Cabela Conundrum

[lizziedog1]

Yesterday I had to go to Reno for a medical appointment. Its a pain to have to drive a couple of hours to see a doctor, but it gives me an excuse to visit some gun shops.

Reno had a few big sporting goods stores and several smaller gun shops. I try to hit one of the biggies and at least one of the smaller shops.

Yesterday I decided to visit Cabela's first.

I found myself at the gun counter. I was looking at the rifles trying to see the price tags and the calibers. A Remington got my attention.

It was a 770 priced at three hundred bucks. Yes, I know about the dubious quality of these guns. But something else on the price tag caught my eye, the caliber. It read, 270 Winchester Magnum. Right away I am thinking it must be the 270WSM.

This is a caliber that I would like to try some day.

At that moment, I figure that for that price, what the heck. It might be a cheap way to dabble in a new cartridge. But as continued to look at the tag, I did not see the word "short" anywhere. Finally a salesman came to help me. I pointed to that rifle and asked him if it indeed was chambered in 270WSM. He said he wasn't sure.

He took the rifle off and the rack and proceeded to walk away with it. He said he was going to look it up on the computer to see what caliber it was. I told him to look on the gun, it should say the caliber. If he doesn't know that most guns have written on them the chambering, what else doesn't he know about guns? Scary, to say the least.

He did look on the gun. It was chambered in 270 Winchester, nothing magnum or short about it. I asked him about the price tag. He said someone must of gotten it wrong. He replaced the rifle and went on to help other customers.

I hope they fix the tag. Can you imagine someone buying that gun, buying a box of the wrong ammo, and then wondering why the rounds are not chambering. I hope that the magnum rounds would not chamber, otherwise the consequences could be grave.

I wonder if the big gun stores hire folks that are not quite qualified for Federal Civil Service.

 

[NOLAEMT]

You got that exactly right.

Many people work at big box stores, even gun or hunting stores, because they need a paycheck, not always because they are gun experts. By the way, here are the calibers that remington makes the 770 in:

243 Win 8.5 22" 42 1/2" 9 1/8" Current 85630
7mm-08 Remington 8.5 22" 42 1/2" 9 1/4" Current 85631
270 Win 8.5 22" 42 1/2" 10" Current 85632
30-06 Springfield 8.5 22" 42 1/2" 10" Current 85633
308 Win 8.5 22" 42 1/2" 10" Current 85634
7mm Remington Mag 8.625 24" 44 1/2" 9 1/4" Current 85635
300 Win Mag 8.625 24" 44 1/2" 10" Current 85636

 

[ol' scratch]

Most of the big box stores don't pay enough to make it worth while to get qualified. Also, he may have been from another section and was only filling in in firearms for the day. It is the Christmas season.

I don't check tags for the most part. If I do and see something that doesn't make sense, I check the firearm. I have gotten a few good deals due to misprinted tags on firearms.

 

[ReloaderEd]

Yes calibers today can be confusing unless you keep up to date on all the new cartridges.
the WSM calibers in the short actions (which is the real benefit with a little less recoil) are great but expensve to purchase just like the Remington ultra mags on the big british rimmed short case something like the 475 Rigbey Case? A box of shells can run $50 plus or you can buy a box of 10. I know most of the hipe is a sales gimmick to sell more rifles and you will see articles in gun magizines touting the advantages and benefits of such new calibers.
This includes the American Rifleman with paid advertisement for said guns that they are reporting on. funny how that works isn't it.
Most rifles sighted in off a good bench rest to hit 2.5" to 3.0" high at 100 yards will pretty much kill a deer or Elk out to 300 yds no matter what the caliber. The heavier calibers and big bores are touted to be good at 500 yds which in my opinion is a rediculous shot at best. The 45-70 will perform as well as the 458 Winchester at 500 yards in modern rifles with higher pressures.
Standard calibers such as the 30-06 and other standard calibers are cheaper to buy and will do just as good a job on game animals as the expensine rifle calibers.
I can buy a used Remington 721 long action rifle for around $300. That action is one of the stongest ever made and it can be found in calibers up to 375 H&H Magnum.
Just food for thought and getting realistic in my older years. Be Safe!!

