by Walmart was the largest of the retailers invited (or summoned as the case may be) to meet with Vice-President Joe Biden’s “gun violence” (sic) task force. A number of other large firearms/sporting goods retailers were at the same meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder held on this past Thursday. It is my understanding that the National Shooting Sports Foundation had requested to be at the same meeting as they represent many independent gun shops but the request was refused.
Sen. Chuck Schumer has announced he is contacting them to “voluntarily” stop selling semi-automatic rifles with bad cosmetics while Congress debates a new assault weapon (sic) ban. As Schumer notes:
“Since the Sandy Hook shooting, the sales of assault weapons are skyrocketing,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) told The News.“We have no idea how many people [buying the guns] are mentally ill, or how many are felons,” he continued. “If Congress passes measures to reduce availability of these weapons, those efforts could be undermined by the purchase of thousands of weapons before then.”
Just like it has been suggested that we call Walmart and express our concerns lest they think it is in their best interest to screw gun owners, I’d suggest we call the rest of the retailers on this list. If Schumer can contact these companies, then there is no reason that we as consumers shouldn’t as well. I have assembled contact information for all of these companies as well as other relevant information.
When you call be respectful and polite but be firm in your stance. You don’t need to argue but merely state your case. Make sure the company knows that you’ll refuse to do business with them in the future if they cave to pressure from the Obama Administration on guns. This is different than a corporate decision decides to stop selling a product due to the profit margins.
Customer Service: 888-922-2336
Corporate Offices: 281-646-5200
Kevin Chapman is Sr. VP for Store Operations
Academy’s headquarters is located in Katy, TX. They were bought by buyout firm Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts in 2011. Academy has 131 stores in 11 states. They hold 145 FFLs.
Customer Service: 800-227-7776
Corporate Offices: 417-873-5000
Johnny Morris is the founder of Bass Pro Shops which is headquartered in Springfield, MO. I suggest contacting Larry Whiteley, Manager of Communications at 417-873-5022. His email is lwhiteley@basspro.com. He heads their public relations staff. Bass Pro Shops holds 53 FFLs.
Customer Service: 800-898-2994
Corporate Offices: 310-536-0611
Big 5 is headquartered in El Segundo, California. Steven Miller is the CEO. Shane Starr is Sr. VP for Operations. Big 5 is a publicly traded company (BGFV) which trades on the NASDAQ Exchange. They have 413 stores in 12 western states. They hold 389 FFLs.
Customer Service: 800-237-4444
Corporate Offices: 308-254-5505
Cabelas is headquartered in Sidney, Nebraska. They have 40 destination stores in 23 states and 3 Canadian provinces. Thomas Millner, former CEO of Remington and the Freedom Group, has been CEO of Cabelas since 2009. Scott William is the Ex. VP and Chief Marketing Officer. Joe Arterburn is Corporate Communications Manager (308-255-1204) Cabelas is a publicly traded company (CAB) and trades on the NY Stock Exchange. They hold 31 FFLs.
Customer Service: 877-846-9997
Corporate Office: 724-273-3400
Dick’s Sporting Goods is headquartered in Corapolis, PA. They are publicly traded on the NY Stock Exchange under the symbol DKS. Edward Stack is the CEO and Lauren Hobart is the Chief Marketing Officer and Sr. VP. Dicks has 511 stores in 44 states. They hold 470 FFLs.
On December 18th, Dick’s caved to the perceived pressure after the Newtown shootings and “suspended” sales of all AR-15s in their stores. They also cancelled the pre-orders for the special AR-15 made just for them by Troy Defense. I would suggest calling the corporate offices and letting them know what you think of their corporate cowardice.
Corporate Offices: 248-674-4975
Dunham’s is a sporting goods chain that is primarily in the Mid-West. They are headquartered in Waterford, Michigan and have 180 FFLs.
Customer Service: 888-542-6337
Corporate Offices: 651-325-4300
Gander Mountain is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota and has their customer service operation in Greenville, North Carolina. They have 113 stores in 23 states. They also own Overton’s, Gander Mountain Acadmey, and 3 Forks Ranch. David Pratt is Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO while Steven Uline is the Ex. VP for Marketing. They hold 114 FFLs.
Customer Service: 800-286-3076
Corporate Offices: 801-567-1000
Sportman’s Warehouse is headquartered in Midvale, Utah. They operate 32 stores in 17 states. Karen Seaman is their Chief Marketing Officer. She can be reached at 801-566-6681 or by email at kseaman@sportsmanswarehouse.com. They have 32 FFLs.
Customer Service: 800.360.8721
Corporate Offices: 303-200-5050
Sports Authority is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. It has 465 stores in 45 states. The CEO is Darrell Webb who until recently ran Jo-Ann Stores. Greg Waters is the Ex. VP for Merchandising and supervises store operations. They have 169 FFLs which means only about one-third of their stores carry firearms.
Schumer doesn't know how many felons are purchasing 'assault' weapons? I didn't think a felon COULD purchase a weapon–of any kind–unless they do it underground. They can't be buying them from the stores mentioned above.