on a rapid decline for years?

I do like to do some window shopping through a Cabelas, occasionally you’ll find something decent alongside some decent fishing stuff. Where I’m at they aren’t too terrible, at least compared to some of the shit I hear about other places. Hell if Bass Pro Shops got Cabelas for $5 billion then obviously there has to be something they’re doing right, even if a lot of it is fudd pandering.

This whole story is a lie.

>go to cabelas.
>take number.
>Insta-call my number
>2 Anderson’s please.
>retrieve from back room
>check out in under 20 minutes
>guy discusses his 300blk pistol he built
>no fudd in sight.

up near Green Bay, WI.

>store is less than 5 years old
>store is just fine, if a touch overpriced
>Scheels in appleton is FAR better but just as expensive

The local gun stores are absolutely crazy expensive though.

I went to Bass Pro recently, guys were super helpful and it's the best fucking store ever, it's like a zoo and a playground, I loooove going there

What up fellow PA homie?

Like any store and business a lot of the quality comes down to what location you go to. Some places have pretty good service and quality, others are absolutely shit tier. Besides, for any faults Cabela’s may have, they aren’t nearly as bad as Dicks. Not even a gun thing either, Dicks just sucks and they sucked before they virtue signalled against AR’s.

Okay...

I’ve seen the Deuce and a Half with the sign, never checked it out. Any deals you’ve had in there? I’m looking for a nice surplus coat, maybe some ALICE gear too.

Hey bro, check out Boyer’s Harware in Slatingtin some time. Great people in this 150 year old hardware store. So many guns.

I wish I would have spent the 3 hours there yesterday but they were closed Wednesday.

Big box stores are dead. Most people buy online now and do transfers at small local shops, which is wonderful.

I used to love going to the Hamburg Cabelas. From about 2008 to 2011 I would find great deals. A MAS 49/56 mint for $200, a Polish Mauser carbine for $250, a beat up but mechanically fine Ruby .32 for $89, a few others. Used to see a ton of surplus for decent prices. Now it is all beat up autos priced at more than they are new. I still check it out every now and then. Got a nice Ruger Security Six .357 6 inch for $400. That was fair. Ammo is reasonable at least.

Nearest cabelas to me decided to put 'all' their guns behind the counters, and were checking IDs before showing you a gun off the counter or to even enter the gun library

I lost my shit in a fiery burst of spaghetti and made a fool of myself chewing out the middle aged guys wearing "I'm still in my 30 days" nametags with a label instead of engraving and haven't been back since

I wrote to cabelas asking what the deal was and they sent me back a "thanks for your concern we'll look into it but fuck off" response

Should've went across the street to the Cigars International Superstore instead, you would have had a much better three hours. Enormous lounge, two full bars, pool tables, and about a million different cigars to choose from.

>be me, just getting into guns
>go to cabelas and fingerfuck a RI 1911
>don't know how that shit works yet
>checking out the gun
>lock the slide back
>don't know how to make it go back
>ask the guy how it works
>doesn't tell me
>puts the gun away, smug as can be
>just turn to leave
>see that some customer had come up behind me during this exchange
>didn't say anything
>glared at me like I was holding up a line or something
>I was the only person at the pistol counter
>walk away
>hear them both chuckling
I have never bought anything from cabelas.

thats pretty cringe.

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>brick and mortar for anything but food
KEK

I remember that, they used to have crazy amounts of Milsurp guns at great prices. $99 Nuggets, a wide selection of Lee Enfields, Arisaka’s, I bought an FR8 from them around 2009 for $200.

Yes it was.
At least I know what a slide release is now.

>I lost my shit in a fiery burst of spaghetti and made a fool of myself chewing out the middle aged guys wearing "I'm still in my 30 days" nametag
Gonna need a greentext for this one

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>He's wrong but insists he can buy a gun if he does not have his current address updated
You absolutely can. You just need proof of your current address such as a hunting license.

Big tiddie bartenders too.

The first couple times I went into a Gander Mountain I felt very nervous to handle anything too. Now, nine years later, I have my FFL. If you care about something stick with it and learn as much as you can, and you can do anything you want.

I havent been out that way in a bit but last time i went the most notable things i remember were decently priced cold weather boots with the pressure valve, cheap ass wool blankets, and off brand glock 30 rounders, very small hole in the wall place but its packed full of gas masks, p38's, misc pouches, mess gear and the like

A.F boyers is based, they always have the weirdest niche stuff that i can never find at my lgs

It has to be a government issued document from the same state as your driver's license, but yes. CCW permit and vehicle registration are ones I have seen used before.

