New Cabelas store

[Tater]

Does anyone know when the new Cabelas in Lehi, Utah is supposed to open? All the site says is "late 2005". This one is only a few miles from home and I'm pretty jazzed. Thanks.

[Rocky Raab]

I heard a snippet about it recently, but can't recall if they said late September or October.

With the deer hunt here in Utah the last week of October, I'd bet they bust their chops to get it open in September.

I drove past it several times recently. BIG store. It looks just like the one in Pennsylvania, near Skinny Shooter's place.

My wife already told me, "If we go down, you shop there and I'll go across the highway to Thanksgiving Point." Oh brother, it'll be a spending contest!

[M.T. Pockets]

A trip to a Cabela's store is more of an event than a shopping trip.

I've found it's almost harder to shop in person at the store, the crowds can be hard to negotiate, but it is worth it.

For you fellas in Utah, how far are you from the Sportsman's Warehouse ? Isn't that their HQ ? While their stores might not be the showrooms that Cabela's are I enjoy shopping there for what I need.

[300 RUM]

Sportsmans does not have near the showroom that most Cabelas have. I have a Sportmans 10 minutes from my house but almost never go there. The customer service sucks and they have a rather poor selection. I went in to look at scopes and they had 12 scopes total in the case! They had lots of rifles but very few scopes to pick from. I can usually find anything I want somewhere else for less and dont have to talk to either a kid who has no idea whats going on or someone who tries to talk you into something different that costs three times as much. Maybe be its just this location but it leaves alot to be desired.

I live close to a shop called Van Wagnens which is a privately owned business yet he sold more guns last year then all of the Sportmans Warehouse combined ( acording to a local newspaper). His store sold more guns than any other dealer in the west. The owner is a little different but actuallly a nice guy if you get to know him. If he has the gun you are looking for he will be about $50-$75 bucks less than anywhere else but his stock is not real consistant. Guns dont stick around long at his place. He only sells guns,scopes,and ammo not alot of accessories just the nuts and bolts.

Rocky have you ever been to VanWagnens it was in Provo for years then moved to Orem?

I keep hearing September for the opening of Cabelas but I bet you wont be able to get in the door for at least a month or two. Im sure it will be nuts, with a line about a mile long just to get in the door.

[Rocky Raab]

Never been to Van Wagnen's store, but I saw him in action at a small gun show once.

He walked through the place with three assistants. He'd point and say "That one...and that one" as he walked. He wasn't pointing at guns. He meant for his assistants to buy those TABLES of guns!

He cleaned out every desriable and semi-desirable gun in the place ten minutes after opening on Saturday. Needles to say, the guys who sold off their whole tables were happy, but the rest of us were stuck sitting there the rest of the weekend among scads of bare tables. The customers were sure pizzed - and I can understand why.

[M.T. Pockets]

Sorry to hear about the Sportmen's warehouse there 300 RUM, I've just been to the one in Sioux Falls, SD and I was very impressed by the selection and the staff behind the gun counter. There is also an excellent Scheel's store in Sioux Falls and a Cabela's about an hour west in Mitchell, SD. That Cabela's has a sheep display that is far more impressive than the one at the sheep museum in Dubois, WY. Overall, the Cabela's in Owatonna, MN is the most impressive store I've ever been to. Even if they didn't have any merchandise you could spend hours just looking at the taxidermy.

I agree that I'd rather deal with a local gun shop, but we're down to one in a 75 mile radius of where I live, and they're too cocky to deal with, so most of us are forced to travel to get any kind of service. I don't mind paying a little extra, but I do like to know that someone will wait on me if I show up.

[300 RUM]

Yup, that sounds like Norman. If he wants it, he buys it, if he doesnt you will never talk him into it. Many people think he is a jerk because he wont negotiate, he says that the price if you dont like it go somewhere else. He has been arounf for long enough he knows you wont find it cheaper anywhere else. He buys in bulk and sells for less thats his plan and he sticks to it.

I once watched a guy for over 30 minutes try to talk him down on a very nice Stainless Kimber 45 brand new in the box. Norman repeatedly said the price on the tag is it period. Finally the guy says " I know I can get it for less than that somewhere else" Norman walkes over, takes the gun out of the guys hands and threw it about 10 feet across the room into a garbage can. Then walked over to his desk and sat down and said "have a nice day". The guy stood there dumbfounded for about a minute then said " I guess I will go ahead and pay for it" Norm looked up and said "Im sorry that firearm is no longer for sale"

I admit this sounds terrible and kinda makes Norman look bad. But the guy was a total arrogant jerk and kept up nagging for way too long. Norman knows that his prices are always a good deal and if he says take it or leave it, he is dead serious. My family has known him for years and I dont even think about trying to dicker. Some times I will go to pay and the total is much less than it was marked. I say thank you very much and go on my way. Sometimes the total is exactly what it was marked I just pay what is asked, and say thank you very much, and go on my way.

[denton]

I've never gotten a bad deal or bad advice from Norm (that I know of, anyway). I watched a customer trying to haggle with him once, and he solemnly declared, "Of course I can sell at cost. We made all the money we will ever need years ago, and no longer have a need to make a profit." If you've got your mind made up on what you want, and go in his store, you'd better be ready to part with the cash. I really enjoy the guy.

He won't give you diddly for a used firearm, but then I don't know any dealer who will. Offered my son in law $300 for a Colt Single Action Army...

Best shop in Ogden, IMO, was the Gift House, but they had a guy leave, and never filled the vacuum. Now the reloading stock is dusty, and has a lot of gaps in it. I don't think the bullets have been restocked for a couple of years! Still, it's a fun place to rummage. Guns don't stay long there, either.

[Rocky Raab]

Thanks, denton, for the implied compliment. I was that guy at the Gift House (or at least I hope you were referring to me!).

I hate going in there any more. Scott was never a neat man, but my word that place is cluttered with crap. He's also the exact opposite of Norman. Scott will not only negotiate, but he's liable to give friends a below-cost price. I often thought that he'd rather be popular than profitable, but it was his business, not mine.

His discounts to me were so embarrassing that I sometimes snuck money INTO his safe just to assuage my own conscience. And that's the truth.

[Tater]

That's not a bad suggestion, Pockets. I do have a Sportsman's Warehouse less than an hour away and their customer service is real good. I never thought about the fact that Cabela's would be super crowded for a while. I talked to the wife and she thought it would be a better idea, too. I guess that makes it official.

[multibeard]

I was in the Dundee Michigan Cabelas on the first Saturday they were open. It wasn't too bad when we first got there but by the time we got ready to leave it was something else.

You could have dropped dead any place in the store and no one would have known it until the store closed as it was that jam packed.

If you do go soon after it opens go in mid week. Don't miss the bargain cave as there are good deals to be made in there.