I bought the first gun sold out of the Cabela's Gun Library in their then brand new Owatonna MN store. And bought and traded a lot more guns after that. I got an invitation to attend on "media day", before their official grand opening. Ran across a nice little 16ga Ingram. Asked whether they were actually selling that day. They were. It was about a 2 hour drive from my house in northern Iowa to that store. I always checked to see who'd be working in the Library when I was planning to make a trip. I'd go if it was Bill Taylor or one of the other guys I'd come to know and trust.
A real shame how that's changed. One problem: They expanded too fast, especially after going corporate. There are only so many people that have the knowledge to run a fine, collectible gun operation. Especially one that includes shotguns, rifles, and handguns.
Here's an example of the way they stood behind the guns they sold back in those days: I bought a 16ga Greener from the Owatonna store. One of a pair. Broke at the wrist on station one during my first round of skeet. I immediately called Bill Taylor. I knew they'd refund my money, but I asked them if they'd restock it for me. It had come from the Kansas City store, and Bill contacted B.C. Kinsey. They did, and turned it around fairly quickly.
Last edited by L. Brown; 03/24/22 02:49 PM.
