A few years ago, my eldest son and I were headed to Nova Scotia via car. On the way back from our blighted trip, we stopped at a Cabela's in Pennsylvania. Wandering through Cabela's allowed us to do most of our Christmas shopping there before returning to Virginia. Many times since then, my son and I have said to one another, "I wish we had a Cabela's in Virginia !" Effective this week, we do. My son has not yet had a chance to visit, but my husband and I made it to the Virginia Cabela's this week for the Grand Opening festivities.
The Cabela's just West of Richmond, Virginia is a large structure, like many of the other branches. This one has a room for recreational boats. It has a sandwich shop and cafe. They have a fireplace in the entryway so tall that it is reminiscent of one of the grand hotels outside the Grand Canyon. It has a room called the "gun library" which sells all manner and type of consigned handguns and rifles. I was pleased to see Sig Sauer well represented. This is quite near the section which sells new handguns. There was, hands down, the largest selection of varied and unusual types of ammunition I had seen anywhere, and this includes the Richmond Gun Show. There were also packages of large amounts of ammo. Some of these were not cheap, but some rounds were also not as expensive as you thought they might be when sold in a retail establishment. I spent a lot of time in gun accessories, which is impressive. There is a knife department, a bow and arrow section, a dog section, climbing section, shoe, coat, clothing section, etc. There is the largest fishing section I have ever seen anywhere, and I go to a fair number of sporting goods shops with all my sons. There is also a communications or walkie talkie section. There are sections for dehydrating your own food on a small scale, and for sausage making. There were also sections with electronics that would be of particular interest to preppers. There is also an entire room of reduced or "only one left" items at the back of the store, yes, even in a store that just opened. There are also the very expensive light weight sleeping bags and tents you would expect to find at both Cabela's and places like REI. The outdoor clothing, shoes and boots are quite expensive, but of exceptional quality. I still have a jacket I bought from Cabela's in Pennsylvania which is holding up well even after rather hard use on my part. Cabela's is not the place to go for many of the least expensive items you might need for prepping, however, it should be somewhere you visit. Cabela's not only is the gift center for men and teen boys, but their product range is so broad that simply by seeing some of these items you can organize preps in such a manner that you may solve problems you did not yet realize you had !
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| This is an actual Cabela's display from their store in Alaska. There were similar displays in Richmond. |
I returned later in the week when the crowds were fewer. Children will especially enjoy the museum quality taxidermy displays of animals and the giant sized fish in a huge aquarium, and the unusual snacks and candy. Cabela's is definitely a place you should visit, wherever you are.
I don't receive any benefits from advertising Cabela's. In fact, I am not even a card carrying member of their discount system. I do think that you should take a trip to Cabela's whenever you can though. Have a great time.
