Sportman's Warehouse has opened here.

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George Dickel

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A while back I posted that Sportsman's Warehouse announced they were going to open a store here. I went the other day and was surprised at the number of guns for sale and the number of different models in stock, long guns and handguns.
I was surprised at the amount of ammo on hand and the prices were not too bad considering the current situation of ammo availability. Prices on guns weren't crazy, didn't see any crazy good deals but nothing ridiculously overpriced either. Store employees were friendly and courteous. I was also surprised with the reloading supplies on hand, but alas no primers. What is good is that this store will compete with the only other large gun shop in this area and may cause their competitor to lower their a little too high prices. It will become a regular stop for me.
 
We had one locally about 10 years ago. Really liked the store. But the company went through some kind of traumatic financial event and closed a lot of stores a couple of years later. Hoping they come back to our area someday.
 
We had a Field and Stream that was bought up by Sportsman's Warehouse a few years ago. Their prices have usually been a tad higher than what I could find online, etc. But through this whole pandemic, panic, etc., they've been far and away our most reliable local source of anything gun-related.

Their reloading section is surprisingly large for a big box store. They've even been getting primers in this whole time and selling them at more-or-less pre-panic pricing. They don't last long, but at least they're getting them.

Lately, they actually have .223/5.56 ammo sitting and staying on the shelf (vs. Disappearing my within an hour of being put out for sale). Same with most other common calibers (though 9mm is still hit or miss).

I've been very pleased with my experiences there.
 
I've got three Sportsman's Warehouses in my area; my closest one is a nice place to shop with very good customer service. The nice thing about this chain is that they don't mark up their new guns like a lot of the independent retailers do -- I got my new Python at MSRP (which has been standard since it was released) and was out the door at only 50 bucks over MSRP with my military discount. Also, if any other SW has a gun you want in stock, but it's not at your local store, you can get it shipped in.

My local store has a good fishing department and pretty good archery section. Good sales on outdoor wear and footwear. Ammo availability, pretty much as crappy as everywhere else these days.
 
There is one in Chattanooga, about an hours drive away. I'm in the area every few months and always stop in. Overall I like the stores. The one in Chattanooga USED to be the best stocked place for me to get loading supplies and used to have a good supply of ammo. But they've been out of both for months. I will see 223, 308, 9mm, 45 ACP, and 22LR ammo, but that is about it. Their prices are in line with most other places.

The last time I was in there they had a lot of guns. But not a lot of choices.
 
Bass Pro is in the process of buying Sportsmans...so I expect it will go to pot once the merger happens....which sucks.

Never been a fan of Bass Pro. They ruined Cabelas...they will do the same to Sportsmans.

The are saying is a merger of "equals", but that isn't the case at all.
 
The nearest one to me for years is in Fresno, which is five hours away from me. When I was up there in 2019 fir a week I bought about 400 bucks worth of .22 in flavors I couldn’t find near home.

They opened one about ten miles from my house during the pandemic. I haven’t been in it yet due to the ammo crunch, I felt there was no reason to waste the trip to see empty shelves like at bass pro or Turners.

I guess I’ll head over there sooner or later to scope it out just to see what it looks like.

Stay safe.
 
I know all about every aspect of the history of Sportsman's Warehouse to the point where it is auto-generated in my spell check and I pushed through the co-op days of the Canadian split and the American stores breakoff. I was with them through the bankruptcy and the reorg and now through the merger with Bass Pro/Cabela's.

It's been a 27 year thing happening.

Sportsman's Warehouse was once the greatest big box shooter's store of all time. No company in history ever catered-to reloaders, hunters, shooters and overall alpha men outdoorsmen like Sportsman's Warehouse. None. Not one.

Those days are gone. What great days they were though. I kept all of my receipts. 1000s of dollars worth. They had literally everything you could think of from VihtaVuori powders to Yeti coolers to cast iron frying pans to every bullet you could think of to the finest archery equipment to every water filter imaginable to freeze dried meals to the finest pop-up tents and shelters made. Incredible racks of magazines, unbelievable jerkey and homemade delicacies, sausages, knives, lanterns ... those were the days. Late 90s thru 2010.

Their #1 store is still here in Columbia, SC not 1000 meters from Palmetto State Armory's corporate offices and original showroom. Both are literally tourist attractions that out of towners insist upon visiting when here in the midlands of SC.

I guess I am blessed in a way.
 
My shout out to Sportsman's involves the start of the great primer shortage. When it started to become apparent that nobody had primers in stock (approx. April 2020) SW had them on their website for in-store pickup, one brick per customer. At the start, the selection was good and the prices were low even by pre-pandemic levels. I managed to get 2 bricks, small pistol and small rifle, which were the 2 sizes I was running low on.

I realize that it was a ploy to get people in the store but those were the last primers I've seen at reasonable pricing.
 
We have two close to me. Don't go there much, more than a little overpriced the last I was there. They've really gone to crap since BPS bought them. Same with the Cabela's here after the BPS buyout.
 
Just went to my nearest Sportsman's Warehouse, which is 50 miles from me.

I found their prices on ammo to be higher than my LGS with less selection. No primers, no powder, and prices on bullets higher than locally. I wanted to buy a new pair of boots, some Fall/Winter shirts, and the newest SA 10mm. They had no handguns in 10mm, two in .40 S&W, and no shirts in my size. I asked what they had in ESD work boots and they said they had never heard of ESD ratings for work boots. Ended up buying some socks and ordering $800 worth of boots and guns online.
 
Megawatt maker said:
Bass Pro is in the process of buying Sportsmans...so I expect it will go to pot once the merger happens....which sucks.

Never been a fan of Bass Pro. They ruined Cabelas...they will do the same to Sportsmans.

The are saying is a merger of "equals", but that isn't the case at all.
Click to expand...

That is painful to hear. As I was reading the first few posts, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice if Sportsman’s Warehouse bought Bass Pro….

Oh well. I frequent Bass Pro quite a bit since it is local and they have had stock lately.
 
There is a Bass Pro shop in Gainesville, FL that I have been to a couple times and I wasn't impressed with the place either time. I hope that Shooter's Warehouse doesn't end up the same way.
 
We have a Sportsman's Warehouse here, about 16 minutes across town for me. They're not bad price wise and the last time I was there the ammo stocks were really low but that's been a while, for all I know they could be fully stocked now. The local veteran owned LGS I go to is often better priced than SW as I get a veteran's discount on most everything including transfer fees.
 
The Sportsman near me was one of the Field and Steam stores that Dicks used to own. When Dicks went ball deep (pun intended) into gun control...us locals actually followed through and stopped shopping there. 6 months later...Sportsman bought it, and it was an fantastic improvement. They have been getting a lot of my money. While their prices are not as good as online, with shipping and shipping times, to me its worth the few bucks difference for cash and carry. Most times their prices compare and sometimes even beat the small LGS in the area as well.

Its going to suck the big one when Bass Pro takes over and wrecks it.
 
I have a Sportsman's Warehouse about 3 miles from my house. I go there maybe twice a year for odd things, mostly black powder supplies such as lead balls, patches, and caps. Not all that thrilled by it. We have a Scheels about a mile further that I visit more often. It all costs a lot.
 
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