The LA Times had this piece on the "big-box" stores that hunting/fishing outfitters Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops are opening around the country. I have ordered mail-order from Cabelas for decades (well, on-line now) but had never been to one of their retail centers until I saw their Kansas City store while visiting my daughter who was attending college in the area. It was an overwhelming experience: the store is massive and loaded with merchandise and I really had never seen so many animal mounts in one place before - at least outside of a museum. The Minnesota store described in the LAT says it has 390 mounts. There had to have been at least that many in KC, plus a big aquarium filled with local game fish. I have to admit it was a lot of fun.
One aspect this piece mentions that hadn't occured to me was that these stores can act as "propaganda" centers for encouraging new hunters and fishermen.
2 comments:
I have been to the biggest Cabelas store (in Pennsylvania) as well as a couple of others. I like taxidermy and I have to admit to having fun.
I also have to admit that wandering around rows of Robo Ducks, trail cameras, and designer camouflage leaves me a little weary, and bewildered.
I begin to wonder if, for a certain segment of the sporting community, being an "avid" hunter or fisherman has now become more about how much stuff you accumulate than how much time you spend outdoors.
An actual interest in wildlife is now deemed "nerdy" by many hunters.
I have no problem with buying stuff but that isn't going to be what keeps a hunting tradition here or anywhere else. It certainly isn't working in getting more kids into hunting.
Although I agree with the comments above (weary of all the STUFF), I am so glad these stores are opening up - it bodes well for the future of hunting and fishing, I think - at least the spirit of it!
Many of these stores are opening up within the vicinity of the big flagship REIs, where the outdoor experience has become even more canned and removed from nature. And, sad to say, where many of the members and staff are active anti-hunters.
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