Cabela's is more insane than you think

[Rockrivr1]

KTP is NO WHERE NEAR Cabelas bad if we are talking MA OK long guns.

Last time I bought a gun there it took 10 minutes. Do paperwork, go look at stuff, they put your name on the board, pay and walk out. And those people are super nice when you call them or have a customer service question and give you gift cards for the sales tax. If you hold a gun, they also go out of their way to let you get up there and buy it.

Pistols...yeah, stay away. But once you know that KTP is fine.

Yep. Bought a long gun at KTP last weekend and was out the door in a half hour with nobody even batting an eye.

 

[tuna]

Berlin demands an LTC before they'll sell you a 25lb bag of lead shot. That should tell you All you need to know.

Aren't they actually supposed to? Isn't the law you need a license to have any part of ammo? Stupid I agree - but so is the entire law.

Or did that change?

 

[kalash]

And this is exactly why I only buy guns at the Mill.

This. I can't remember the last time I bought a gun from an FFL that didn't come from @CrackPot or @KAG Arms - top notch dudes.

 

[Dennis in MA]

1. Buying guns at BPS/C is like buying guns at Dick's. I mean, WTF, people???? I'm not sure I've ever even bought AMMO at BPS. I'm thinking not. Maybe LOOKED during one of the droughts. That was it.

2. I guess the pistol IS so rare as not to be mentioned here. LOL

 

[slap shot]

1. Buying guns at BPS/C is like buying guns at Dick's. I mean, WTF, people???? I'm not sure I've ever even bought AMMO at BPS. I'm thinking not. Maybe LOOKED during one of the droughts. That was it.

2. I guess the pistol IS so rare as not to be mentioned here. LOL

If you check .22 cal used pistols in Scarborough there’s some pretty cool items listed.

 

[Realtor MA]

I went to a sporting event once and they made my Father show an ID to buy a beer. He was about 75 at the time. How stupid can they be?

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I went to a sporting event once and they made my Father show an ID to buy a beer. He was about 75 at the time. How stupid can they be?

They did that back when I was in college in the 70s, and I believe Wegmans does it. Looking silly can be better than trusting your alcohol sales license to some minimum wage employee's judgment.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Aren't they actually supposed to? Isn't the law you need a license to have any part of ammo? Stupid I agree - but so is the entire law.

Or did that change?

Nope, components are still considered ammunition in this state

 

[Randy Lahey]

As most people here know I am a FFL both here in MA and also in NH. I have the NH location solely to take delivery of stuff from places that refuse to ship to MA. Until today, the most restrictive conditions I have run into were places that required not only a NH FFL but also that the CC mailing address showed as NOT MA. OK, fine. I have a CC with its address as my NH FFL.

My customers know I offer the service to take delivery in NH and bring stuff to MA (for a fee of course; rent, gas, time and FFLs cost money).

I have a customer that really likes 22LR handguns and goes on missions to find certain models. The gun he is currently looking for he has only been able to find at a Cabela's in ME. He contacts them to buy and they let him know they will NOT send any used guns to MA. No exceptions. He tries to reason with them and cajole them, all to no avail.

So he asks me to contact them and buy into my NH location for him. No probem. I contact Cabela's. They immediately ask "do you also have a FFL in MA?" well, yes, but why do we care? Oh they know my customer and they don't want us bypassing their policy of f*cking over MA residents. He agrees to escalate to his management for an answer. An hour later he calls back. "We will not transfer the firearm to you". End of discussion.

So this is a new level of insane over the top self inflected compliance maliciousness. If they have any clue that it MIGHT end up in MA, no. I am a NH FFL buying with a NH CC shipping to a NH address that is on my CC and no, they will not ship it.

If anyone needed another reason to avoid big box stores...

Had a similar experience with Scheel's in Texas. These places go above and beyond to support anti-2A policies. Pretty disturbing.

 

[Coyote33]

but after the infamous Kahr debacle

Haven't heard of this one. What was this?

 

[Qwikdraw45]

I bought a gun once from Cabelas in Hudson, MA. And that will stay once. It took over an hour and multiple levels of management before I walked out the door with what should have been an ICBM, but was merely a .22.

