Bass Pro closes gunsmithery and Fine GunRoom in Denver

Maybe they could leave a list of where their gunsmiths have gone so we know where to take our business! You know, I'm in the process of purchasing a new firearm and was debating LGS vs big box or mail order. You may have made my decision easier.

That sad news.

Haven't been to Bass Pro except to spend gift cards since they opened a Cabelas nearby.

I'm with Robert. I'm sorry for the inconvenience for some customers but my experiences with Bass Pro aren't all that great either. With their prices they probably didn't get enough customers to justify keeping them open. There are far better options for both firearms and gun smithing.

I frequently visited the Denver Fine Gun Room for window shopping and handling of a few interesting specimins. Not many places you could fondle a Westley Richards .318 Nitro Express or a nice WW Greener field gun. I don't think they moved alot of product, but I could be wrong. I know they reduced hours in the last few months. Maybe we can look forward to a new section of "RedHead Tactical", with more "All Polymer, All The Time".

The Bass Pro in my town opened three years ago without a gunsmithery. It also has never dealt in used firearms.

Ammo prices there are fair, as are those on some brands of knives. But, I doubt I'd buy a firearm there; those prices are high.

Incidentally, they also do not carry left-handed accessories (such as holsters) of any type. A month or so back, I drove an hour south to another, similar type of store that does, where I've gotten holsters, to pick up another. While there, I happened across a sale that ended up putting a holster, two boxes of shotgun shells, and a new shotgun to boot, in my truck. Maybe I should drop BP a line and tell them about it..

Many years ago we'd drive from Tulsa to the then only Bass Pro store. It made for a fun weekend and there were good deals to be found in the Bargain Barn, which at that time was a separate building next to the store.
I wandered around the Council Bluffs store in June for a bit but these smaller versions sure seem to be a mere shadow of the old main store...

How do places like Bass Pro and Gander keep the gun departments open? The prices are highest of anywhere, and when I can drive 10 minutes elsewhere and save $100 on a gun and 40% on ammo, why would I even bother stepping inside their store?

How do places like Bass Pro and Gander keep the gun departments open?

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obviously someone buys the stuff or they would have been long gone by now?

Although I am in the same boat as you. Scratching my head.
There is a Gander next door to an Academy Sports nearby. I just have to walk across the side street and save a ton of $$$$. Insane that they can be that far off in prices on the same exact gun/ammo/whatever within 150ft of each other and remain in business.

I actually park my vehicle at the empty Gander and just walk as its generally shorter distance than Academy's packed parking lots..LOL

Bass Pro and Gander will price match local advertisements in print or online for products available in the store.

I don't think they have a gunsmith at the Grapevine TX BPS. They would mount scopes and bore sight the last time I asked about scopes.

Cabelas prices aren't that bad on items that I have shopped.

Academy is very competitive for the products that they carry.

Someone correct me if I am wrong but, I seem to recall reading that the BP Fine Gun Room was not actually owned by Bass Pro. Rather, it leased space from the Bass Pro Shop. Perhaps the same is true of the gunsmith shop also. The leases may have expired and were not renewed could be the situation.

I don't suspect anything nefarious. Most likely someone at corporate figured they'd make more money with golf supplies (or something else) in that section of the store.

Only place I know that sells real BP...enjoyed perusing the FGR but no loss really.

I live 60 miles from the main store in MO. It's grown exponentially over the years. The emphasis has always been on fishing, with related sales in boats and camping. Gun sales have always been a sideline.

Let's not forget the original stores were co-located in Brown Derby liquor stores - same ownership. The owners were much more heavily involved in fishing and they still have demonstrations with pro fishermen annually - casting contests, boat exhibitions, etc.

Haven't seen shooters on the parking lot breaking clays - it doesn't work.

As for their product assortment it's changed heavily over the years, when I was initially interested there was good gear at reasonable prices, especially in the returns shop. Now it's mostly clothing. Bass Pro was never leading edge and what it does sell is usually mass market, not high end. I haven't seen that the gun rack was taken over by cheap plastic assault rifles - but what I have seen is the traditional gun market severely shrinking in the last 20 years as it was not handed down to the next generation. Our society doesn't promote it in schools or church anymore. Young men have to discover it after being told it's a no-no all their young life, which also goes to the typical new shooter postings we get. It's a steep uphill learning curve for them - and their exposure has more likely been in video than real life.

