testtest

Question for Gunsmiths

K

KermitDFrag

Alpha
Greetings everyone!

So I'm interested in becoming a gunsmith. I'm pretty new to firearms in general but have learned a TON over the last several months. I'm really enjoying this world and felt like gunsmithing would be an enjoyable path in life. I suspect at first as a hobby, but then maybe opening my own shop somewhere.

So I've been looking into how to become gunsmith. Courses seem to be the best way to start, but there are no hands on schools (that I've been able to find) in my area. I found several online courses, but in the reviews a few people said they were gunsmiths and they would never hire someone who's education came from an online course because they tend to not know what they're doing.

So as a gunsmith, do you agree with that?

I'd love to start learning, but I don't want to waste time and money with an online course if no one would hire me. There is a machinist course at a local community college that I'm considering taking.
 
I would check out Sonoran Desert Institute. They’re online but come pretty highly rated. I don’t know how much you’ve looked into this, but Gunsmithing requires more than a couple of courses. Like any vocation, there is an intense course of study as well as practical experience. And I don’t know how much you’ve done with your own guns and if you’ve managed to screw something up, which a lot of us have, but imagine that happening to a client’s firearm. Not trying to dissuade you by any means, I applaud your interest, just be aware of the commitment that is required. Good luck.
 
JMHO, online courses are the new Close cover before sticking "Degrees". If your dead set on being a gunsmith bite the bullet (pun intended), invest the $, and go to where the schools are. Then be prepared to go where the work is. Before you do anything, I think you should do a whole pile of research into what type of living you are likely to make, not can make (pie in the sky) doing that. Can you get a job after you graduate. I knew a bunch of guys with higher education and training and student loan debt, working the same job, at the same pay, right beside men with High School Diploma's and GED's You are not going to make a living being as a gun smith in moose junction Maine and a large number of other places in this land. It's all well and good to work in a job you love, BUT only if you can make a living doing it. Don't mean to pee on your dream just don't let people selling "education" waste your time and $.
Good Luck
 
bc22wm said:
JMHO, online courses are the new Close cover before sticking "Degrees". If your dead set on being a gunsmith bite the bullet (pun intended), invest the $, and go to where the schools are. Then be prepared to go where the work is. Before you do anything, I think you should do a whole pile of research into what type of living you are likely to make, not can make (pie in the sky) doing that. Can you get a job after you graduate. I knew a bunch of guys with higher education and training and student loan debt, working the same job, at the same pay, right beside men with High School Diploma's and GED's You are not going to make a living being as a gun smith in moose junction Maine and a large number of other places in this land. It's all well and good to work in a job you love, BUT only if you can make a living doing it. Don't mean to pee on your dream just don't let people selling "education" waste your time and $.
Good Luck
Click to expand...
this is true...there are states that are anti-gun as we all know.....gunsmiths can be under more scrutiny in those states, for whatever reasons the anti-gun politicians impose on them.

all any school can do is lay out and teach the foundation to which one then builds on, once he/she gets that "certificate of completion"...not necessarily a diploma.

getting a job at a gunsmithing shop is doable, but if it's a "one man shop", the student will work for free.......to gain experience, so what to do for money to live on?

anything anyone wants, they have to work for.

so hopefully @Wannabewoodsman will see the notification and come here, he's really the best advisor the o/p could ever have.
 
Greetings Kermit !

1. You are on the right track by taking some machining classes at community college.
2. You could, concurrently with comm. college and if you have time, take SDI (Sonoran mentioned above) at the same time. This will give you knowledge, even if some of it is esoteric or not exactly comprehensive to all guns ( they lean to Glock style pistols for instance…as I understand it, anyway).
4. NRA offers sanctioned courses in gunsmithing at exactly FOUR community colleges nationwide (at least, last time I checked). These range from black powder, making a stock, wood checkering, AR builds (from ground up!), Glock work or whatever…
4. Joe Chambers (Chambers Customs) offers some sort of week long 1911 build class he calls his “1911 University”. My impression is that machining knowledge is a must there, however.