>You absolutely can. You just need proof of your current address such as a hunting license.

I bought a lower with my car registration once

>The local gun stores are absolutely crazy expensive though.
The painful truth. Bought a Ruger mark 4 online and with transfer was still $100 cheaper.

Even for that Cabela's is rarely worth it.

Truth. OP here, I can mirror this. Their silly discounts were what killed them, I swear. Always bought a gun and stacked the discounts for killer deals. Gun library was cool and could discount guns for you too. Things have changed a whole lot.

>2 nice 91/30s for $89 each
>Mint Beretta Minx long barrel 22 Short, $125
>4 Walther P1s, mint and all matching, $212 each
>Star Model B 9mm, Waffenamt and unfired, $119
>Anchutz Model 10 22 with micrometer sight, minty, $400
>Remington Model 11, $250
>Berta Thunder CC, lnib, $139
>4 unissued Yugo SKS, $189
>Nice Yugo M48, $225
>Saiga 308 20” with SVD Stock, in box, $425
>S&W 500, 4”, Lnib, $700
>S&W 640 357, lnib pre lock, $325
>C96 Bolo, $460
>2 Matching DWM 1920s 7.65 commercial Lugers, very good and excellent condition, $575, $780
>1950s Ruger standard, 6” LNIB, $149
>Ruger MKII stainless Target tapered, $160
>Marlin 39a, excellent condition, JM marked, $325
>Many inexpensive and like new glock Gen 3s in box. 20 for $350, 26, 27 for $325, multiple of each.
>Eddystone M1917, 575. Sold for over 1K because it wouldn’t fit in my safes ans I didn’t like it.
>Multiple Winchester 94, pre64 guns under $400
>Multiple Beretta 950 Jetfires under $200
>Soviet Tula TT33, good condition, minty barrel and 1939 production, $500
>Multiple single action Rugers including 2 NM SS Vaqueros, 357 4.5” and Old Model Vaquero 45 Colt 4.5” for $350 and $400 respectively. Like new in box.
>Webley Mk IV, post war police 38, no import safety, $325. Very good condition.
>Multiple Makarov and combloc 9x18 variants for under $250.

Shit was insane. I have so many more but I’d have to sit down and think of them all.

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I swear I remember that C96 but was a broke college student at the time.

It was October 2014, also picked up a very nice matching Ballister Molina for $400.

Perhaps not then. I see they also did away with the Bargain Cave.

Rock on. I love bullshitting with Allan, Bob and Abel. Recently picked up 2 very nice British Parker Hale guns, 1858 Enfield 2 band and a Whitworth. Under 500 cash for both, very nice condition. So many more deals so little time.

Yeah, that’s what I observed last night. The place is going downhill fast. I’d rather shop at a mom and pop store. There used to be a used outdoor clothing store in Lebanon. More more though.

That store is an abomination and i miss the fields they bulldozed to fill with spic magnets

You’re not wrong. The point was that his current address was occupied by his lard ass just that week. Honestly, he should have used his brain before he opened his mouth but I digress.

Pic very related. I even took a video of it because the conversation was so belligerent, awkward and out of hand.

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I work at a cabelas gun counter, ask me anything

i was at the same one last year when i was driving down to philly. i was taking a look at some of the rifles on the rack and a bunch of little 14 year old kids ran up, grabbed the teathered century ak and started pointing them at people and making gun noises. i looked at some taxidermy and left shortly after. the army surplus place in the mall across the parking lot was an 100% better experience

Went to BassPro and Bought a Ruger American .308 for a good price. Bought some gen 2 and Gen 3 Magpul 30 rounders that were apparently mispriced.
They have some good deals on ammo sometimes.
What the fuck do you want? It is the Walmart of sporting goods stores.

Last time I went there was a huge family of nignogs at the large Bass fish aquarium. All of them banging on the glass and hooting and hollering loud as fuck. Saying shit like "Dis nigga look big yo!". I mean, I was glad to see them excited about fish, but they were really hitting the glass hard. The fat negress was too busy with her phone to care. No father in sight.

Then at the handgun counter another large group of niggers is asking to see this gun and that, holding the shit sideways and saying really stupid shit like "Blast on dem niggas!". I half expected to see a camera crew come out and have them say it was a television show about peoples bias. The clerks were very visibly agitated and upset with eyes that were very very wide.

They didn't purchase anything.
We have lots of blackies in my area.
But at least they want to own guns and like gun rights, unlike the white leftists.

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I go to buy powders. While im there, i like to browse the gun library. Thats about it.

Sportsmans is better for ammo, but reno has a very good cabelas. Good fudd hunting guns and ammo, decent prices. I wanna buy a ruger red hawk from them.

