Cabela's does NOT permit Open Carry!!!

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On Saturday afternoon I visited the Cablea's store in Hamburg, PA. Before entering the storeI looked for signs to indicate whether or not firearms are allowed. There was a sign that stated people with CC permits were welcome, but it did not mention OC. The sign also said that any firearm that was brought in to the storeto be repaired or to be sold had to be checkedwith the greeter. When I entered the store I asked the greeter if OC was permitted and he looked at me slightly bewildered. I was not OC'ing at the time, but I wanted to know for future reference if this is something that they would allow. He asked me if I was a police officer and I stated no. My first reaction was that he was not sure if it was legal or if it was allowed in the store. At that time I proceeded to give him a PA Guns Rights brocure which I printed from this site. I believe he then said that only LE is allowed to open carry. At that point I continued into the store. When I reached the gun counter I politely asked another "gentleman" if OC was permitted in the store. He did not respond right away so I gave him a brocure as well, which he then proceeded to "toss" to the side. He then turned around and asked another person behind the counter if OC was permitted. He stated that it is legal in PA, but that they do not allow OC in the store because it is a store policy. He said this is because it scares customers. At that point I turned around and walked away.

With that said I must say that I was very disappointed and upset. I'm not sure how everyone else feels, but I sure would like to hear your opinions. And I'm sure I will get plenty, LOL There are several reasons for me feeling this way. #1. I spend a lot of money at Cabela's and I feel that I should be able to partake in any legal activitiy while I'm shopping in their store. #2 If a nationwide sporting goods store with so much clout and popularity does not allow you to OC why should any other store. This is a store that I feel should support anyone who is legally carrying a firearm, whether CC or OC. If this type of business does not allow you toopenly carry a firearm thenwho CAN we expect to allow it in the future. Ifsuch a store has this type of mentality why should we as legal gun owners support them. In my opinion, they are supposed to promote and support our Rights as gun owners and THEN we in return should support their business.

Before I asked the question of whether or not it was permitted I thought for sure that it would be ok. I thought what a "safe" andgreat environment to educate the public this type of store could be. But boy was I wrong. I look forward to hearing other opinions on this situation. I also want to add that I will be sending an email and/or a letter to Cabela's corporate office. I also would ask others to do the same if you agree with me. Thanks for reading.

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Their store, their rules. They're not there to defend the second amendment, they're there to make money from every mainstream and niche consumer they can.

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Guys, do a search function. Cabelas has been contacted time and again about this. From a thread over in the Idaho state section here is a corporate response and contact info. Just show this to the idiots that want to argue with you:

Thank you for the recent email. I am very sorry for the confusion that took place at our retail location.
Our corporate office has taken action in regards to the below mentioned issue and here is what has been decided.
We have made the decision to comply with state laws in regards to open carry. We do not ask customers to check concealed or open carry weapons where the state has laws governing this situation. Our signs refer to firearms that are being returned or sold to Cabela's.

If you are still having problems please feel free to let us know

Thanks again

Becky
Lead Associate
Cabela's Retail Information
1-800-905-2731
retail.contactgroup@[highlight= #ffff88]cabelas[/highlight].com

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Loneviking wrote:

Guys, do a search function. Cabelas has been contacted time and again about this. From a thread over in the Idaho state section here is a corporate response and contact info. Just show this to the idiots that want to argue with you:

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Ditto.

People OC in that store all the time, I've done it as well.

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I OC at Cabela's often. I've never been confronted. Hell they had a shoplifter who pulled a gun shot in the parking lot by local cops a few years ago. I will be responsible for the defense ofmyself and my family thanks.

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Your first mistake was asking whether it was ok. By knee jerk reaction alone most people will say no. Just go ahead and OC and force them to be proactive in telling you that its against store policy. Then when they do that you can tell them what Corporate says.

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pacrimescode5904 wrote:

I OC at Cabela's often. I've never been confronted. Hell they had a shoplifter who pulled a gun shot in the parking lot by local cops a few years ago. I will be responsible for the defense ofmyself and my family thanks.