Worse in NH, if it's a handgun. BPS (same procedures) had a model I wanted, on sale, with another 10 or 15% off for Vets on Veteran's Day. They only do HG background checks via fax to the NH gunline. It took forever to buy it, and then a second trip back later to pick it up, which cancelled any savings (two trips of 100 miles round trip). Never again.

Not as bad as what they did to me. One of the 14 clueless Cabela's managers who had to sign off on my purchase of a .22LR rifle fancied himself a rifle expert and decided he was going to impress the boys and me with his extensive firearms prowess. He ended up breaking a part off the rifle... and then dropped the rifle on the hard floor. Son-of-a-*****!!!

It was a real tribute to the rifle manufacturer that it was ultimately fixable and no cosmetic damage from the drop. But never again!!!

All of the chain stores (and quite a few of the small, non-chain, shops) have their "resident blowhard, err, expert" who will talk your ear off and fill you full of bull. BPS in Hooksett is no exception.

Bass Pro in Hooksett should be avoided like the plague for internet transfers. An hour for them to complete. Couldn't find it right away multiple forms other than a 4473. Every counter guy had to look those over.
THEN they had to get a manager to approve it.
All the while some yutz picking up an OU Shotgun that was out for repair felt the need to assemble and disassemble it several times. Then shoulder it in multiple directions. All the while his 3 yo kid is roaming the ailes unattended.
I was there so long my feet hurt.
Told a buddy that wanted a S&W 15/22 not to go there but he did and had a similar experience.
Never again.

Yup!

 

[tuna]

I went to a sporting event once and they made my Father show an ID to buy a beer. He was about 75 at the time. How stupid can they be?

When I buy beer now and I’m asked for my birthdate, I always say 7/7/77. “Really?”
“No, but it’s close enough and faster for you to type”.

 

[EJFudd]

Haven't heard of this one. What was this?

It's a very similar story to the Bass Pro Glock story years earlier. When Cabela's in Berlin first opened, they were apparently not fully aware of... or misread... the Approved Roster and were selling certain Kahr handguns that were not on the Approved Roster. A whole bunch of people grabbed them before someone spilled the beans to Cabela's management... or maybe it was the AG lady herself ("Marsha") that let them know.

They were told by Marsha to recall all of the non-approved guns, but few buyers listened to them. It was quite a battle for a while there. I think they offered some buyers various incentives as well. But like all such things, eventually they gave up and the phone calls eventually stopped. There was nothing more they could do and they knew it.

 

[Realtor MA]

They did that back when I was in college in the 70s, and I believe Wegmans does it. Looking silly can be better than trusting your alcohol sales license to some minimum wage employee's judgment.

Precisely why I posted it in this thread

 

[Tartakovsky]

I went to a sporting event once and they made my Father show an ID to buy a beer. He was about 75 at the time. How stupid can they be?

People are 1. pretty stupid and 2. Afraid of being fired for violating company policy.

 

[Rockrivr1]

It's a very similar story to the Bass Pro Glock story years earlier. When Cabela's in Berlin first opened, they were apparently not fully aware of... or misread... the Approved Roster and were selling certain Kahr handguns that were not on the Approved Roster. A whole bunch of people grabbed them before someone spilled the beans to Cabela's management... or maybe it was the AG lady herself ("Marsha") that let them know.

They were told by Marsha to recall all of the non-approved guns, but few buyers listened to them. It was quite a battle for a while there. I think they offered some buyers various incentives as well. But like all such things, eventually they gave up and the phone calls eventually stopped. There was nothing more they could do and they knew it.

This is where the ahole at the Trading Post ratted them out. He was mad they were selling something he couldn’t so he dropped a dime on them. Several people heard him bragging about it. It was the start of the end for him and his shop.

 

[TG Pioneer]

This is where the ahole at the Trading Post ratted them out. He was mad they were selling something he couldn’t so he dropped a dime on them. Several people heard him bragging about it. It was the start of the end for him and his shop.

