I went to the new Field & Stream store in Crescent Springs, KY last night. It was on my way home. Everyone at work was talking about it. It seemed like a BIG THING. It seemed like a good idea.

Here’ the link on how to get there:

F&S Crescent Springs

Look, I do not want to knock this deal with faint praise. It was okay. I’d call it BassPro Lite.  This is the hunting and fishing departments of Dicks Sporting Goods blown up a bit and packaged in a nice wrapper.

• The exit was backed up a good half-mile and it took over twenty minutes to get to the parking lot. I am sure this was due to it being evening rush hour.  However,  I saw a lot of people peal off and leave before I got to the light.
• Prices?  These were not deep discounts.  Remmie Green Box Ammo was marked down $1.  A F&S T-shirt went $20.  A truck logo decal went for $18.  These were not prices you would drive 100 miles out of your way to get.
• Well stocked?  Yes.  However, I have to say that part of that was a bit illusory.  I found socks scattered hither and thither. Ditto for things like boots and ammo.  The point was obviously to make it all seem bigger and more spread out.  However, when I found the rifle ammo, I found it was rather limited.  They had 30-06, 30-30, 270 WIN.  However, I did not see 35 Whelen– something I know they carry at BassPro.
• There WAS a reloading section!!! Prices were high, but it was nice to see rifle powder and primers out somewhere again. It gave me hope for the future.
• If you’re looking for a $15K Drilling, you will not find it at F&S.  What I did see was a large gun counter filled with a lot of the new low-end rifles– the Mossbergs, the Ruger Americans, you know.  Prices looked reasonable.
• Helpful staff?  Dang! Everywhere you looked you saw somebody with a tag.  They were nice folks, but you had to wonder exactly how many folks in there were patrons and how many were employees.
• Parking? I parked less than 50 yards from the door.  The whole front of the place was blocked off for the grand opening show.   It makes me wonder about the traffic at the exit.  This wasn’t a packed-full crowd.
• One interesting thing to note was that the check-out counters were remarkably open.  You could tell the cashiers were bored.

I see this as a good step for Dicks.  I used to shop at Dicks the first few years they were in Tri-County.  However, their selection in the hunting and fishing departments waned, and so did my interest.  A few years ago I had an hour to kill and dropped into their Kenwood location.  After 5 minutes, I still had not found hunting, or fishing, or camping.  I asked a floor walker for the gun counter.

“Sir!!!” said the clerk. “We don’t have ANY hunting or fishing merchandise at THIS location. This is a family store!”

Well, DANG!  You don’t have to tell me twice. I have not been back since.  This was a nice step back in the right direction.

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