If you walk into a Dick's Sporting Goods today looking for a new waterfowl shotgun or a box of .30-06, you're probably going to walk out disappointed. It's a weird feeling for those of us who grew up wandering those green-carpeted aisles. For decades, the "Hunt" desk was the literal anchor of the back of the store. Now? It’s mostly yoga mats and high-end sneakers.
The story of Dick's Sporting Goods guns isn't just a business pivot. It’s a messy, polarizing, and surprisingly calculated divorce from a category that once defined the brand.
People think the guns just vanished overnight after a single press release. Honestly, it was way more gradual and way more complicated than that. It started as a reaction to tragedy, but it ended as a cold-blooded retail strategy that actually made the company more money.
The Day the Hunting Aisle Started Dying
Everything changed in February 2018. Following the shooting in Parkland, Florida, the company's then-CEO, Ed Stack, realized his stores had legally sold a firearm to the shooter. It wasn't the gun used in the crime, but for Stack, it was enough.
He didn't just tweak the rules. He went on Good Morning America and basically declared war on his own inventory.
The immediate changes were drastic:
- They stopped selling "modern sporting rifles" (the retail term for AR-15 style platforms) entirely.
- The minimum age to buy any firearm or ammunition was jacked up to 21.
- They pulled high-capacity magazines off the shelves for good.
Here is the kicker: they had already "banned" assault-style rifles after Sandy Hook in 2012. But they had a loophole. They kept selling them at their subsidiary, Field & Stream. By 2018, Stack decided the loophole had to go too. He didn't just stop selling the remaining inventory; he ordered $5 million worth of those rifles to be destroyed and turned into scrap metal rather than returning them to the manufacturers.
The Slow Fade of the "Hunt" Department
A lot of people think Dick's just flipped a switch and became a clothing store. Not exactly. They started "testing" the removal of the entire hunting category in 10 stores back in late 2018. They replaced the guns and camo with "base layer" clothing and localized sports gear.
The results were a gut punch to the traditionalists: those 10 stores actually made more money without the guns.
By 2019, they expanded the ban to 125 stores. By 2020, they were purging hunting departments from another 440 locations. Basically, if you weren't in a "heavy" hunting market, your local Dick's was done with firearms. They eventually started selling off their Field & Stream locations to competitors like Sportsman's Warehouse or rebranding them into their new "Public Lands" concept, which focuses on hiking and camping rather than shooting sports.
Did the Boycott Actually Work?
If you check the comments on any hunting forum from 2019, you’ll see thousands of people swearing they’d never set foot in a Dick's again. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) even kicked them out of their trade association. It was a massive PR nightmare in the rural US.
But look at the numbers.
The "backlash" happened, sure. They lost about $250 million in sales initially. But then something shifted. By ditching the low-margin gun business, they freed up massive amounts of floor space for high-margin products like YETI coolers, Nike apparel, and HOKA shoes.
Women and younger families who might have felt uncomfortable walking past a wall of rifles started spending more. The stock price, which hovered around $30 in 2018, eventually skyrocketed. As of 2026, the company is leaner and more profitable than it ever was when it was selling shotguns.
Where Can You Still Find Them?
Technically, the company hasn't completely exited the business in every single corner of the map, but it's effectively over for the "big box" experience. If you’re looking for Dick's Sporting Goods guns today, you’re mostly looking at a ghost town.
Most locations have replaced the gun lockers with:
- Public Lands: Their new outdoor brand that leans into "conservation" and "exploration."
- House of Sport: These are massive 100,000-square-foot experimental stores with rock climbing walls and batting cages. No gun counters in sight.
- Expanded Golf Galaxy: They’ve doubled down on golf, which has a much higher ROI per square foot than ammo.
What You Should Do Now
If you are a hunter or a sport shooter, you’ve probably already found a new home at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, or your local independent gun shop. That’s probably for the best. Dick's has made it clear they aren't looking for that customer anymore.
If you still have old gift cards or rewards points, use them on tech or footwear. The days of grabbing a box of shells on your way to the range at the local mall are officially dead.
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Actionable Insight: If you’re tracking the retail landscape, watch how Dick’s handles their "Public Lands" stores over the next year. It's the final stage of their transition from a general "sporting" store to a lifestyle boutique. If you need gear for the field, skip the mall and head straight to a specialized outfitter. The "Hunt" button on the Dick's website is basically a redirect to a lifestyle blog at this point.