Is there a Scheels outdoors/sporting goods store in your neck of the woods?

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.308 Norma said:
Thanks to this thread and 1KPerDay's above post, I found out there's a Scheel's store in Sandy, Utah. That's only about 150 miles south of here, and a few years ago would have made for a nice drive to do some shopping on one of our days off.
Unfortunately, with gas at $5.00+ per gallon nowadays, a 300-mile (round trip) drive to do some shopping would cost us nearly $80.00 is just gas in either of our vehicles. So, our "perspectives" have changed. "Our neck of the woods" is a lot shorter than it used to be - even though we're retired now and have "days off" just about anytime we want to take them. ;)
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I've noticed by browsing the Scheels website, they often have stores that are often off the beaten path. In some states they tend to shy the largest and/or most populated cities and also capital cities in some cases. They have stores in both Sioux falls and Rapid City, South Dakota which are the two largest cities in that state. But South Dakota is a boonies state in its own right anyway. Scheels might be gun shy about trying to establish new stores in larger metropolitan areas because of fierce competition from other big-box similar stores in those areas that have a strong foothold there already. They are seemingly hunting for new markets away from civilization. There might be issues with big-city zoning ordinances and/or taxes as well. I have never heard of Sandy, Utah. Why not in Salt Lake City, Ogden or even Provo? I have never even heard of The Colony in Texas before I discovered Scheels. Scheels seems to be venturing in locations where the other big boxes, as Cabela's, are not yet well established. No, it would not make sense to drive a long way to Scheels if a Cabela's in your own home town happens to have what you need. Oh, Dick's by the way, has a trend of moving anti-gun by dropping gun sales in its stores.

Here is a link to a p1ss-ant town with under 50K people that seems too remote out in the boonies to have a major super-store retailer with a Ferris wheel inside:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colony,_Texas
 
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BringHomeTheBacon said:
No, it would not make sense to drive a long way to Scheels if a Cabela's in your own home town happens to have what you need. Oh, Dick's by the way, has a trend of moving anti-gun by dropping gun sales in its stores.
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Yeah, there actually is a Cabela's in Idaho Falls (about 80 miles), and we go there every once in a while. Most of the gun and gun stuff shopping we do is in Pocatello though - that's only about 30 miles, and there's a Sportsman's Warehouse and a half-dozen or so regular gun stores there. There's a Dick's (UGH!) there too, but we never liked that place even before they went anti-2A. :thumbdown:
 
.308 Norma said:
Yeah, there actually is a Cabela's in Idaho Falls (about 80 miles), and we go there every once in a while. Most of the gun and gun stuff shopping we do is in Pocatello though - that's only about 30 miles, and there's a Sportsman's Warehouse and a half-dozen or so regular gun stores there. There's a Dick's (UGH!) there too, but we never liked that place even before they went anti-2A. :thumbdown:
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Yes, DICK'S are REAL DICK'S!

A good NRA article here:

https://www.nraila.org/articles/201...oods-loses-150-million-on-gun-control-crusade

But gun owners have long memories, and they will hopefully continue to add to the 150 million reminders they’ve already given Stack.

I was hoping Edward Stack's anti-gun crusade would backfire to put him into bankruptcy.
 
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Our town of 150k has an academy and a dicks. Academy is obviously better... Cabelas is 75 miles away in KC.

Used to have a mom and pop store called Rusty's that was awesome. But they have been gone about 15 years. They had guns, ammo, reloading supplies, fishing, camping, and ball sports equipment.
 
We received a notice of some kind of "Sweepstakes" (a fundraiser) from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in the mail this morning. The 4th place prize is a $1500.00 shopping spree at Scheels - either online or at a retail location.
It's kinda funny because before this thread on THR, I'd never even heard of Scheels. Now I'm interested and hope to visit one of their stores before long. :)
 
We've got a Scheels just up the road from me. I prefer it to Cabelas/bass pro except for fishing stuff. They are a bit more upscale than the 3 different variety of Farm and Fleet where I do most of my shopping for outdoor stuff. It is good if I'm looking for something higher end. Their gun department is very knowlegeable in terms of assisting with semi-custom orders from the brands they represent. They are also knowledgeable in non-standard transfers i.e. gunbroker, and will act like a small time gunshop in this regard charging a reasonable tranfer fee to receive and transfer FFL items. Their reloading section is well stocked and diverse.
 
