Gander bows out

[metricmonkeywrench]

Went into Gander tonight to kill some time. I wandered back to the guns section and the isles were bare, not uncommon as since they re-opened they have re arranged the store a few times. As I was wandering around the empty shelves looking to where it all moved to one of the employees approached me and let me know the at corporate had sold off the entire hunting/shooting inventory to another company and had no intention of selling anything anymore. From what he understood with only 34 stores the sales volume was not enough to keep them competitive.

Though a bit overpriced it was nice to have a local supply for local needs, were now left with Wally World, the LGS bandits and online for any needs. I at least have a good independent shop, but that’s a 100mi round trip and a Bass Pro and Cabellas about the same distance though they haven’t had much useful in the reloading section for a while.

[Mal Paso]

Hate to see fewer choices, even poor ones.

Here the Dicks location was taken over by a chain called Turners. No Primers, little powder but they had Dillons on the shelf. They did have a shellholder I needed. I'll see how they fill stock over time.

[Buck Shot]

There used to be a Gander Mountain not far from here. The guns were all out where you could handle them, and they looked like it.

Before they closed their doors, my brother gave me a gift certificate for their store, which I used to get some components at (almost) pennies on the dollar (back when Bush was in the White House)...

[richhodg66]

Cabela's sucks since Bass Pro took it over. Bass Pro always sucked. The one in Wichita stopped selling used guns and the one in KC seems to have scalled way back on it.

Haven't set foot in a Dick's in several years and won't. I did go into a Scheel's in Des Moines not long ago, pretty good store. We also got a Dunham's not far from here and it's overpriced, but I think will have some reloading stuff and they do have more ammo than most.

[farmbif]

didn't camping world/Marcus lemonis buy out gander mt half a dozen or so years back


yeah here it is

https://www.outdoorlife.com/camping-...nder-mountain/

[BigAlofPa.]

I stopped at Dicks last week. Looking for a Ruger American in 7.62x39. The sales clerk said he had 3 before. But some one bought all of them. Last gun i bought from them was my 10/22 a few years ago. They always had good sales on them around Christmas.

[8mmFan]

Scheel’s is awesome, and they have a dynamite rewards program for their VISA.

I patronized the original Gander Mountain way back in the 90’s for everything from hunting gear to gunsmith services (they had a TREMENDOUS gunsmith department). Bought my Buck Vanguard there, which I still have and which has cleaned a good number of deer.

Not sure who the original family was that founded Gander in Wilmot, WI, but, like many small stores (Potbelly Sandwich Shop comes to mind), they must have sold out to some enterprising merchants that were good at carpet-bombing the land with stores with a good brand and “story.” I’m sure someone made a fortune in there, somewhere.

All I know is that my experience the other day, upon walking in to the local Gander, was the same as the original OP.

Too bad. I couldn’t really say what drove the commercialization of hunting, the need for unneeded “gear,”, the hyped-up TV shows with the breathless kill-shot aftermath dead-animal-approach, the camoflagization of hunting clothes, but it seems that it all came to a head, this boil, with the death of Gander, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Cabela’s, and probably a dozen others.

And I’ll be honest: I’m probably as responsible for their demise as anyone else. When Gander jacked their prices for reloading components to the moon during the last Obama-induced “shortage”, I said to myself, “never again,” and went almost exclusively to places like Recob’s, and online stores, for components. The outfits like Cabela’s (to which my family made a once-a-year pilgrimage in Sydney and dropped a gazillion $$, when it really was Cabela’s) and Bass-Pro, and Gander, lost me when they were taken over by MBA-types that had no more connection to the real spirit of hunting than Chuck Schumer. The final straw for Cabela’s/Bass Pro was having their Cabela’s club card be taken over by the Capitol One of Samuel L. Jackson fame.

8mmFan

[Burnt Fingers]

I stopped at Dicks last week. Looking for a Ruger American in 7.62x39. The sales clerk said he had 3 before. But some one bought all of them. Last gun i bought from them was my 10/22 a few years ago. They always had good sales on them around Christmas.

Why ANY person that's concerned about our Second Amendment Rights would shop at Dick's amazes me.

[BigAlofPa.]

Why would an anti second amed store sell guns?

[farmbif]

besides the politics I can image the bean counters would much rather fill the shelves with cheap junk from china and fabrics from who knows where that turns over quick and makes a handsome profit rather than goods that are hard to source for a limited client base. but that's just the modern business climate it seems

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Could be Gander saw the writing on the wall? How long before the dick tater starts banning things left and right? He has already demonstrated he has no respect for the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

[downzero]

Why ANY person that's concerned about our Second Amendment Rights would shop at Dick's amazes me.

Literally every time I go there, they don't have what I'm looking for. Why anyone shops there at all is beyond me.

[jonp]

What do you expect. The guy who owns them said in no uncertain terms he was not interested in any 2cd Amendment Trump supporter types. I stopped buying anything from them at that point.

Expect Cabela's to go the same way since the buyout by Bass Pro. All of them are overpriced Dick's type for the well heeled Volvo type soccer mom set. If your into soccer, golf or frisbee golf or strolling around Whole Foods in North Face gear like your stocking up for an assault on K2 your in luck. Actual outdoorsman need not enter

[BigAlofPa.]

That was the 1st time i was at Dicks since i got the 10/22. It was a few years since. It was a last ditch effort to the rifle im after. None of the LGS'S have them. Unless i want an AK or SKS. But im interested in a Bolt action. A CZ or Ruger. So the search continues.

[Bmi48219]

Twenty years ago there was a Dicks in Michigan near our home. They actually had a good selection of firearms and reloading components at reasonable prices. There’s one near us in Florida. Never had much I’d want. Several years back they dropped anything that wasn’t rimfire. A year later that went too. The two Walmarts in our area are also non-firearm. Gander down in WPB too. Bass Pro was always way over priced. Haven’t been there in years. Nobody other than BP within 100 miles sells reloading components. And our area of Florida is strongly conservative. You guys with a Scheels and the like nearby don’t know how fortunate you are.

[BigAlofPa.]

I been ordering Stuff from Scheels lately. I got a new tumbler and 45 colt brass from them. And i have 7.62x39 brass on the way now from them. I bought rifle bullets from them for my sons .243 and 6.5 creedmoor.

[GregLaROCHE]

Most stores selling a variety of items are looking for big profit margins on what they sell. If their prices weren’t competitive, they probably didn’t sell the volume needed to justify the floor/shelf space.

[PhilC]

You guys with a Scheels and the like nearby don’t know how fortunate you are.

That's for sure!!

[1Hawkeye]

I guess it finally caught up with them. When you try to sell Firearms and related stuff at 25 to 30 percent above retail nobody's gonna buy it from you. They use to be good for selling and trading but they put a stop to that the last time I tried dealing with them I got cussed out by some self proclaimed gun expert named Jim because I wouldn't sell him the 2 glock 35 race guns for 125.00 bucks and that was for the pair not each. I took it up with the store manager and he didn't give a hoot so that was my last trip to gouger mtn.

[jonp]

I will say this for Bass Pro. I went in and walked through the empty reloading space to the counter and asked for some BP. Guy asked what i wanted it for. Uh...43 Spanish and to try some 45 LC loads? Guy said sure and got it. He said they had to make sure i didnt want it for pipe bombs and stuff and was laughing about it. Ok.