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I see that's the same letter from Becky responding to WI queries about the subject, and nearly verbatim from the [corporate] response from Gander Mountain. In my locale, where it's OC in WI,they may have visitors from MN or IA with CC permits nearby who simply need to know that they should display the gun. (Only CC is for LE carrying under terms of LEOSA.)

The odds of getting a completely knowledgeable answer fromthe averagecounter-person are small.

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At their newer store here in CT they put signs up that say "Concealed/Carry permit holders" don't' have to check guns...tell them to redo their signs.......i am quite sure they allow it...i doubt gun owners are people they want to anger..considering we give them a lot of business.

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If you walked in with a friend would you ask the clerk if it were ok for you to discuss politics with your friend in a normal conversational volume voice while shopping or if you had to whisper so no one else could hear your conversation?

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Info from almost a year ago:

gnbrotz wrote:

Just got off the phone with Mr. Biedenharn...

I told him my reason for calling was to confirm Cabela's policy on carrying while shopping there. He asked if I had an "Open Carry Permit". I told him that I did not because no such thing existed and was not required to OC in PA. He said, "Oh, I think that changed recently." He then asked if I could hang on while he paged someone. I could hear him paging and then asking about "permit to open carry?" with whomever he was speaking to. When he was done, he confirmed that he now understood there was no permit needed.

He insisted that part of the confusion was due to the fact that PA's laws were so "gray" on this issue. I explained to him that there was absolutely no law forbidding this, and that the PA Supreme Court has affirmed in two separate rulings the legality of unlicensed open carry (Philly aside). I also informed him that even if someone does have a LTCF, they are under no obligation to conceal their weapon. I explained that while I have a LTCF, I typically OC, and have the license as a 'convenience' so I don't have to unload/reload every time I get into or out of my vehicle.

I told him that everything I'd read of Cabela's published policies, as well as his own statements seemed to support RKBA, but I didn't want to drive almost two hours to the store, only to be confronted, since he may or may not be there to 'back me up'.

He told me he understood completely, and that with 500 employees it can be hard to get the word out. I didn't dispute this point, though IMO this shouldn't be any tougher to disseminate than any other policy/procedure (i.e. orientation and/or posted memo). In the interest of 'civility' I kept this thought to myself.

I mentioned the two recent specific incidents that I was aware of. He claimed the first on (Aug. 26) was due to an employee from another store (NOT a PA store) being unaware of PA's laws and admitted that the situation was their fault. He said the second incident was different, as a customer was asked to leave after "brandishing" his weapon in a threatening manner.

Again, since I have no way of knowing if this is true, or even if it was the same incident which I'm aware of (it doesn't seem like it), I didn't make an argument one way or the other. Of course, if that did happen (now or in the future) I support his right to ask the customer to leave.

I asked if he'd be interested in a brochure that outlined PA's rights & laws related to carrying firearms, and he was definitely interested. He said that anything that would help them know what the law really is, is welcomed.

His words: "We're a gun store, we sell guns, we love guns, and we love people who carry guns."

I'll be following up with a nice letter and enclosing one of PA Patriot's flyers.

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Contact Bruce Biedenharn (Hamburg store manager) if you wish to follow up on your experience. 610-929-7001

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I open carry ( as do the 2 to 3 other people usually in my party) quite often in the Hamburg Cabela's store (about once a week)..... I have never been confronted or had any trouble with it.



~~Springfield

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WIG19 wrote:

I see that's the same letter from Becky responding to WI queries about the subject, and nearly verbatim from the [corporate] response from Gander Mountain.

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You wouldn't happen to have a link for the Gander letter would you? :celebrate

I haven't OC'ed in there because it's usually in teh middle of my trip to taht area where OC isn't allowed at costco either. Never tried in Dicks sporting goods which is right door too... any word on Dicks corporate policy on OC?

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Browning wrote:

When I entered the store I asked the greeter if OC was permitted

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That's all I needed to hear.

