Used to wait for the Cabela's and Gander Mountain catalogs with great anticipation........like a kid going through the montgomery wards Christmas catalog! Then when Cabela's opened their retail store in Mitchell, SD, we just had to make a pilgrimage there....................
Fast forward several years........G.M. sold it's catalog business and opened retail stores; at first they were great....whatever you needed, they had it. Then they started to trim what they carried, and you had to "settle" for what they had. I quit going to GM years ago; customer service sucked!!! Used to hear the line "If we don't have it, we can order it for you".......yeah, well; I can order it myself, too.
I looked at the retail stores as being 'more convenient', but that didn't turn out to be true.
I have never had a good experience with Bass Pro, so I avoid them like the plague!!! Now that they have Cabelas, I guess I won't bother shopping there. I prefer to patronize small business and will do so, and as far as getting what I want, the internet has dozens of options: Able ammo, MidwayUSA, Natchez , Ballistic products, Precision reloading, etc. I've found some of my best gadgets and gizmos by perusing the small shops and websites.
I've often wondered if a catalog/online company that specialized in safari gear would be profitable (like Macks' prairie wings is with waterfowl gear)..............