Cabelas in Bowling Green worth the drive?

[Hozzie]

I need some new boots and maybe a few other hunting related items.  I really prefer Cablela's and will order boots from them either way, but I have heard mixed reaction on the store in Bowling Green.  

 

Is it worth the 1:20 minute drive up there or will I be disappointed in the selection as I know it is a smaller store.

 

 

[Omega]

It's smaller, but they have a good layout.  I would call them to see if they have what you need in stock, that way you get what you want and can see the store too.  If they don't, then ordering to the store is an option.  I got a shooting bench from there, they had it in stock and saved me in extra shipping due to size.

[Mike A]

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/82325-anyone-been-to-the-cabelas-in-bowling-green/

 

And no, I don't mean this in a "use the search function" snippy way.  Just hoping to be hopeful.

 

I finally made it up myself but waited until I had other business in BG.  IMHO, not worth a special trip.  Nice enough folks and all but pretty small store as I believe some others opined in the above referenced thread.

[Hozzie]

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/82325-anyone-been-to-the-cabelas-in-bowling-green/

 

And no, I don't mean this in a "use the search function" snippy way.  Just hoping to be hopeful.

 

I finally made it up myself but waited until I had other business in BG.  IMHO, not worth a special trip.  Nice enough folks and all but pretty small store as I believe some others opined in the above referenced thread.

 

No worries on being snippy, I completely agree with you on the search part.  I did a quick search, but missed that thread obviously.  

[gregintenn]

It is worth the ride in my opinion. I'm an hour away, and have been several times.

[HvBikeWlTravel]

Haven't been to BG facility although I run past there frequently. Did stop at the Sidney facility some 25 years ago. OMGoodness! Huge place and Firearms I had only dreamed about. Well worth my time since it was air-conditioned and the ambient temp outside was pushin'110*.  And I was on a Bike.

Edited December 19, 2014 by HvBikeWlTravel

[MacGyver]

I prefer Cablea's over Gander Mountain and Bass Pro combined.

 

Gas is not too bad right now.  If I had the free time on a Saturday, I'd make the drive up.  Heck there's a Gander Mountain at same exit and a Chuy's right across the street.  Hit both the stores, grab some lunch and call it a good morning.

[E4 No More]

I've never been to Cabelas: however, I think that I'm going to visit the huge one in Kansas City, KS next week when I take my wife up there to see her parents for Christmas. It sounds like a good excuse to leave for the day. :)

[mikegideon]

I've never been to Cabelas: however, I think that I'm going to visit the huge one in Kansas City, KS next week when I take my wife up there to see her parents for Christmas. It sounds like a good excuse to leave for the day. :)

 

I have been to the big one in St. Louis. It's something to see.

[Hozzie]

I am on my way up there. I am sure it will be better than Bass Pro either way.

[Lumber_Jack]

I am on my way up there. I am sure it will be better than Bass Pro either way.

Give a report when you get back.

[gregintenn]

I prefer Cablea's over Gander Mountain and Bass Pro combined.

 

Gas is not too bad right now.  If I had the free time on a Saturday, I'd make the drive up.  Heck there's a Gander Mountain at same exit and a Chuy's right across the street.  Hit both the stores, grab some lunch and call it a good morning.

I'd recommend you skip Chuey's. :puke:

[MacGyver]

I'd recommend you skip Chuey's. :puke:

Do tell... 

[gregintenn]

Do tell... 

It simply wasn't that good. I got more than enough food, and the service was o.k., but the food just wasn't very good.

[I am Groot!]

The KC and Fort Worth Cabela's make the BG look like a Bass Pro. I was disappointed, but I had higher expectations from visiting these other locations. The Gander Mountain on your way to Lebanon will get you what you need.

[Hozzie]

Well, I am back in Franklin and for me, I think it is definitely worth the drive if you have a couple of things you want to look at in person (or even if you just want to kill a few hours on a rainy day).  As has been mentioned here before, it isn't a flagship store, but it was bigger than what I expected based on my interpretation on what some called a smaller store.  I think it is still about twice the size of an Academy store for comparison.  I personally think the quality of Cabelas gear is just so much better than Bass Pro it really made me glad I took the drive up.

