Local Cabela’s

The one in Bristol va has the same as they did before the buyout. The cabelas and the bass pro are 5 minutes apart although one is TN and one is VA. but the cabelas is considerably cheaper on reloading supplies. Guns are equally over priced though.

Have started a couple of these elsewhere and commented on others. The store in Illinois has not had primers since the beginning of March. Was just in the store 4 weeks ago and the section of the store for reloading has been relocated and is now 1/3 the area of what it was. This store was convenient but if this is the direction they are moving I will be moving my buying habits somewhere else. This store was close enough I could easily drive there to get what I needed for powders and primers. Now I will travel farther but buy more at a time to reduce trips.

Local Cabelas is worthless. Drove up to get some stock finish. “We haven’t carried that since the change over. We used to sell quite a bit.” I’ll just order from Amazon.

Last time was when a game cam marked $99 rang up at $199. “I’m not surprised—Do You want to go pick out another one?” No, I’ll just order from Amazon.

Realized the last four times I’d gone to get something, I ended up ordering from Amazon and it just isn’t worth a twenty mile drive for that. Oh yeah, last time they’d removed the bargain cave too.

Phil70 said:

I went to my local Cabela’s today and was disappointed with what I saw in the reloading section.

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Agree 100%. Went into the Wichita Cabela's for the first time in several months last weekend and was disappointed with the changes.

I guess we're lucky in southern Michigan. The Dundee store is the same as it was before. Yes, they were out of primers for a while but now have a full stock of Federal and are starting to get Winchester back. The reloading section is very well stocked with equipment and components. Picked up a Lyman case dryer in the Bargain Cave for $26 last week. They also have a 90 day no questions asked return policy.

Bass Pro is also doing away with their rewards points system. RARELY does either have prices on reloading supplies cheaper than I can get them from my LGS. Usually it’s a markup of almost 30%.

I haven't set foot in mine for awhile but an unexpected dove hunt popped up last weekend and i couldn't find my choke tubes so it was off to spend my gift card. I arrived to a completely remodeled store, reloading used to be about 6 side x side shelves and its now 2 shelves. I couldn't find a box of blazer brass or aluminum to save my life! (I don't mess with Herters ammo!) I went to the camo clothing section to look for a t shirt and game bag and all i found was bass pro t shirts, hoodies and hats! Went to the section for dove stuff and not a single thing! They also eliminated the bargain cave!

So all in all my despise for that place has now sky rocketed. lol.

No camo clothes and Ohio deer season starts in 3 weeks, no reloading stuff, ammo is very minimal now, way too much novelty stuff like truckers hats and shirts! Unless i cant make the drive to fin feather fur outfitters and its a need right now thing i wont be back for good.

I purchased a fishing rod from them and a quite expensive one at that cause of the lifetime warranty on cabelas gear and the tip of the rod snapped the other day and now I'm told 90 day warranty. I get it that that's still a good deal but if i purchased something under the lifetime warranty they should honor it.

kmw1954 said:

The store in Illinois has not had primers since the beginning of March. This store was convenient but if this is the direction they are moving I will be moving my buying habits somewhere else. This store was close enough I could easily drive there to get what I needed for powders and primers. Now I will travel farther but buy more at a time to reduce trips.

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Thunderchicken said:

Local Cabelas is worthless. Drove up to get some stock finish. “We haven’t carried that since the change over. We used to sell quite a bit.” I’ll just order from Amazon.

Last time was when a game cam marked $99 rang up at $199. “I’m not surprised—Do You want to go pick out another one?” No, I’ll just order from Amazon.

Realized the last four times I’d gone to get something, I ended up ordering from Amazon and it just isn’t worth a twenty mile drive for that. Oh yeah, last time they’d removed the bargain cave too.

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The employees at my local Cabelas are mostly clueless about guns, ammunition, etc. I buy ammo for them when it is on sale and it seems like they are out-of-stock most of time when I go in. So I shop on-line and use the In-Store Pickup option. I know what I want before I buy so I get the sale price and it saves me a lot of time.

Hamburg PA had about 8 different powders last time I went, the bargain cave was almost empty as well.

Christiana mall DE had restructured the floor layout to be completely asinine while cutting the reloading section down to 1/3 of its former glory. The bargain cave (more like closet) was also just about empty.

Its a shame the deal couldn't have had bass pro being bought out by cabelas.

I will not bash Cabelas for not stocking a lot of gun powder, primers, etc. Powder takes up a lot of shelf space and are slow movers. I recently went to Cabelas and a LGS looking for H335. Both of them did not have it. I ended up buying it at a store that was out of my way but he carries Hodgdon powders. Sure they all had powder but I only wanted H335.

Image stocking a full line of Accurate Arms and Winchester powders just to have me come in only wanting H335.

Likewise with reloading dies. How many dies of the same caliber does a reloader need? I happened to have two sets of .223 dies; Lee and RCBS. I brought the Lee first, decided I don't really like them so I brought the RCBS. Barring a flood or fire I will never need to buy another set (along with my other two dozen caliber sets) again.

And not to mention brass. Two dozen different calibers and I am a lightweight compared to what some folks reload.

