Fort Mill Cabela’s opens with archery shot

Robert Bonner of Fountain Inn arrived early to be first in line for the opening of Cabela’s outdoor store in Fort Mill on Thursday morning.

Three days early, to be exact.

Bonner and his son Hunter slept in their Jeep Cherokee as they waited for the opening. On Thursday, they relaxed in folding chairs as hundreds of other patrons stood behind them, waiting for the doors to open. The number of first-day patrons was so high that York County sheriff’s deputies were directing cars to an overflow parking lot next to Carowinds two hours before the 10 a.m. opening.

When the doors opened, Bonner quickly grabbed a cart and went shopping. Given he had spent three nights in his car, you might have thought a tent would be high on his list.

No, the first item he sought was a raincoat, followed by a shotgun. Hunter went to check out the kayaks.

The stream of customers behind them was steady, which is normal for grand openings of Cabela’s stores nationally. For Bonner it was the second time he’s been first in line for a Cabela’s opening. He led the line when the Greenville store opened last year.

While the store’s general manager, Tyrone Hibbler, was prepared for a crowd, the long line waiting, and the steady stream of customers thereafter, surprised the former Target manager.

“We expected the turnout, but not one like this,” he said.

They weren’t just South Carolinians. People came from as far away as Minnesota and Jamaica.

Part of the event is the unusual way Cabela’s opens its stores. Instead of the traditional ribbon cutting, an archer in a deer stand aims at a sporting clay held by two camouflage ribbons. The archer gets only one shot.

On Thursday, the task fell to 25-year-old Matt Holcomb of Charlotte, who has been an archer for less than two years. Doug Miller of York sparked his interest when the two worked at Ceramco Printech in Charlotte. Miller brought some paper plates and a bale of hay to work and taught Holcomb how to shoot.

“I got the bug and I shoot every day now,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb was one of five staff members, called outfitters, to compete for the honor shooting the arrow that opened the store.

Holcomb said he wasn’t nervous. He had wrestled before a large crowd while at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte. But he had never performed for such a large, cheering crowd.

“I couldn’t wrap my head around it. So I couldn’t get nervous about something I didn’t know. I guess I was excited nervous,” he said.

Holcomb’s shot broke the shooting clay. A few minutes later, Cabela’s officially opened, with Bonner walking through parallel lines of cheering and high-fiving Cabela’s outfitters.

The Fort Mill store, next to Carowinds off I-77 at Exit 90, has a replica of a mountain, an aquarium, wildlife displays, an indoor archery range, a deli and a fudge bar – and the wide array of sporting inventory that has made other Cabela’s stores a destination.

The store also will have a South Carolina theme, with maps and photos of state parks and local taxidermy.

“We sell fun,” Hibbler said. “That’s all we sell. We stand for fun.”

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Fort Mill Cabela’s opens with archery shot."