Gander bows out

[bakerjw]

Scheels rocks IMHO. They've had bullets (I know a bad word but I do reload with them) in stock at good prices for the last 18 months.
Now if only I could get primers from them.

[megasupermagnum]

There's still Gander Mountains around? I used to love that store. St. Cloud used to have both Gander and Sportsmens warehouse, and they were great until maybe the mid 2000's. Sportsmen's closed, and Gander more or less become a clothing store. I still liked gander enough to check it out. There was one in Brainerd that had a cool trophy room. Then about 10 years ago they pretty much did the Cabela's route, sold their soul to China, dedicated 80% of the floor to cheap garbage clothes, and stopped selling anything good. They did have a good enough fishing section to make it worth while if you didn't have a good bait store nearby.

Finally a few years ago it seemed they all more or less rode off into the sunset. As far as I knew, Gander Mt. shut the doors for good, but maybe not some places. Sportsmen's warehouse is pretty rare, I'm only aware of one store hundreds of miles away. Fleet Farm sold out, prices instantly went up 30%, and they got rid of everything good in the stores. Cabela's got rid of a lot of things, seem to hardly have any used guns, got rid of the bargain cave, food isn't good anymore, their reloading supply's and prices were atrocious before the pandemic.

I still like Runnnings, but they aren't cheap. The only outdoor type store that truly impresses me anymore is Fleet Supply.

[imashooter2]

Strange… the salesman seemed to imply that once upon a time Gander thought they were competitive.

[megasupermagnum]

Strange… the salesman seemed to imply that once upon a time Gander thought they were competitive.

They were, just not this decade, and barely this century.

[alamogunr]

The Gander Mountain near me went out of business over a year(may have been more than 2 years ago) only to be replaced by a store called Gander (something or other). I haven't been in but it looks like there is no parking because the lot is overrun by motor homes and travel trailers.

[1Hawkeye]

About 2 years ago gander did go out and were bought by the guy who owns camping world who brought it back as gander outdoors. The prices were higher, products shoddier, and help even more clueless.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

We had a Gander open in 1993. Bought my first reloading setup from them. They were once a great place for the outdoorsmen to shop. Scheels is an interesting story. I bought my soon to be wife a fishing pole at their original store in Mankato MN back in 1984. Hard to believe they parlayed that into the chain that exists today.

[Texas by God]

Re: Gander Mountain
My view;
Bye, Felicia.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[hoodat]

I live in Mayberry, and work in a larger town about twenty miles up the road. (large enough to have a Home Depot, and a WallMart)

I'm not a rich guy, and have always tried to get the best deal I could, and often bragged about it when I did. -- Nowadays, I'll shop every chance I get with a couple locally owned shops, where I know my money stays local. I'll pay more to do it, and if I can order from them, I'll do it instead of ordering from one of the big on-line stores.

I don't spend a ton of money on my hobby, and ten or twenty percent more isn't gonna break me. I also work for a locally owned building supply business, and I appreciate the folks who shop with us as opposed to Home Depot.

I doubt that I'm making a big difference in the big picture, but sometimes I get that feeling that a do-gooder gets when he does good. jd

[Thundarstick]

The Gander Mountain near me went out of business over a year(may have been more than 2 years ago) only to be replaced by a store called Gander (something or other). I haven't been in but it looks like there is no parking because the lot is overrun by motor homes and travel trailers.

It's Camping World now! Large campers, small campers, tents, and anything you can imagine for camping. I was buying some shooting supplies from them in the past, and they had guns. Went in yesterday looking for a burger press (only place in Jackson that had one! ). All the guns and anything hunting or shooting related GONE! Went to Dick`s, same story!