There’s nothing worse than a rat.

 

[Flint]

They did that back when I was in college in the 70s, and I believe Wegmans does it. Looking silly can be better than trusting your alcohol sales license to some minimum wage employee's judgment.

I believe I've been carded every single time in Rochester and the only times I've been carded in MA have been at Wegmans. On a recent trip back to Roc, they wanted a second photo id at the gas station because out of state id. I think it's partially what you're saying and partially NY roots for Wegs.

 

[Realtor MA]

People are 1. pretty stupid and 2. Afraid of being fired for violating company policy.

My point was that management in those places put rules in place to prevent low wage workers from being in position to make judgements that could affect the fate of the company. I think that happens with the big box store gun departments too.

 

[drgrant]

KTP is NO WHERE NEAR Cabelas bad if we are talking MA OK long guns.

Last time I bought a gun there it took 10 minutes. Do paperwork, go look at stuff, they put your name on the board, pay and walk out. And those people are super nice when you call them or have a customer service question and give you gift cards for the sales tax. If you hold a gun, they also go out of their way to let you get up there and buy it.

Pistols...yeah, stay away. But once you know that KTP is fine.

KTP is median box. But yes not nearly as retarded as full big box level.

 

[CrackPot]

Can we know what holy grail .22 you tried to buy?

Some super fancy hard to find discontinued browning buckmark 3”.

 

[CrackPot]

1. Buying guns at BPS/C is like buying guns at Dick's. I mean, WTF, people???? I'm not sure I've ever even bought AMMO at BPS. I'm thinking not. Maybe LOOKED during one of the droughts. That was it.

2. I guess the pistol IS so rare as not to be mentioned here. LOL

Was not trying to hide the detail, but it was not critical to the story. Just a hard to find discontinued browning buckmark 3” model. Looks to be gone now. Someone in the right address bought it no doubt.

 

[556USER]

The root of all these problems is MASSACHSETTS. Just get the hell out of there. Stop feeding the beast with tax dollars.

 

[knoxy]

Could this corporate attitude maybe go back to the infamous Kahr pistols debacle when Cabela's in Berlin first opened? And/or the similar Glock pistols debacle when Bass Pro in Foxboro first opened? I'm sure they got their hands slapped hard by the MA AG both times.

p.s., In my experience (and in this same regard), the Kittery Trading Post is just as bad, if not worse.

I've only had one experience at KTP recently. It was an interstate trade ME to not-NH. They didn't balk at all.

 

[EJFudd]

I've only had one experience at KTP recently. It was an interstate trade ME to not-NH. They didn't balk at all.

Not sure what the gun in your example is, but my point about KTP was specifically about handguns and Ma**h***s... no more, no less.

 

[knoxy]

Not sure what the gun in your example is, but my point about KTP was specifically about handguns and Ma**h***s... no more, no less.

Was not a handgun. I only by those from strangers in dimly lit parking lots

 

[allen-1]

The root of all these problems is MASSACHSETTS. Just get the hell out of there. Stop feeding the beast with tax dollars.

"MASSACHSETTS", the only thing missing is "U".

Was that on purpose?

 

[allen-1]

There's a Bass Pro in Savannah, and I'll sometimes stop by it if I'm downtown running errands. Why not? They sell stuff I like/want/need.

But - damn - it's frustrating/impossible dealing with their gun people. I've filled out their surveys, been specific about the issues I had, and gotten the same response - a form email from the store manager. He didn't respond to my email directly to him about that.

I think the problem is that statements like the OP's subject for this thread are taken as a challenge by Cabela's management.

"Cabela's is more insane than you think"​

Is met with "here, hold my beer and watch this" by Cabela's management/staff.

 

[free]

I think the problem is that statements like the OP's subject for this thread are taken as a challenge by Cabela's management.

"Cabela's is more insane than you think"​

Is met with "here, hold my beer and watch this" by Cabela's management/staff.

So, it’s our fault?

 

[556USER]

"MASSACHSETTS", the only thing missing is "U".

Was that on purpose?

No, I just fu..ked it up. LOL