 

What sealed the deal for me and why I really like Cabela's is not only the quality of their products, but also the customer service.  I couldn't have asked for better customer service today.  My primary reason for going up was to look at some new insulated hunting boots.  I was looking at mostly higher end boots $200-$300 and tried on some different ones.  It basically came down to one of two versions of the Meindl's that are made for Cabelas.  The Perfect Hunter ($289) and the Ultralight Hunter ($209).  Both are great boots and I went back and forth on them, initially deciding I liked the Perfect Hunters just a bit more.  I thought one of them was recently on sale and when I asked, the associate looked them up and said in fact the Lightweights had been on sale two days ago for $157.  Without me prompting him, and the reason I am writing all of this out as I think everyone can take advantage of the policy at some point, he said that they have a policy where in store they will honor a sale 7 days before it's advertised date and up to 7 days after the sale is over.  That pretty well made up my mind as there wasn't $130 difference in these boots.  Add on top of that they had $20 off of $150 and I had a $25 gift card, I was in my new boots for just over a hundred dollars.  I couldn't beat that.

 

I bought a few other items, one of them being a tripod shooting stick.  Was marked on the rack on sale at $49.   Got to the cashier and it rang up $89 (and that was actually a sale price).  They honored the price without question.  Even better, he hands me a rebate receipt for a $30 rebate on it.  Must have been my lucky day.

 

Anyway, even without these great deals today, I was very happy with taking the drive up.  

Edited December 19, 2014 by Hozzie

[gregintenn]

They call it an "outpost" store. While smaller than the normal stores, it still has a good selection. I've had the same experience as you with the staff. They are quite knowledgeable, well trained, efficient, and very nice. I can see me spending a lot of money there in the future.

[MacGyver]

Well, I am back in Franklin and for me, I think it is definitely worth the drive if you have a couple of things you want to look at in person (or even if you just want to kill a few hours on a rainy day).  As has been mentioned here before, it isn't a flagship store, but it was bigger than what I expected based on my interpretation on what some called a smaller store.  I think it is still about twice the size of an Academy store for comparison.  I personally think the quality of Cabelas gear is just so much better than Bass Pro it really made me glad I took the drive up.

 

What sealed the deal for me and why I really like Cabela's is not only the quality of their products, but also the customer service.  I couldn't have asked for better customer service today.  My primary reason for going up was to look at some new insulated hunting boots.  I was looking at mostly higher end boots $200-$300 and tried on some different ones.  It basically came down to one of two versions of the Meindl's that are made for Cabelas.  The Perfect Hunter ($289) and the Ultralight Hunter ($209).  Both are great boots and I went back and forth on them, initially deciding I liked the Perfect Hunters just a bit more.  I thought one of them was recently on sale and when I asked, the associate looked them up and said in fact the Lightweights had been on sale two days ago for $157.  Without me prompting him, and the reason I am writing all of this out as I think everyone can take advantage of the policy at some point, he said that they have a policy where in store they will honor a sale 7 days before it's advertised date and up to 7 days after the sale is over.  That pretty well made up my mind as there wasn't $130 difference in these boots.  Add on top of that they had $20 off of $150 and I had a $25 gift card, I was in my new boots for just over a hundred dollars.  I couldn't beat that.

 

I bought a few other items, one of them being a tripod shooting stick.  Was marked on the rack on sale at $49.   Got to the cashier and it rang up $89 (and that was actually a sale price).  They honored the price without question.  Even better, he hands me a rebate receipt for a $30 rebate on it.  Must have been my lucky day.

 

Anyway, even without these great deals today, I was very happy with taking the drive up.  

Good to hear.

 

I'm hoping for good things when I get time to visit the Mt. Juliet Gander Mountain, but I've been underwhelmed by Gander Mountain's service in just about every store I've been in.  I've gone into the Turkey Creek store several times with money in my pocket and wound up leaving without a thing because I couldn't actually get someone to help me.

[gregintenn]

I never even stop at Gander Mountain anymore.

[Hozzie]

I never even stop at Gander Mountain anymore.

X2. Every time I do I walk out annoyed at their pricing and lack of service and then say never again. I apparently don't learn too fast.

[maroonandwhite]

Well, I am back in Franklin and for me, I think it is definitely worth the drive if you have a couple of things you want to look at in person (or even if you just want to kill a few hours on a rainy day).  As has been mentioned here before, it isn't a flagship store, but it was bigger than what I expected based on my interpretation on what some called a smaller store.  I think it is still about twice the size of an Academy store for comparison.  I personally think the quality of Cabelas gear is just so much better than Bass Pro it really made me glad I took the drive up.