Okay, okay, maybe I need to finally check that shit out. It’s still 40 mins from my house but I recently got a new car so the drive is fun. I have off tomorrow so why the hell not. I second the store for powder and primers but they don’t have a lot of exotic stuff. T&T Reloading in Stockertown is a staple for me as well as lots of equipment and supplies from Boyer’s. I’m talking about powder for $10 a pound and old boxes of 30 caliber soft points for $5. Cash talks.

I was at the Hamburg store like 2 weeks ago. Stocked up on blazer 22, thier milsurp was over priced as always. Place was crowded though. Finger banged a 44mag for hours. Got a hike in at the pinnacle and stopped at sheetz on the way home since I'm from Philly and can't get them cheese curds and Dr pepper bbq sauce on the regular.

Hamburg PA is a cool place

OP here, never realized how many PA Jow Forumsommandos were on here. Fuck it feels good to know I’m not alone.

Don’t try to tempt me with exotic sauces, Wawa for life bruh.

I always get the Wawa shorty Italian sub. Extra meat, provolone, oil, extra vinegar, oregano, LTO and Ken’s dressing on it. UTZ potato chips for the win.

I bought a beretta silver pidgeon ii a couple weeks ago from there, 12 gauge 30 inch.
I was wearing a pittsburgh penguins hoodie so me and the guys at the counter talked about hockey, two of them were navy vets and im innanavy so we traded sea stories, i told them about me being spanked by a stripper in guam, they told me about sicilian whores. It was nice.

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>It has to be a government issued document
nope electric or water bills work too

Sheetz blows Wawa away bro. Wawa has gotten worse and worse year after year. At this point I'll take a promos hoagie over anything Wawa has got.

shit that didnt happen

proofs or fuck off, lying cunt

OP I live in some what of the same area as you. I have visted that cabelas frequently. theres the army and navy, cigar place, 5 guys too in that area. IT was really cool while cabelas owned it. I went last time a few weeks ago it was shit. I felt really bad for the workers and the store its self. they put so much money into it.

How much do you get paid and what kind of benefits package if any do you have?

the unfortunate reality of the situation is that half of the people that go to that cabelas are new york and new jersey filth and absolutely shit the place up. last time I was there a mud-skinned kid grabbed an ak off the rack (he was like 8) and started sweeping everyone on the floor with it and playing with it while his parents completely ignored him.

it's a shame. i love the store itself; it's always wonderful to walk through and just look at shit, and they have a fairly excellent selection of ammo, but the people ruin it. the employees are fucking NASTY too, I was flipping up the grenade sight on a yugo sks and one of the employees drearily reprimands me with a "please don't disassemble the guns", and even after I explain I'm literally just flipping up the grenade sight he repeats himself as if I didn't hear him the first time. the rest of the employees all also seem to have massive chips on their shoulder.

but then again, I get it. if I had to deal with the shit tide that's been rolling in from the east into our state, every single day, the absolute worst of it, I'd feel like garbage too. at least the guys at the surp shop are nice enough and red robin is aight. 45 minute drive is a bit much for a lot of walking around tho

also, that chinese buffet near there is fucking terrible. absolutely the worst one I have ever been to, and trust me, I have been to -A LOT- of Chinese buffets

Gander was pretty cool. Our local one had a gun Smith so I usually just ignored the occasional idiot at the counter and went straight to him.
The one occasion I bought something online I has an idiot try to tell me I had to pay.
I explained I already bought the gun I was just picking it up and doing the paperwork.
He told me I wouldn’t be able to take it home that day.
I told him let’s do the paperwork and we’ll see what happens.
(I’ve worked for several government agencies and have had more background checks than justice Kavanaugh.)
The gunsmith came out and we shot the shit while the counter mong figured out the paperwork.
Once he had it all the Smith took over and finished the transaction.

Shit fellas I was gonna take my son there tomorrow. I also have an Anderson lower I got on sale a few weeks back for a beater pistol to pick up. I'll have to check out that surplus place I haven't been up that way in a while

>Guy rants about Bass Pro, complaining about management openly. Visibly disgruntled

if you're talking about the scruffy guy with glasses he'll give you the maximum discount on used guns because he hates the company so much. picked up a barely used mossberg mvp priced $525, scruffy guy agreed on $450, gun counter fucked up my 4473 and gave me another $25 off.

use their misery against them, you can still beat the system

Went to the Cabela's in League City TX after going to both of the front range stores in Colorado. It was a shitshow in comparison. Something changes from store to store, and upper management is responsible for continuity.