 

[JohnBT]

"Can you imagine someone buying that gun, buying a box of the wrong ammo, and then wondering why the rounds are not chambering."

Some people do that even if the hang tag and the barrel marking say the same thing.

 

[GEM]

Oh, well. In the local Cabelas, they had a SW 22 LR revolver labeled as a 632 which is a 327 mag nowadays. The 22 was a 63-2 and they left out the dash. One clerk I told for fun got all huffy puffy. The other sighed and said corporate sends them the tags.

 

[Loosedhorse]

I have a favorite LGS. It is a really good shop, with a really good, knowledgeable owner. Not everyone who works with him is a genius, or knows every caliber of gun; nor does he check ever gun tag.

If I see an error, I bring it up to the counter and mention it. "Just trying to help." If I show the owner, he thanks me. Most anyone else is disapponted that I'm only a spellchecker, not a buyer.

And that's life.

We should consider that the "famous" .270 Winchester is probably not as well known as the .270 WSM among those who have only limited and recent gun knowledge.

corporate sends them the tags

Geez. Surprised that all of them aren't wrong.

 

[TennJed]

I picked up a 6 round kel tec p11 from sportsmans warehouse not long ago. I get the darn thing home and what do ya know it has a 10 rd magazine.

 

[Bovice]

All the more reason to be an informed buyer. Learn everything there is to know about what you want before you go to buy it.

 

[oneounceload]

Gander Mountain had an older German SxS in 16 gauge. barrel flats are marked "65" for chamber length - which is 2.5". The tag is marked 2.75". Showed it to the "gunsmith" who dropped a 2.75 snap cap in it and says - this fits, so it is 2.75.

I explained their liability exposure for this if someone were to get hurt, they didn't care

 

[rromeo]

I bought a Stevens 311 from Gander Mountain, and had to explain to two people, including the manager that checked over the paperwork, why the gun didn't have or need a serial number.
I had applied there a month earlier for the gun counter, but my qualifications didn't match their needs.

 

[lizziedog1]

I know this is beating a dead horse, but I still can't get over that salesman's ignorance.

There was a question about the rifle's caliber. He was going to go look it up on a computer. He had the rifle in question in hand. Maybe he was going to enter the gun's serial number or the price tag code or something in the computer. I guess their data base has that information in it.

When I suggested to look on the gun, he acted like it was some sort of miracle revelation. Guns have their caliber on them!

As I said, this should be basic knowledge to anyone that has the slightest interest in firearms. I would hate to ask him what the rifling twist was in a gun. God knows what he would do. He'd probably take the gun in back and come out wearing welding gear.

 

[BlkHawk73]

Yet another reason why I avoid Cabela's. Above and beyond their CrAzY high prices (used guns at or above new prices) they clerks aren't always knowledgeable about what they sell. Witnessed one try and find a blued Ruger SP101 once - they never made any! Idiot! Nope, I happily drive right by the one just 15 minutes from me to the shop I do best at another 30 minutes down the highway. Same guns - hundred dollars or more saved.

 

[lizziedog1]

There is a Scheels in the Reno area too. The prices there are nothing to get excited about either. But at least their sales staff seems to know something.

Actually, the price of powder there is a few bucks cheaper than at other places.

I also like that they keep their long guns out in the open. You can just grab one and look it over.

 

[northark147]

My favorite thing to do when in a Cabela's is listen too all the mis information. I have heard a guy tell a customer that the AR15 he was holding did not have a bayonet lug, while pointing at the flash hider. Heard more than one tell customers that x brand dies wont fit y brand presses. It costs over 1000 dollars to get into reloading, and many more even though I can't remember them at the moment.

