Well, this thread took a predictable turn. There have been over 40 posts made since there has been any mention of the original topic of locking guns and prohibiting function checks at Cabelas/Bass Pro Shops. But remember, some say I am the one who is the cause of the majority of thread diversions here.
It started with dla's(sic) silly conjectures intended to use everything but facts to convince folks that it wasn't Liberalism that was behind Dick's decision to stop selling AR15's first, and now all hunting gear.
The later assertion by someone else that AR15's were probably not profitable and were probably on the chopping block long before is just as silly. The decision was made while Obama was in office, and AR15's were selling like air conditioners in a heat wave. Manufacturers couldn't meet demand and semi-autos and the ammunition to feed them was selling out everywhere at inflated prices. This situation got even worse, (or better for manufacturers and sellers), after Liberal Democrats threatened new gun restrictions after Newtown.
Dick's Sporting Goods has been in business since 1948, and has sold guns and hunting gear since the beginning. Isn't it funny that it took all these years, up until the 2013 Newtown shooting, to discover that guns and ammunition and hunting gear is not as profitable as clothing? Hunting has always been more seasonable, with higher sales in the fall and winter months. But guys who came to Dick's for guns and gear before and during hunting seasons then were more likely to come back and buy golf clubs, fishing lures, and tennis balls in spring and summer. I'd also bet that Chinese golf shirts are more profitable and move faster than expensive clubs. But the observations that kids just don't participate in any outdoor activities anymore should mean that Dick's and Cabelas would be much smarter to stop selling golf gear or tennis racquets, and just start selling Nintendo's, PlayStation's, cell phones, and virtual reality goggles.
Actually, when you enact a Liberal Left policy to stop selling certain guns, and shooters and hunters realize that you don't really like them, they begin to shop elsewhere. The natural result is that they also no longer buy your shotguns, bolt action rifles, ammunition, duck calls, or hunting coats. Some here would have us all forget that many sportsmen started to boycott Dick's after their Liberal CEO decided to stop selling AR15's. I haven't set foot in a Dick's Store since then, and never will. Shooting and hunting was a profitable part of Dick's game since 1948. They literally shot themselves in the foot by enacting a Liberal policy. Whether they can prosper after driving away many of their former customers remains to be seen. I won't help them win.