You kinda need to try clothing on to be sure it fits.

>This whole story is a lie
>because I had a different experience
>at a different store
>for a different purchase
Okay retard

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There is a difference between what you can legally do, and what Cabela's will let you do when you buy from them.

Hello fellow Berksfrens. I actually just got hired on in the gun dept there, and I can see the decline too. A lot of the gun librarians have been there since the grand opening and the merger and resultant change of policies has hamstrung them a good bit with the trigger locks and such and the employee discount on guns, ammo, and reloading supplies was yanked as well. There seems to be an excess of staff on-hand because they just did a huge hire for the busy season and they’re trying to acclimate the new blood before the rush begins.
They moved the camo into the bargain cave to separate their casual and technical clothing offerings so that someone looking for help selecting REELSHRUB XR9001 DURRHYDE shit isn’t being served by some slag that only knows about jean sizing. The bargain cave has been broken up and each department now has its own mini clearance section
My experience has been that guns you would expect to be cheaper are more expensive, but ones you expect to be more expensive are cheaper & also there’s the occasional great deal like $179 for a beretta cheetah, $180 for a mint IJ-70, $180 for a m70a w/3 mags and that rubber cyberpunk grip, $350 for a tight 3in s&w m60-3, $250 on an LE model PPS m2 w/talon grips

Even if it’s a husk of the store I’ve known and loved, it’s a McJob that’ll let me fingerfuck guns

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I talked to the guy behind the counter what's different now, and he cited three main ways:

1. No more layaway.
2. No more haggling on used gun prices (prices come down automatically by 5% after sitting on the shelves for 6 months).
3. No dry firing anymore (child locks on all the trigger guards)

I work the gun counter at a Cabela's.
This place has gone downhill in just the last couple of months as Ass Pro Shops has increased their presence in the store.

Whatever you do, don't get the stupid credit card it's a trash card and only generates more money for Johnny Morris

>Whatever you do, don't get the stupid credit card
You talking about Cabela's or Bass Pro's?

They're the same thing now. Bass pro is merging the two cards together

>go to Cabelas
>bags of birdshot are $69.99
>primers are $59.99/k regardless of brand
>no powder in stock, at all, hasn't been in stock since May of 2017
>the 70ft of gun counter is full of literally nothing but Glocks, M&P's, and Ruger American pistols
>used racks have the same rusty .22's and overpriced pump shotguns they've had since I moved here in 2011, some have built up so much dust you can't even tell what model they are, others are rusted shut
>gun library has the same beat to shit post-49 Winchester 94's (at $5500.00 each) and the same 5 Beretta 686's (also at $5500.00 each even though they have new productions of the exact same fucking gun on the shelves for $2300) plus a Barrett XM107 (only $25,000! Price reduced!) I hadn't seen before
>the sole guy behind the 70ft of gun counter is an old fat guy sitting on his walker with an oxygen tank strapped to it, completely ignoring the ~15 people in line--pull tag thingy is on #87, call sign is on #1
>17 employees and 0 customers in their 1500sqft Yeti display
>skinny old employee sitting at a desk tying flies in the fishing area, ignoring customers and his radio
>bunch of fat soccermoms with a horde of kids trying on plastic rainboots in the "lifestyle footwear" department. There is no "regular footwear" department any more.
I've never particularly liked Cabelas, they've always been overpriced and understaffed even compared to the other big-box sporting goods stores, but holy shit the Bass Pro buyout has made it so much worse

>walk into bass pro in utica NY
>they have some pistols on display, I really like 1911's
>they have a ruger SR1911 or what ever its called
>price is 900 new
thats easily 150 over what I could get it for on gun broker
>ask the guy behind the desk if he'd take 800 for it OTD
>nah sorry dude we don't negotiate on gun prices
>wtf you have it 50 over MSRP who buys these things
>nah man I'll have that sold by the end of the year
>its June
>tries to get me to buy a "just as good, ATI 1911 for 500, its a great price I swear"
>yea nah
fuck places like this and Dicks they're just there for retards who don't buy shit online

Ywah I need to make a trip up there disgruntled employees are way better then any employee discount

>Jow Forums - weapons blog

How much is the discount anyways? Enough to offset tax? Their markup?

i tried to buy a gun from a cabelas in another state recently that i saw on gunsinternational and the dude said he can't ship the gun to my FFL and that he can only ship it to another cabelas (and there isn't a cabelas in my state). do they all have this dumbass rule or was i just dealing with some retard?

Thift store, my man. Good online retailers that have free returns for fitting with everything else. LL Bean doesn't fuck around.

they probably thought it was a PA-63