Disappointed

A

Alaskan swamp collies

Well-known member
Many years ago I passed through Sidney Nebraska and visited the original Cabellas. This year on purpose I stopped there. 30 years ago I drooled at all the wonderful guns that I couldn’t afford. I did end up buying an aluminum airline gun case for pennys on the dollar because it had a scratch. Now that I can afford said guns they had almost none, just camo autos and black ars. The closeout attic had sandals. Would have looked at one of the 2 guns that I was interested in, but there was no behind the counter help. Sigh.
 
Glock said:
Of much good in any Cabela’s store anymore.
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So true! I still have some Cabelas items that I bought in the 1990s....a down jacket, a quiet camo rain parka, etc.
Back in the day they had some quality stuff and would replace it if the customer was not satisfied.
 
Making their gear in China ruined Cabela's. There was a time when Cabela's gear was well made and well designed for the outdoors. At that time, Bass Pro was the cheap, poorly designed Chinese versions.

Some idiot at Cabela's, probably a Harvard B school grad, decided to go the China route and sell junk just like Bass Pro. That began the downhill slide for Cabela's, eventually resulting in Bass Pro buying them out.

I still have gear from the early days that works very well. I've got a Cabela's Legacy strap vest that I still use. Has to be 20+ years old. I love that thing.
 
I really feel bass pro buying cabelas completely ruined it as the final nail in the coffin. They seem to have less and less hunting gear now and more crossover fishing gear from bass pro. BP said they were going to leave cabelas as hunting/outdoors but ive noticed a change too, especially with the reduction of cabelas branded hunting items and now guns. Ive never been to that specific store, but the one near me stopped stocking high end guns and just have the hunting guns (semi auto, pumps, and cheaper o/u), target rifles, and a whole lot of pistols. The highest end gun youll see is the two Browning O/U and two Beretta O/U behind the glass.
 
Chestle said:
Making their gear in China ruined Cabela's. There was a time when Cabela's gear was well made and well designed for the outdoors. At that time, Bass Pro was the cheap, poorly designed Chinese versions.

Some idiot at Cabela's, probably a Harvard B school grad, decided to go the China route and sell junk just like Bass Pro. That began the downhill slide for Cabela's, eventually resulting in Bass Pro buying them out.

I still have gear from the early days that works very well. I've got a Cabela's Legacy strap vest that I still use. Has to be 20+ years old. I love that thing.
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It's everywhere....the corporatization of the marketplace has,in my opinion, not been good for the consumer. That is, unless you cherish cheap,mostly china, foreign made goods.
I do a fair amount of work on my own vehicles....try finding quality replacement parts. It's a battle.
 
Back in the day that Cabela's in Sidney had the famous sidewalk sale every summer. After Bass Pro bought them out everything good about Cabela's has gone down the tubes. That particular location is nothing special any more we stopped a few years ago and it barely had much on the shelves.
 
The bargain cave in the Mitchell Cabelas used to be awesome. Enter Bass Pro, bargain cave is gone. That store sucks now. Crap for ammo in stock. In theory, a gun store shouldnt be able to exist a block away, but last I knew there was a large one there
 
I've never been to the original location in Nebraska but I've been to several others in MN, SD, and WI. No doubt that the acquisition of Cabela's by Bass Pro changed things. BPS pushes a lot of their in-house brands and that's because they are more profitable. The original Cabela's brand products had better warranties and return policies too. That's just the way business works nowadays.

I will say that the Cabela's nearest me still has a massive selection of fishing tackle. There's probably close to 40 aisles of it and they are very good about keeping items in stock too. Ammo is hit or miss based on supply and demand. Haven't bought a gun in 15 years, no need.
 
Their catalogs were so awesome during the 80's. Always loved the big one, but couldn't wait to get the fall catalog with the new camo. They offered a lot of different quality camo.
 
Cabelas was a great store. Their clothing lines were better quality than Bass Pro. They had more hunting stuff and had better prices. Ole Johnny came in a ruined it all.
 
I’ve always loved Cabela’s. Lots of nastalgia from going there as a kid with my dad.

Now my own family goes, we saw Santa there the other week. I still like their gear and own lots of their stuff.
As far as big ticket items like guns there are better places definitely.
 
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When I was a teenager Cabelas had a ton of upland gear on hand. Nowadays, maybe 2 different types of pants and a vest or 2 if you're lucky. Sad.
 
GetTothePoint said:
When I was a teenager Cabelas had a ton of upland gear on hand. Nowadays, maybe 2 different types of pants and a vest or 2 if you're lucky. Sad.
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Upland gear is next to nothing like you said.Unfortunate. I had to order their traditions upland vest online last year when it was time for a new one.
 
I have found that Cabelas still carries some quality gear that you cannot find elsewhere, but you have to do your research. Just ordering a Cabelas brand anything does not mean it will be a quality item. I used to go to a cabelas store as a destination (closest one is over 2 hours away) a few times a year. Now, its not even a place I would stop if I was driving by and had the time. Other than their wool socks that I wear daily for work, (which reminds me I need to see if they are running a black Friday sale) I have not bought anything from Cabelas /BPS for a few years.
 
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