BringHomeTheBacon said:
I've noticed by browsing the Scheels website, they often have stores that are often off the beaten path. In some states they tend to shy the largest and/or most populated cities and also capital cities in some cases. They have stores in both Sioux falls and Rapid City, South Dakota which are the two largest cities in that state. But South Dakota is a boonies state in its own right anyway. Scheels might be gun shy about trying to establish new stores in larger metropolitan areas because of fierce competition from other big-box similar stores in those areas that have a strong foothold there already. They are seemingly hunting for new markets away from civilization. There might be issues with big-city zoning ordinances and/or taxes as well. I have never heard of Sandy, Utah. Why not in Salt Lake City, Ogden or even Provo? I have never even heard of The Colony in Texas before I discovered Scheels. Scheels seems to be venturing in locations where the other big boxes, as Cabela's, are not yet well established. No, it would not make sense to drive a long way to Scheels if a Cabela's in your own home town happens to have what you need. Oh, Dick's by the way, has a trend of moving anti-gun by dropping gun sales in its stores.

Here is a link to a p1ss-ant town with under 50K people that seems too remote out in the boonies to have a major super-store retailer with a Ferris wheel inside:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colony,_Texas
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The Colony is not as far out of the the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex as you think. Yes, it is small, but so was Frisco when I lived there. Now it's just an extension of Plano up Preston Road. The farms are mostly gone, it's all strip malls and all the accoutrements of suburbia. I haven't been down there in about 15 years, I'm sure The Colony is on it's way to the same fate.
Scheel's puts their stores where they do so both urban and rural shoppers have a crack at them, not unlike Fleet Farm or Cabela's.
 
I have been into the one in The Colony, not really my neck of the woods but if I am going to pay retail prices I might as well make a drive for them…I just wanted to look around. Didn’t seem like a BP/Cabelas to me, had some real nice equipment.

It used to take longer to get to Lewisville back when 121 was two lanes and the only thing between it and Frisco were a few whore houses (if your old and drove the route in the dark, that’s what the red lights on the south side were). Now, you are looking at what 8 lanes of toll road anther half dozen on the service road. If your going 70, you need to move over to the slow lane. Makes for a quick trip as long as you stay out of rush hour.
 
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jmorris said:
I have been into the one in The Colony, not really my neck of the woods but if I am going to pay retail prices I might as well make a drive for them…I just wanted to look around. Didn’t seem like a BP/Cabelas to me, had some real nice equipment.

It used to take longer to get to Lewisville back when 121 was two lanes and the only thing between it and Frisco were a few whore houses (if your old and drove the route in the dark, that’s what the red lights on the south side were). Now, you are looking at what 8 lanes of toll road anther half dozen on the service road. If your going 70, you need to move over to the slow lane. Makes for a quick trip as long as you stay out of rush hour.
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Used to be a string of red light houses between Frisco and Plano too, about 27 years ago.
 
Pfft! Scheels! Can't even get a pair of Carhartt double front work pants from that place!

Unfortunately, they hit the local Sportsman's so hard that I can't get my work pants from there either anymore.
 
Closest is the Colony, a four hour drive. Cabella's is an hour away but it had gone way down hill since the merger. Bass pro is an hour away in the other direction. It is a beautiful store if you are a fisherman. The hunting section is maybe 500 square feet at the very best and many of the shelves are bare. So it looks like I'm stuck with Academy (15 minutes away) for the foreseeable future.

Oh, and every time our Walmart does a store reset the sporting goods section gets smaller and smaller. The one going on now completely removed the sales counter from the department. If you want a knife, flashlight, or the like you have to go hunt down an associate and hope they have the key to the display case.
 
jdh said:
Cabella's is an hour away but it had gone way down hill since the merger. Bass pro is an hour away in the other direction. It is a beautiful store if you are a fisherman. The hunting section is maybe 500 square feet at the very best and many of the shelves are bare. So it looks like I'm stuck with Academy (15 minutes away) for the foreseeable future.
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Not sure where you're located but we recently got a Sportsman's Warehouse nearby that isn't too bad. Their gun and hunting section is rather good. Prices on clothing seems a little high but on base gun gear its decent. Not quite as low as your average online place but occasionally low enough that once you consider skipping the shipping and transfer fee you come out better locally.