Unfortunately there is NO comprehensive “education” to be found that i know of. The NRA one might be the best.
But some manufacturers offer Armorer’s ‘schools’ i think. Its kind of a matter of getting it all from various sources and a whole lotta hands-on. Personally, I doubt I’d use someone who didn’t have a lot of experience, regardless of their credentials…

My opinion: It is what it looks like - a limited field - unless you start out working for a manufacturer, ‘custom shop’ or major brand…
 
bc22wm said:
JMHO, online courses are the new Close cover before sticking "Degrees". If your dead set on being a gunsmith bite the bullet (pun intended), invest the $, and go to where the schools are. Then be prepared to go where the work is. Before you do anything, I think you should do a whole pile of research into what type of living you are likely to make, not can make (pie in the sky) doing that. Can you get a job after you graduate. I knew a bunch of guys with higher education and training and student loan debt, working the same job, at the same pay, right beside men with High School Diploma's and GED's You are not going to make a living being as a gun smith in moose junction Maine and a large number of other places in this land. It's all well and good to work in a job you love, BUT only if you can make a living doing it. Don't mean to pee on your dream just don't let people selling "education" waste your time and $.
Good Luck
Click to expand...
Upon my discharge from the military I enrolled in a 2 year general gunsmithing course. Luckily I was able to use the GI Bill. The course was put on by a nationally known gunsmith in Louisiana. It was definitely a hands on course on just about anything having to with firearms. I could tell a long story about the course. I was allowed to specialize in repair and modifications on S&W revolvers. After a little over a year I was bitten by the law enforcement bug becoming a Deputy sheriff. Of course I had to drop out of the class but I did acquire skills that have helped me over the years. There were about 20-25 students in the class and I think 5 of them actually started gunsmithing businesses. I often wonder how my life as a gunsmith would've been. Good luck to you.
 
Last edited:
A real Gunsmith must be able to take any gun, of any kind, fix any problem it may have including making replacement parts from scratch. Being a gunsmith also means you have to be a machinist, welder and a woodworker.
The Colorado School of Trades offers an in-house, hands on Gunsmith course. I hear its hard to get into due to a waiting list and if you do, it ain't cheap. Bear in mind that you will have to move there. This is a full time school.
The traditional method was to apprentice under a Master. But there are very few Masters left anymore and I seriously doubt one would take on a complete stranger.
I do all my own work. Learned mostly from books, videos and my own mistakes. I'm a pretty fair hobbyist, but no where near a real gunsmith.
 
Although maybe not as comprehensive as above, if you don't want to move to liberal CO:

Gunsmithing - Yavapai College

Gunsmithing is the routine maintenance, repair, and modification of firearms. Gunsmiths identify worn or defective parts and replace them with new ones. They must be aware of issues specific to certain models and manufacturers in order to resolve them. Sometimes, gunsmiths modify firearms for...
www.yc.edu www.yc.edu
 

Gunsmithing schools
From sources across the web​

1705852499637.png


American Gunsmithing Institute


1705852499692.jpeg


Colorado School of Trades


1705852499752.jpeg


Penn Foster Career school


1705852499811.png


Sonoran Desert Institute


1705852499882.png


Montgomery Community College


1705852499946.png


Modern Gun School


1705852500033.jpeg


Piedmont Community College


1705852500100.jpeg


Pine Technical College


1705852500158.png


Trinidad State Junior College


images


Yavapai College


images


Piedmont Technical College


images


Fayetteville Technical community college



Ashworth College



Murray State College



Lassen College
 
Talyn said:

Gunsmithing schools​

From sources across the web​

View attachment 51059

American Gunsmithing Institute


View attachment 51057

Colorado School of Trades


View attachment 51062

Penn Foster Career school


View attachment 51058

Sonoran Desert Institute


View attachment 51063

Montgomery Community College


View attachment 51064

Modern Gun School


View attachment 51065

Piedmont Community College


View attachment 51060

Pine Technical College


View attachment 51061

Trinidad State Junior College


images


Yavapai College


images


Piedmont Technical College


images


Fayetteville Technical community college



Ashworth College



Murray State College



Lassen College
Click to expand...
Talyn, I'm sure I'm not the only forum member that really appreciates the research you do on many subjects.
 
IMO there's no substitute for a hands-on school.

Various platforms are modular nowadays and relatively easy to work on, but to work on/build others, like bolt guns, really need a hands-on education.
 
xdman said:
It is best to have hands on, how are you going to learn skills like welding or machining without hands on? Can you learn it it online sure, but nothing beats a skilled teacher.
Click to expand...
Talyn said:
IMO there's no substitute for a hands-on school.

Various platforms are modular nowadays and relatively easy to work on, but to work on/build others, like bolt guns, really need a hands-on education.
Click to expand...
This is 100% true, online schools are great, but to get the best education you need hands on training for gun smithing, while I’m no gunsmith, I was trained/schooled by a good friend who worked at SSK Industries back in the 90’s, also my opinion, don’t go cheap on tools, I got all of mine from Brownells then, and they all still work like they did from day one, hope you can find what your looking for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top