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I went to the Hamburg Pa Cabela's store on Monday July 28th. I carry concealed on the LEO National Carry law. But I am very interested and supportive of OCing. I had read the previous threads regarding Cabela's OC policy. Which generally goes like this, some unknowing store clerk will hassle you about OC but Corporate willalways say its not a problem. Since I was with my family, and looking to spend a relaxing hour or so shopping, I did not even bring my firearm into the store, as my shirt did not properly conceal it. And I did not want any negative attention at all. Perhaps if I was alone or with a friend, then I would of OC'ed. I did look at other patrons and saw no one OCing or carrying concealed, (if you know what to look for you can generally figure out who is CC ) So yea I wimped out, sorry guys.......

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I have OC'd my 6" 686 a few times at this Cabela's. Infact I was in with my brother and a friend one night and while we were looking at some muzzleloader stuff an employee commented on my brother's glock and we talked for a little while.

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The Cabelas corporate policy is to follow state law. There is a ton of info about this in the Idaho forum.

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Prophet wrote:

Your first mistake was asking whether it was ok.  By knee jerk reaction alone most people will say no.  Just go ahead and OC and force them to be proactive in telling you that its against store policy.  Then when they do that you can tell them what Corporate says.

 

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Absolutely. Don't ask for permission to do something you have a right to do, just because there is a possibility you may be discriminated against.

If you ask people will hedge their bets and attempt to discourage you from OCing, but if you just go ahead and OC they won't even notice.

Remember, the whole reason OC is "activism" is because people have false preconceptions about it. If you could go into any old store and get verbal encouragement to carry a gun, then there really wouldn't be a reason to ask in the first place, and there wouldn't be any activism or education to be done.

Half the point is that people who might have said "no" if asked will have a different reaction when actually confronted with it. Which is change, one person at a time.

Even if they ARE going to ask you to leave (which is the worst-cases scenario), remember, apologizing later is better than asking first.

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UPDATE

This afternoon, I had a very nice phone conversation with Bruce Biedenharn, store manager at the Hamburg, PA Cabela's.

I reviewed the two recent incidents that I was aware of (one from here, one from PAFOA), and inquired if their carry policy had changed at all since I spoke to him last September. He stated that it has not. At my request, he will be mailing me a letter on Company letterhead stating their policy, and reviewing that policy at all daily employee meetings for the next week, which should cover the large majority, if not all, of their employees.

He apologized for the incidents, and I told him I understood that turnover and a large staff seemed to be the main culprit and that based on my previous conversation with him last year, and the impression he gave me then, his response is exactly what I expected.

For the record:
If a firearm is brought into the store for service, etc., it needs to be unloaded and 'checked' upon entry. However, lawful carry of a firearm for personal defense, open or concealed, is absolutely permitted in the store.

As soon as I receive the letter, I'll scan and post it here as well.

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gnbrotz wrote:

I reviewed the two recent incidents that I was aware of (one from here, one from PAFOA), and inquired if their carry policy had changed at all since I spoke to him last September. He stated that it has not. At my request, he will be mailing me a letter on Company letterhead stating their policy, and reviewing that policy at all daily employee meetings for the next week, which should cover the large majority, if not all, of their employees.

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Does Cabela's have a bulletin board for customers, like Gander Mtn. does? One for posting hunting photos, ads for concealed carry classes, etc.?

If so, that would be a great place to post a copy.

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Prometheus wrote:

WIG19 wrote:

I see that's the same letter from Becky responding to WI queries about the subject, and nearly verbatim from the [corporate] response from Gander Mountain.

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You wouldn't happen to have a link for the Gander letter would you? :celebrate

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Apologize for delay, but am not in this area very often. And also can't find the specific email - thought I'd filed it. However, you can email them and you'll get your own reply back in a day or two, and it will be very courteous and cookie-cutter. Like Cabela's, G-M will say - unless they've made a very recent corporate change - that their policy is to roll with the flow of firearms borne under current state law.

Never had a problem.