scott26

When starting this thread, my intention was not to debate on why you should'nt support the chain stores. In fact, I said twice now I am not knocking those who do or even knocking the chain stores themselves.

I was hoping to give others my reasons for not liking Cabelas and the rest of the chains. Just food for thought for those who may never had looked at itin the same light. If you choose to support the chain stores in your community, ok. But you cant at the same time say thatdollars spent at the chain stores do not hurt the smaller shops in the area when they could have been spent there instead.

As Ihave said before, I will continue to support the locals.I enjoy the atmosphere and knowing my dollar is going to support them and their families. Are all small shops honest and hardworking?? No, obviously not. So I support the ones who are. In the long run, I make back what I spend extra in service and their willingness to go the extra mile to keep me as a loyal customer.

Thanks to all that have replied.

Scott

HEAD0001

that sums it up. And also the next time you need Minners for Crappie go to Walmart. That extra $20 has helped me many times over when I need Minners.

When I buy minners for Crappie fishing I normally buy 10 dozen per bucket. I normally receive 20 dozen per bucket. When the "Cheapo's" come in to buy minners he has his wife get their minners.And she counts them out exactly. Believe me the small dealers know who their friends and loyal customers are. And that is the biggest problem with Cabela's. You could have just spent $3,000 to $4,000with them, and you are still going to pay to have 100 yards of Vanish put on your crappie reel.

Ihave had my local dealer sell me minners by the pound(which is how he buys them), many times. Especially in the spring. And a lot of times he sells them to me for what he paid for them. But I will always give him a little extra. But then I consider him a friend. I can get water conditions on the phone from him every time. Whether I stop at his store or not. Try that at Walmart or Cabela's!!! Tom.

Dominick

I live in a liberal democratic state that would love to see hunting and gun ownership totally abolished. Alot of you guys don't realize how lucky you have it when it comes to firearms, where in this this state, a Firearms ID Card, drivers license/pictureID and a last minute phone call to the state of NJ is needed to buy a BB or pellet rifle. An extra handgun purchase permit which takes 5 weeks to be processed is required to buy a BB pistol. Same thing with muzzleloaders and centerfires. You can't even go to a shop and handle a 30-06 without producing a Firearms ID card which is also required to purchase ammo. Mom and pop stores in these government controlled states of the NE are just not making it. Its tuff to compete with the large inventory and prices of the big stores in addition to what can be purchased online. Maybe these types of local store are okay in the states where some of you guys live which is great, but here its a different story.

So when I make a trip over to Cabelas in PA, its like makinga trip back in time when owning a firearm was part of a tradition and not a granted privilege by a state. I also purchase alot of stuff on-line from Midsouth and Midwaybut there's nothing like going to a store like Cabelas and seeing everything in person before buying.

bronko22000

From my observation, I go to Cabela's often. Their retail store is about 30 miles from me. I have purchased a few thing there like brass, bullets and an occasional scope (when they are on sale). But my bigger purchases for shotguns, rilfes, etc and much of my reloading supplies are bought at a small shop. This is a small business but he has a pretty big selection of used guns and also a few hundred new ones from many different manufacturers. His prices are good and he give you a fair price for trades.
The owner is a crackerjack gunsmith to boot. He has done a few bedding jobs and trigger jobs on some of my guns which were excellent. I guess I'm just lucky to have someone so close.

oldelkhunter

Things have gotten worse there I see. I remember buying 2 handguns and having the FBI background check on both of them and the local police chief signing off on them, I don't remember the time frame but it might have been a few months or so. That was for a 357 and a 44 S&W I purchased. There was never any problems buying a muzzleloader without any sort of permit..

bigtim6656

ya we are lucky here we can buy just about anything we want.
you can buy a rifle or pistol with a 5 min FBI check as long as you do not have any issues on your record. such as DUI domestic dispute. drugs so on.
You can own and buy a gun without any kind of permit. Heck in KY you can carry it in visible sight with out a permit

Briman

Customer service and expertise is what keeps small shops in business. Lacking those qualities, they might as well close up shop when Big Box moves to town .


The serving on one of my bows came loose awhile back. I took the bow to GM to have it rewrapped. It took 2 trips to the store and 2 days to finally get it done. I met some friends later in the week at a local bow shop with an indoor range. I fired 3 arrows and the serving fell off my string. I took the bow to the old man behind the counter and asked him if he could rewrap it, he had it done in 5 minutes and didn't charge for it.

Archery gear and services can be expensive, guess which store gets all of my archery related business now and which one I rarely visit these days?

A gun shop that is also near to that location had a sign on the front that said "we buy and sell used guns." I had a winchester 94 that I wanted to get rid. I wet into the store and found that they had stuff on the shelves that looks like it hasn't been touched in 20 years. i inquired about seling my winchetser 94 and the guy told me that they don't by those (mind you this wasa monthbefore deer season and they had 2 of them on the used rack). I told him that it was in really nice condition and I could go get it from my truck if he'd take a look at it, if only to give me an appraisal. He gave me a look like he had jsut dicovered that he stepped in a pile of dog poo, turned up his nose and walked into the back room. I never went to that shop again. They went out of business a year or two later. No loss to anyone.

Bocajnala

I do all of my hunting shopping at a store called slugmasters. It is owned by a nice older lady. She is very experienced and is always willing to help. Sure some of her prices are higher, but I'm willing to pay them to keep Nancy's shop open and working. SHe also generally has excellent deals on guns.

semi

I don't care for cabelas honestly. Their prices have skyrocketed. someone has to pay for the new store i guess. I was there searching for a new depth finder for my bass boat and quite frankly they didn't have a clue. Went back 3 separate times and each time who was ever working knew very very little about the models i was interested in. They where also about $10-$20 higher than gander was. Even their clothes are higher priced than most designer department stores. They lost me as a customer, i find better prices at gander. That being said, i am usually informed when i visit. I don't necessarily need the sales guys help to find what i want. But they should know their product and why one costs more than another. That should be simple.

HOYEAH

Right down the street from the Richmond VA Gander Mountain is a mom & pop sporting goods store. They get way more business than GM.