We focus on a very narrow slice of the overall gun business, with our love of doubles (particularly sxs). Given the number of Cabela's stores, they're not going to have someone who knows a whole lot about sxs in each Gun Library. But they do have some guys, scattered throughout their entire operation, who are pretty good. And the better GL managers will consult with those with more expertise when they have questions.
All that being said, I agree with the assessment that some stuff is significantly overpriced, but there are also some very good deals. If you go to their website and look through the total inventory of European shotguns, you can always find what look to be some very good deals.
Sometimes, even their experts are off target. Several years ago, I was working on a trade for a very nice Ithaca Classic Doubles 20ga. My "trade bait" included a very nice BSS Sidelock 20ga. The guy said he'd have to make a call on that one. So he comes back 5 minutes later and tells me they'll allow me $2,000. I ask him if he made clear to the "expert" that the gun in question was a sidelock, not a 20ga Sporter or something like that. Said he had. Well, we did the deal . . . but they did not get the BSS Sidelock. A few months later, I was in the Scheels store in Omaha. They had a nice Ithaca SKB 20ga with a fair price. Asked them if they were interested in giving me the gun plus $ for the BSS Sidelock. I walked out the door with the SKB and a check for $3,000. Not that the Scheels stores are always that good, but it does show that--like the old song says--you'd better shop around.