From here the nearest Bass Pro Shops is in Myrtle Beach (about 1.5 hours away) and nearest Academy is Columbia (also about 1.5 hours away). We lost Gander when it folded and were supposed to get a Cabelas but they pulled out. We do have plenty of Palmetto State Armory locations around but those are spreading slowly from the state :).
 
Just walked out of the one in Sandy (SLC) Utah ten minutes ago.

As far as nitpicking over things like scratched/molested guns, I don't think that's a chain issue, it's a store management issue. Scheels would likely be worse, because they have a lot of their guns out on display to be handled unassisted. I am more lenient than most about smudges and scratches than most, because I fully intend to smudge and scratch them myself as soon as I buy them.

I like the hometown thing, but it's relative. I used to go examine guns at Scheel's or Cabela's, and then go buy them at Impact or Sportsman's Warehouse, but now Sportsman's is national too, despite a recently dropped merger. Is that really still a 'local' business?
 
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mgmorden said:
Yeah looking at their website they don't even appear to have any locations east of the Mississippi, so I don't think they'll be the "Walmart" of anything anytime soon :).
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Eau Claire, WI, is east of the Mississippi. I've been to that one numerous times.
They probably don't want to expand too fast and implode like Sportsman's Warehouse.
 
We stopped at Cabela's/Bass Pro in Idaho Falls (about 80 miles) the day before yesterday. Being a Wednesday, there didn't seem to be many customers. There sure seemed to be plenty of salespeople though - asking us if we needed help. ;)
We drove clear up to Idaho Falls that day because my wife needed a little jacket to go with the dress she's wearing for our grandson's wedding tomorrow, and there aren't any nice clothing stores closer to home. My wife found a jacket - it cost us $40.00. That's not bad, except I figure it cost us an additional $25.00 or so in gas to drive there and back! :mad:
 
mgmorden said:
Not sure where you're located but we recently got a Sportsman's Warehouse nearby that isn't too bad. Their gun and hunting section is rather good. Prices on clothing seems a little high but on base gun gear its decent. Not quite as low as your average online place but occasionally low enough that once you consider skipping the shipping and transfer fee you come out better locally.

From here the nearest Bass Pro Shops is in Myrtle Beach (about 1.5 hours away) and nearest Academy is Columbia (also about 1.5 hours away). We lost Gander when it folded and were supposed to get a Cabelas but they pulled out. We do have plenty of Palmetto State Armory locations around but those are spreading slowly from the state :).
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Austin area.
There was a SW before the reorganization. It was closed after only a couple years. Now the next closest one is 450 miles away in Slidell. There was a Gander Mountain 90 miles away. It also closed up.
 
Seedy Character said:
Academy changes, as Managers change.
The Lawton store is at the bottom of the cycle. Hopefully, a change will occur. Part of the problem is no competition.
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I find the Academy stores in Missouri to be competitive and usually cheaper than Bass Pro and Cabela's. An hour drive west of me there is a Bass Pro Shop, Midway USA, and Academy Sports. An hour east there is a Bass Pro Shop, Cabela's, and Academy Sports. The first Academy was in Springfield, Mo which is the home town of Bass Pro. So Academy has to be competitive to last here in Missouri.
 
I have shopped at Scheels for decades. I have bought lots of sporting goods from them including guns and shooting supplies. They often have stuff nobody else has. Good stores for me. I liked Cabela's until they were bought out. Now they suck bad. Another good store is Reeds Outdoors but they are not spread very far yet.
 
There is one in Iowa City, Iowa. It is 90 miles away from where I live in Illinois.

It is worth the trip..
 
Atavar said:
It is not a good sign if your Scheels has a Ferris Wheel in the middle of it.View attachment 1086792
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That's the Springfield Illinois store. That ferris wheel was there from the get go. The aquarium is one of a kind...amazing. I used to live in Spfld. and visited that store once a week. Finally retired and got away from that sad state, but i do miss the store.
 
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