Seeing the gun shops close is just a symptom of the overall change in gun ownership. Not to mention the continued loss of traditional brands and having their new foreign owners move the price scale up exponentially. Shopped for a lever action saddle ring carbine new off the shelf lately? If you want Winchester it going to cost you quality AR pricing.

It's not Bass Pro making new buying decisions, they are just reacting to the potential profit in the market, and high end traditional guns with the required gunsmith level skill to work on them are now seeing the affect of the AR15. If you could assemble your own traditional gun at home - insert barrel extension into the receiver and tighten it down - then maybe things would be different. We can't even get traditional smiths to do that right, which raises questions across the board about the industry skill level overall.

I have no doubt the shops in the Bass Pro were knowledgeable and experienced, but on the other hand, what were the rental rates and how easy was it to carry a firearm in off the parking lot? Not so much compared to a side street in town where there were parking spots within feet of the front door. People think about things like that - it keeps the small town pharmacists in business.

It's all dollars and sense, as they say. Just normal business in the changing landscape of American shooting. I suspect the flint knappers in the day weren't too happy about percussion caps, either. Nothing stays the same.

tarosean said:

obviously someone buys the stuff or they would have been long gone by now?

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Or perhaps not since they're closing up gun departments.

Honestly, if they're not moving product I don't have any issue with them closing up that part of the business. To a large degree this isn't really a "gun issue", is boils down to (1) online shopping and (2) a disposable culture.

As to online shopping, it's getting hard for people to deal in things in person anymore. The modern consumer for the most part seems to prefer to shop from their own home and wait for things to arrive. By cutting out a showfloor, salesmen, and a few middlemen, you can get a lower price and low price, much more than service, is what people seem to want (and I can't blame them - I tend to be the same way).

The second thing - regarding the gunsmithing business, would be the disposable culture. People don't look at fixing things when they break anymore. If something breaks, you don't fix it - you throw it away and buy a new one. At first it seemed like people were just not even thinking of repairing things, but lately I've seen instances of videos where people did fairly good repairs (and this is isn't just on guns) and the immediate response of many was that they were crazy because if the item malfunctioned they're now liable.

Its not necessarily a viewpoint I agree with, but it is interesting that many people don't want to take on repairing an item because they don't want the liability it causes if it fails. I think they viewpoint tends to even fall to letting someone else fix things. It's just one more message in the back of the mind that when something breaks, you throw it away and get a new one. As such its hard to keep any repair business open now - be it for appliances, guns, electronics, or anything else.

Gives me just another reason not to go across metro to get there. As far as repair, I use Shooting Shop South in Littleton. Funny, I know a guy at BP and was not given a warning of this.
Dan

When Gander opened here, it had a gunsmith section (although the gunsmith was not very good) They soon closed that and the gun section shrank. Then the store was remodeled with the entire back wall full of guns and it was called a gun SUPERCENTER. 6 months later and the wall of guns has shrank by a third, the decent selection of used guns is now about 5-6 from corporate and their prices still suck. Dicks went that way as well. Profit is in the clothing, especially the brand names like 5.11, Columbia, etc = HUGE mark-ups.

Prices and gun/gear selection went from decent when all of these companies were mail order only; but when they all started building over-sized "Lodges", prices went up a lot.

The Scheels in Reno draws more than the Cabelas there and they even have a ferris wheel inside for the kids.

In my opinion, it's a good thing Bass Pro is out of the gunsmithing business. They really had no business being in that business in the first place. A big box retailer that sells mostly the mass produced mid quality product on a mass scale just doesn't seem like it would have the right mental mindset for a quality gunsmithing business. Yes, this is just my $0.02 and I understand other opinions may vary....

Oh, and please support you're local small gun shop and gunsmith....but only if they provide good value and excellent service.

The local Gander Mountain was $20 cheaper on a scope I looked at recently (VX-R Patrol 1.25-4) than any of the online stores I checked.

It's two hours to the nearest BPS from where I live, I've stopped a few times when I happened to be in the area but except when they are having seasonal sales on clothes it's usually not worth the effort.

It is hard to see how anyone can make money in the gunsmithing business. These guys are working in an unforgiving medium, often one that is "irreplacable" or "of great sentimental value" they can take stuff off but can't (easily) put it back on. The retail value to replace what they are working on is usuallly not much more than the cost of what they are doing. I am dismayed that someone could have their heart set on getting something done before hunting season and then they find out the company is not honoring its promise to perform the service. I can't see this being done by hourly workers whose name is not on the shop, but I'm sure someone out there will disagree with me.