Field Trip: Bass Pro Shop

This is going to be super quick, it probably won't even be worth reading but I have to express my feelings about this.

I decided early in the afternoon yesterday that I was going to go on an adventure. I ended up at Bass Pro with a couple friends. I was told it was big. I underestimated what that meant. The place was huge and packed with stuff. It had a turnstile like you were about to get on a roller coaster or something at the front door.

I found everything I could ever want in there, unfortunately in comparison to Gander Mountain almost everything was more expensive by a few dollars. When your on a tight budget and trying to prep a few dollars is a lot.

The camping/hiking section is incredible. They have just about everything you could want. However, the pack selection wasn't as good as I was hoping for. On the same note, there is a huge gun selection, but nothing of actual interest. It seemed to be all run of the mill guns. The archery and fishing sections were also amazing with very knowledgeable staff. The last part was very important, we had just come from Gander Mountain. The staff there was not knowledgeable at all except for the guys in the back with the guns. They knew tons, and were incredible patient. I waited about 5 to 7 minutes before someone noticed me in the fishing section looking puzzled. It took almost 10 minutes for that guy to find someone who knew anything about fishing. That was frustrating to say the least.

Just a quick aside, when we were standing at the gun counter checking some stuff out, there was a gentleman looking for a new gun. The way he explained it made him sound like he had at least 1 already. That was incorrect. He's never owned one, never fired one, knows SOME terminology, and has the money to throw at it. It turns out he is looking for a home defense weapon. He immediately points out a Mossberg 500 standard. it has a 22 or 24 inch barrel on it. We all had to kindly explain why a shotgun that long would not do well in a close quarters situation. He then turned to a Sig 380. He thought it was too small and didn't seem intimidating enough for home defense. Finally settling on a very nice .38 special, the guy behind the counter explains that that particular model can come with a laser. I can't make the next part up, he asked this: "What does the laser do? Burn their skin?" I assumed he was being funny, he wasn't. He was dead serious.

Anyway, enough with Gander. Bass Pro is giant, its a trip to walk around in and definitely something everyone who enjoys outdoors stuff should experience. However, everything is overpriced, they don't seem to carry any kind of tactical gear, and if you're headed in there, make sure you have a couple hours to burn.