Primers are consumable and take up less space but we each have our preferences. Switching primers is not something I Iike to do. Once I work up ammunition loaded with the powder and primers I like I don't want to change.

For me the issue is this. Cabela's used to be reliable, useful and convenient for what I wanted an needed. They carried what I used and I could get it with reasonable effort and cost. Now if they are going to base their sales and stock on the Bass Pro Shop model then I might as just as well go to the Bass Pro Shop store to buy from which is 20 minutes closer to my home. The reason I didn't shop there before was completely because of the very limited product selection and all prices were higher on all reloading supplies I needed.

So now price, selection and convenience are gone. No point in going there.

Just went to my local cabelas and it seems to me they wont be around much longer.

Prices are even higher, selection even worse, NO BARGAIN CAVE, and probably more employees than customers inside. About the only customers I saw were picking the old cave clean.

$33 powder, $60 primers, $50 lee die set, $30 small bag of brass. And none of this even in the flavors I needed.

I'm very disappointed.

I have one of their Visa cards. The points used to be good. Since Bass Pro took over the points have dropped off a lot. I used to get almost $50 a month to spend in the store now it’s around $25. Always got a pound of powder and a thousand primers

Went in with my $25 last week to get primers. Picked up some Winchester Small Pistol. Went to the checkout. Guy said $49.99. What???? Price jumped $18 since the last time I was there. Set them down and walked out

The 5% Veterans discount is gone for anything I normally get, primers, powder,ammo

This place has gone down hill. Not sure how it will make it by ticking off its regular customers

VoodooMountain said:

Just went to my local cabelas and it seems to me they wont be around much longer.

Prices are even higher, selection even worse, NO BARGAIN CAVE, and probably more employees than customers inside. About the only customers I saw were picking the old cave clean.

$33 powder, $60 primers, $50 lee die set, $30 small bag of brass. And none of this even in the flavors I needed.

I'm very disappointed.

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what is with them doing away with the bargain cave? Do they just throw away opened and damaged stuff like Walmart?

The Cabelas in Northern Colorado removed a huge section of hunting gear to make room for furniture and fixtures. LOL. I guess they sell more camo recliners than camo clothes.

Cabela’s in Tualatin OR is going down the tubes. The BP minions have changed the store into Bass Pro but haven’t changed the name.
The Gun Library has more new guns than used. The camping section is now half what it was, same for camo section but they have doubled fishing gear. The ammo used to take up 4 aisles. Now it’s 2 aisles mashed together so people can’t pass one another. But there are plenty of inane decorations and crap to hang on your walls...

Grrrr....

I haven't been to the Phoenix one in quite a while I'm kinda curious now as to how it looks might drop by when I head out to Ikea to get that display case

I live in Illinois. Every year, I drive to California to visit my son, a born and raised California kid. One of my greatest pleasures has always been to stop in Sidney, Nebraska, the first night, and go the the Cabela's Store. Sidney is the world headquarters of the chain. Or, at least, it used to be. There are two large office buildings that used to house hundreds of workers. Their parking lots are empty now.

The store itself is a mere shadow of what it once was. I used to be amazed at the astounding array of obsolete and impossible to find anywhere else ammunition they had in stock. I'm talking .303 British, 7.65 Argentine, 6.5 Carcano, in 156 and 139 grain bullet weights, 8mm Lebel, 7.7 Japanese, 8mm and 7mm Mauser ammo, 22 Hornet by PPU at $23.95 a box of fifty, 7.62 Nagant pistol ammo, 38 Short Colt....hell, they even had .32 S&W wadcutters!!

All gone, now. three weeks ago I couldn't even find more than two boxes of 357 125 grain hollow points. Couldn't fine anything but 45ACP hardball. 9mm was plentiful, but premium self defense ammo was absent. Pretty much restricted to hardball. It is sad, what has happened to this once proud and dominant chain. I think BPS has bought them only for the purpose of letting them die a slow and lingering death.... I don't like that.

I will never again go near a BPS store again.

Phil70 wrote:
I found a jug of Varget at $232.00

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What weight was the jug? If it was 1 pound, it was an outrage.

Phil70 wrote:
I said something to a worker there and he said other people have said the same thing thing.
How has your Cabela’s been since the change with Bass Pro buying them out?

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And what was the answer?

Phil70, this is not "stand-up comedy", where the audience is supposed to supply the answers, but it is forum where people share knowledge with each other.

hdwhit said:

And what was the answer?

Phil70, this is not "stand-up comedy", where the audience is supposed to supply the answers, but it is forum where people share knowledge with each other.

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Not sure what you are complaining about..?? The OP shared his experience and then asked us if we have had similar experiences. What are you criticizing???

BPS is in the process of converting Cabela's to the BPS model (read that epic fail). As many have noted, the reloading supply selection is dwindling in size, BPS was never a good source. BPS is getting rid of the Bargain Cave. BPS is taking USA made products and having them made in China, Bore Stores gun socks/bag and Selway bow stringers fell to this fate.

Employees of Cabela's have lost many employee perks and incentives. The TAGS service was sold off. The only difference between the two will be the name on the outside of the building.

We have a Bass Pro and Cabela's within about a half mile of each other but different interstate exits. Waiting to see what happens there. I don't visit either often as Sportsman Warehouse is closer.