doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com WHAT HAPPENED TO CABELAS GUN LIBRARY?

I’m glad I at least got a small taste of what a big store, fine gunroom was. I’m too young to have experienced all the fine gun sections of the big sporting goods stores of yesteryear.
Omaha in the early 2000’s, both Cabelas and Scheels maintained very nicely stocked fine gun rooms, and Guns Unlimited usually had a few nice guns as well, what a treat!!! I can only imagine that it was mildly reminiscent of what the old gun counters of places like Abercrombie & Fitch, Griffin & Howe, etc. were like. My kids still talk about going in those gun rooms and checking out all the cool stuff.
It’s extremely sad that all of that seems to be history now. One of my favorite stops heading east from Utah, back to the Midwest to hunt birds was stopping at the Sidney Cabelas and checking out all of the nice guns. I bought a few too. On one trip, we got to handle 4 different Fabbris, a few rare Purdeys, a few Boss & Co, H&H’s, best grade Scotts, Churchills, Harkoms, Dicksons, even a matched pair of Westley Richards best sidelocks made for an Indian prince….all of this in one visit.
Stopping in there now is so depressing these days, I usually just drive right on by.
Sad.

I was in Cabela's last fall looking for exploding targets for my dad (of course they were out). The Gun Library was closed and empty of guns. I asked a guy working in the ammo section (which was empty) what was going on. With a straight face (and a bit of disgust) he said they were making room for either a Santa's workshop or a lady's underwear department. I haven't been back since, so I don't know how the Redhead brand corsets are selling.

I stopped in a Virgina Cabela's for the first time in quite a while.

The Gun Library consisted of imported, military surplus rifles and some well used sporting arms. Little to no ammunition.

But there was a great selection of candy and anything your dog would ever need...

By far the BEST gun store I have ever visited was Lolo Sporting Goods in Lewiston Idaho, I don't know if they are still operating--Lewiston lost their clay target range a few years ago.

I attempted to purchase several Cabelas heavyweight chamois shirts, since older ones after a decade are wearing thin, still good but… Customer service phone representative mentioned now not heavyweight fabric as in olden days, but medium weight. Added “a quality shift since the buyout on all accounts…”. I passed.

Clothes are no longer made in the USA. Years ago, there was a clothing manufacture located in Cambridge MD, who made a lot of clothes for LLBean and other name brands. I loved stopping by their outlet store. The ladies there could tell you what was on the production schedule for the next month and would set aside things for your return. I bought many a pair of khaki pants for $ 5&10 when they retailed for $30-35, heavy weight shirts were $10 and under. Sadly that plant is long gone and most of my well worn apparel as well. My middle son decided he liked my LLBean stuff when he grew into my size so he still might have a few items. But todays clothes are not made to the heavy weight or quality standards that those item were made to. Sad but imported stuff is too often junk with buttons which seem to come off after just a few washings.

The owner just got indicted on federal drug charges…distributing Methamphetamine and pretty much every other illicit drug on the planet. Don’t think that place will be around much longer.
https://lmtribune.com/northwest/lol...6af9432-1e06-5b8c-8c64-3a4d41b5219b.html

I was, among other things, in the footwear business starting in 1976 and had a ringside seat to watch the New England footwear manufacturing industry collapse over the next 25 years. Just the way the clothing industry did. Consumers made their choice, deciding that fast fashion and price were more important than quality. It's sad, in a way, but I get a kick out of those same consumers decrying the lack of choice, the lack of quality and the lack of domestic production now. They got exactly what they demanded through their choices at the cash register. There are always consequences to one's actions.

Out of chaos there is opportunity. Hoping the demise of the "big box" stores will encourage the small, sole-proprietor gun shops to give better guns a try again someday.

Seems that Bass Pro has perfected the ability to turn anything they touch to crap.