The concept of the Gun Library was created to cater to the "collectable" gun market as well as the high end products from other sources. The number of Parker's, Fox, Smith, Purdy, H&H pre 64 Winchesters, Colt etc is a finite source as are the people knowledgeable enough to discuss them intelligently.

Is the Wheeling Cabelas gun room still open? I have been to several Cabelas but the Wheeling store is one of my favorites. The African display put them over the top in my opinion. I have watched as people look in awe of the full size elephant and other game they have on display. The huge moose in the middle of the trout pond below the water falls is also one of my favorites. The distribution center less than a mile away is huge. I remember going to the store on fishing days and they had sold out of the reel I wanted in less than the 2 hours it took me to get there. As I was leaving a salesman caught me before I got out the door and said he would check over at the distribution center. They ended up having over 50. I paid for the reel there and he sent me over to the center(didn't know was there) to pick up the reel. Talk about poor business practices. The sales people need to let people know that if the store is sold out then they(sales people)need to call over to the distribution center to see if its in stock instead of losing a sale.

I visited the Cabela's Gainesville VA store last Thursday and the Fine Gun Library room was still open but only had 6 or 7 guns, mostly new sporting rifles. I didn't see any used guns on their rollaway floor racks that they used to put outside the entrance to the Library, either.

I work in the Lehi Gun Library, these are just my thoughts and I'm not speaking for my employer. I can't say what is going on in other Libraries but we're buying what we can in Lehi. We're trying to hire more Library help.

We are in a very strange market. I can say we are in the strangest gun market I've seen in 40 plus years of buying and selling firearms.

Sales are through the roof on most of the bread and butter everyday using guns with black guns, semi automatic pistols and short barreled shotguns leading the way. If a Glock or an AR hit the shelves they are snapped up in minutes. Our inventory is a lower than we would like both new and used. If you follow the news you know that NICS has been setting records for background checks since March. Late Winter, Spring and Summer are traditionally slow periods for gun stores. Normally stores let their inventories drop for that time period by not buying. Ouch, did that bit everyone in business. Of course who could have predicted COVID or continuing riots on the level we are seeing. I don't care where you shop firearms, ammo and reloading supplies inventories are pretty thin. It feels that people are preparing for war or at the very least completely worried about civil unrest.

Next, not many people are selling their guns these days unless they really need to generate cash. A lot of people laid off very literally got a raise with the $600 a week COVID help. Now that has run out we are seeing more used guns but still not at the levels of the past.

As we shotgun collectors know price are a tad depressed so many of are holding onto what we have. I think the same can be said for other types of gun collectors. I know as I look in the safe I don't have anything I dare sell. On some level I worry I might not be able to ever find another gun like what I have.

These market conditions make it tough on a used gun dealer.

The next problem is staffing. To a person in our Library we're not there trying to make a living on our wages. It is more of a wage to earn a bit of extra income and to play at what we love. Our Library is down staff wise. You really can't just hire a warm body to work in a Library. Most people with real gun collecting expertise aren't all that interested in a job making about as much as they would flipping burgers.

Then again maybe you do settle and hope to just hire a warm body. You would think that with today's unemployment that might be easy, nope. Hiring isn't just a problem for us. It cuts across the board for employers that are trying to find good people at the $10 to $15 an hour wage level.

Yes, we are living in strange time. Of course this is just my opinion.

I was at the Scarborough Cabela’s/BPS just two weeks ago. The fine gun library was open but like Joe says, the guns in there were like something in a flea market or yard sale... mostly just plain old worn out shooters.

The used gun rack in front of the fine gun library was just as shocking... what used to be about six upper and lower gun racks was just one 10’ floor rack. I’ll probably never go back...

NOW is when KTP (just 40 miles south of Cabela’s) should step up their fine gun counter and take down those ridiculous curtains that hide their nicer guns.





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They shut down the one in STL too, and when I asked why, they said they couldn't get enough people to staff it. That said, most of the doubles there were normally frankenshotguns..... and way over priced. But, was still fun to go look.

Was in the Wichita store today; Gun Library is open but seemed like mostly new stuff. Lots of new rifles, a few used rifles, a few used handguns, a few new or newer o/u's. One pretty tired VH 12ga and one Sauer (or similar) were the extent of the sxs's. The used gun racks out front are gone; wonder what they did with all those horrendous eastern European 16ga doubles they had a while back?. Ammo stock was pretty meager too; ended up ordering a flat of Herter's target loads on line for free in-store pickup as there were none on the shelves; luckily I go right by there twice a day. Lots of 3" 12ga shells at $119 a flat though!

When the Rogers MN store opened in I think 2005 I bought 1000 guns from the estate of a dealer. Those were the days :rotf:

This is no surprise. Ever since Cabelas was bought out it has been on a down ward spiral in my mind. It will be a sad day when the Gun Libraries don't exist and I feel it is coming sooner than later in Cabelas stores.

I have suspected that there was some collusion between the Cabelas Gun Libraries and some of the big dealers. On my way to The Vintage Cup, about fifteen years ago, I stopped by the Cabelas in Owatonna, MN, and several of the high end guns in the Library there I had just been looking at on Puglisi's web site.