Life after Cabela's

Brian Fort was laid off from Cabela's in April, but soon found a new position as senior director of sales for Counter Assault, a Kalispell, Montana based company.

"We handle anything from bear spray to law enforcement spray to personal protection spray for the customer," Fort said. "We sell to buying groups and retailers, independents, sporting goods. We're in a lot of different retailers."

When not on the road, Fort works from home and his downtown office on the 1000 block of Illinois Street.

Fort said the opportunity was a fortunate one.

"After the last round of layoffs, I was hired by a company to sell bear spray, and I've been at Counter Assault for about a month and a half," he said. "I didn't have much of a delay in employment and hit the ground running."

A Sidney resident, Fort's new position often takes him out on the road.

"Just in the first month I've spent over 4,000 miles on the road, traveling through Montana and Wyoming," he said. "When spring time comes again I'll be on the road for several months, probably all at once, and traveling grizzly country, which is the Wyoming, Montana, Idaho area."

Among his efforts, Fort will soon take Counter Assault's product out to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the opening of a new Cabela's store.

In addition to providing training and teaching, Fort is responsible for sales teams across the United States.

"I have five different sales rep groups that cover the rest of the states," he said.

Counter Assault, Fort said, is an affective product against a grizzly bear that might see a person as a threat, or worse, a black bear might see a person as a meal.

The bear spray mainly uses capsaicin.

"It's hotter than what law enforcement uses when they defend themselves or take down a suspect," he said. "On the Scoville heat chart, it's about 2 million, where the hottest pepper is about 100,000."

He added, "It's a great tool to have on your belt when you're outdoors."

Fort spent 10 years at Cabela's, starting out in retail.

"I dealt with shooting accessories, outdoor cooking and hunting accessories," he said. "The last five years I was in the footwear area, dealt with rubber waders and boots."

Fort has enjoyed his new position.

"It's been good," he said. "I still have a lot of friends at Cabela's and my wife still works there."