 

[16in50calNavalRifle]

lizziedog1, sort of curious which local gun shops you visit while in Reno. I usually get to Reno once a year for a ski trip, and the last time I had better gun-related times than skiing (interstate was blocked/slow, chains required, so getting up to Truckee became very difficult).

I consoled myself a bit by browsing that Cabelas (ammo cans I needed at half price, and more importantly the coffee stir sticks from their cafe work perfectly as post-extenders on the sights of high-shooting Mosin-Nagants - just glue on a 1/4 inch piece to the sight post and at the range trim them down until your shot groups aren't so high).

I also enjoyed exploring the Scheel's. Actually got a decent price on Wilson 45ACP mags, and some nice cleaning accessories. Nice young clerk helped me find some good shooting gloves for cold weather. I noticed his name tag and asked him if he was related .... he cut me off with a smile, and said yes. His last name was Earp. I asked how many folks shopping in the gun section ever asked about his name - he said very very few. We then had a short furious agreement session lamenting the state of our populace and their historical knowledge (not sure if I was impressed or further discouraged that someone half my age was down about the same issue .....).

But the best was dropping by Mark Fore & Strike. A true old-school family business. With the best revolver inventory I've ever seen (they happily let me hold/handle several types I'd never seen in person). They have an extensive reloading section - now that I'm reloading, I realize how much they have, again far more than I've ever seen anywhere else. They also happily explained lots of basics to me, which helped in my eventual buys. (if I'd known more at that time, probably would have bought some small tools and components as well)

I picked up a nice used Galco holster for my Model 66 (cheap, out of their used bin), and a new holster for my 1911.

On my "rest day" (cross-country skiing at altitude is not something one does without a break every few days), I went up to the very nice Washoe County shooting range north of town. Had a nice talk with the range officer and a guy who had fled southern CA where I live - we talked the astonishingly stupid state of affairs in the Golden State (guns and generally), and he explained how nice the Silver State was. He left, and I was the only shooter. Got to use those nice gloves from Scheel's (it was in the high 30s with a breeze, some snow) while shooting my Mosin at a target and the gongs. The guy in the sheltered booth would raise his fist in celebration each time I got a hit. (somehow shooting the 1942 Soviet rifle in blustery winter conditions seemed right).

Planning to go to Reno again this winter. Kinda wondering - will this be a "ski trip", or a "gun trip"?

 

[oneounceload]

But the best was dropping by Mark Fore & Strike. A true old-school family business.

When I lived there, they were known as Mark UP Fore and Strike, especially once Johnson's went out of business and they were about the only game in town for a long time (except for the Long's Drugs)

You might want to see when the big Reno gun show is there - typically 2X per year - got many a good deal at that one, especially on ammo and primers

 

[16in50calNavalRifle]

Well my used holster was a steal, the new one was the usual retail mark-up over the best online source, and as I said, I enjoyed handling guns I'd never seen before and learned a bit about reloading (and get my hands on all sorts of presses and gear) before starting to accumulate my set-up. I'd gladly pay more (for certain items) to support a store with such an extensive inventory I could see and touch for myself, if one existed where I live. But to each their own.

 

[Lakeshore]

A week ago when my son and I were at the gun counter in the Academy store a sales clerk handed over a Remington 870 to a customer. The customer appeared to be unfamiliar with the shotgun and asked a question, to which the clerk's verbatim response was "I would have no idea how to shoot that gun". Sigh.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Many people work at big box stores, even gun or hunting stores, because they need a paycheck, not always because they are gun experts.:

I can see no reason to find contempt in this. I've worked at a drug store, and had women come up and ask me questions about makeup and hair color.

Certainly in a more specialized store I would hope the employees knew more, but I certainly am not going to think less of them because they don't. He is probalby making $9-$10 an hour at most and Cabelas is making him take loss prevention and sexual harrassment assessments every other week instead of teaching him more about their inventory.