 

What sealed the deal for me and why I really like Cabela's is not only the quality of their products, but also the customer service.  I couldn't have asked for better customer service today.  My primary reason for going up was to look at some new insulated hunting boots.  I was looking at mostly higher end boots $200-$300 and tried on some different ones.  It basically came down to one of two versions of the Meindl's that are made for Cabelas.  The Perfect Hunter ($289) and the Ultralight Hunter ($209).  Both are great boots and I went back and forth on them, initially deciding I liked the Perfect Hunters just a bit more.  I thought one of them was recently on sale and when I asked, the associate looked them up and said in fact the Lightweights had been on sale two days ago for $157.  Without me prompting him, and the reason I am writing all of this out as I think everyone can take advantage of the policy at some point, he said that they have a policy where in store they will honor a sale 7 days before it's advertised date and up to 7 days after the sale is over.  That pretty well made up my mind as there wasn't $130 difference in these boots.  Add on top of that they had $20 off of $150 and I had a $25 gift card, I was in my new boots for just over a hundred dollars.  I couldn't beat that.

 

I bought a few other items, one of them being a tripod shooting stick.  Was marked on the rack on sale at $49.   Got to the cashier and it rang up $89 (and that was actually a sale price).  They honored the price without question.  Even better, he hands me a rebate receipt for a $30 rebate on it.  Must have been my lucky day.

 

Anyway, even without these great deals today, I was very happy with taking the drive up.  

 

So essentially you are saying they paid you to shop there today.  :pleased:

 

Seriously thanks for the report. I have been pondering going up there and think I will make a trip after Christmas. I have also been needing a good pair of hunting boots.

[Peace]

I made the trip up today just for kicks.  Here's my addition to our "review".

 

General Thoughts: It really is about the size of Dick's sporting goods, but across the board, Cabelas has a selection of merchandise that lines up much more closely with what I like.  It seems they (mostly) only stock the good stuff.

 

Price: Dog bed prices were like an exaggeration of Gander & M.  If I'm going to pay $100.00 for a god bed, it had better so something that the $35 ones don't.  :)   Some ammo (22LR thunderbolt box for $26) was reasonable.  Most everything in the store had a "see-it, touch-it, feel-it" "tax".  For the quality of selection that they had, if they were local, I might be willing to pay that premium to be "hands on" before I buy.  However handgun prices (Glocks) seem to be a little higher than I expected.  Long guns... had a SCAR 16 FDE for $2749.   I'm pretty sure if you look hard, you can get a SCAR 17 for that.

 

Staff:  All of the staff were friendly and helpful.  Albeit, when I asked about a Berretta PX4,.. my new friend behind the counter said, "If I was going to pay $600 for a pistol, I would get a Glock."  ... I had many thoughts at this point... I suppressed them all to hear what came out next...  "Have you seen the torture videos, these things are battle-proven, they drop 'em from a chopper, freeze 'em, bury 'em and then just pick 'em up and shoot 'em.  You should watch those videos.  They make all those (videos) in Austria - that's where all of the Glocks are made,... in Austria."     I could only manage replying, "Awesome, thanks."

 

Nice selection of Archery gear... nice indoor lanes.

 

Bass Pro has a better selection of general scope hardware (rings and bases).

 

In retrospect, they were very strong in Range Finders and Binoculars.  They had a good variety of handgun carry ammo.  They had plenty of Federal 5.56 55gr for .37/round out the door  (6% sales tax).  They also had 2 boxes of Black Hills Mk262 77gr OTM (seconds) ... which I begrudgingly left on the shelf.  Hornady .223 75gr BTHP Match was $20.99 + tax - which is cheaper than I can get it around here.

 

Glad I went - would probably just plan a trip to Louisville next time.  - not sure the smaller store is worth it.

[MacGyver]

I stopped in at their new store just north of Atlanta on I-75 the other day. I have to assume it was a bigger footprint store because it was huge and they had tractors.

I was hoping to pick up a sabiki rod with a gift card, but I struck out. Nice selection, though.

I always like pursuing their classic firearms room.

[E4 No More]

When I took my wife back to Kansas City, MO during Christmas week to visit her parents I decided to make a trip to the Cabelas in Kansas City, KS. It's one of the bigger stores that they have which was much larger than the Bass Pro in Nashville mostly because of an African stuffed game exhibit on the first floor. The staff was VERY friendly and helpful even though they were swamped on the Friday after Christmas. I chatted the guy up a bit and mentioned that I'd never been in a Cabelas before, and that they opened a reportedly smaller one in Bowling Green that I haven't seen. He said that they built about 4 large stores before switching to the smaller stores: however, he indicated that they were most likley going back to building the larger stores. I darned near bought a Cabelas exclusive Ruger 10/22 with a blonde hunting stock just for its uniqueness, but put it off to give the new gun shop in Smyrna a chance to locate the particular 10/22 that I had been looking for - which they had.

[Ropin4gold]

No bargain cave. Boo