This was a less than desirable experience and it has me wondering if traveling the distance to Cabelas in Hamburg ever again is worth the effort.
I recognize the fact that this was real close to the holidays and there is no way I would want to be working retail, so I'll let the yawning cashier out of the conversation.
Walking into the store we are greeted by the "All firearms must be checked" sign.
I had already unloaded in the parking lot in anticipation and expected to get an empty chamber indicator at the most. When I hit the kiosk I told them I had a firearm to check and drew my pistol from my holster and racked the slide open to show him an empty chamber. He told me "I'll do that!" and accepted the gun when I handed it to him.
He asked where the magazine was and I told him it was in the car. He asked what I wanted to do with my gun and I replied I was shopping for holsters. He proceeded to put both and empty chamber flag and a trigger lock on, with the instruction that the clerk in the gun shop would remove the locks so I could try the holsters.
I had to fill out what looked like a repair tag with my name only and that was try-rapped to the grip and I kept half of the tag.
He then handed my gun over to another employee that was described as an "escort". I told the guy I'd rather carry my own gun and shop myself but he said that was not their procedure. I asked if all of this was really necessary and the Kiosk King got real snotty about it and told me if I wanted to go in with the gun, then yes it is necessary.
I point out to the clerk that I have a permit from Florida, a reciprocal state, but was told it didn't matter. If I wanted to take my pistol in I had to follow their regulations.
Okay, so I'm forced to play their game. The escort, a nice guy, walks me back to the gun sales desk. There was a sea of people waiting for service and I counted only 3 guys behind the counter. My escort walks over to the number dispenser, walks back to me and hands me the ticket, turns and walks behind the counter with my pistol. He drops it off on the rear counter, walks back to me and tells me the gun clerk will help me when my number is called and walks away before I could say anything. I check my number and it's 99. They're serving 79!
Okay, well sh1T! Now what? I go over to the holster section, check them out, don't find anything to my liking and just want to leave. I approached 2 clerks working the permit and payment area to reclaim my gun and they both looked at me like the proverbial deer in the headlights.
A patron standing near me heard my conversation with my friend about my dilemma and he tells me he's been waiting for about an hour and a half and he has 81! No way I'm waiting for 99 to come up!
Finally I see a guy standing there with not much to do. His name is Ralph and the reason I put his name here is because he actually helped me instead of fluffing me off.
I told Ralph "I just want to get my gun and leave, or do I need to get the store manager over here?" Ralph told me he'd be happy to help, got my gun and walked me to the front. I asked him if what I had gone through was normal and he indicated that this was their normal procedure. I got checked out and left.
The only reason I went to Cabelas in the first place was because I was visiting friend in Pa.and I expected a lot more from Cabelas. Nope! I sure won't be patronizing Cabelas again. I think I'll throw their catalog in the trash when I get home.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?