I currently work at a Class III gun shop and I want to increase my knowledge by going into Gunsmithing. I live Western Kansas and the closest schools to me are terrible towns. Around 400 people are killed in Trinidad Colorado every year. So that school is out, especially because about 40 of the guns I own are illegal in that state. Does anyone know of good colleges that offer a gunsmithing course that is longer than 2 weeks. I know of a school near Phoenix, Arizona, but that is too far of a driver for me to take. Can anyone inform me of more Gunsmithing schools, when I try to research this topic I just get over loaded with those online colleges.
Gunsmithing Courses
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Gunsmithing Technology | Murray State College
It's mostly Monday-Thursday,,,,you can go home most weekends if you want. They will touch on most all subjects,,,but like most anything a lot of learning will come from a mentor or experience. The biggest problem with becoming a gunsmith is the equipment needed to get started. It is a huge expense. Depending on what your goals are.
It's mostly Monday-Thursday,,,,you can go home most weekends if you want. They will touch on most all subjects,,,but like most anything a lot of learning will come from a mentor or experience. The biggest problem with becoming a gunsmith is the equipment needed to get started. It is a huge expense. Depending on what your goals are.
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I've always been interested in this as well. I'm a machinist by trade, shooting and firearms have always been a love of mine.... I figured why not combine the two? It'd be nice
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Is that where gunsmiths come from? Do most start as machinists and move toward working on firearms, or do they start working on guns and pick up knowledge of machining as they go? I've always kind of wondered... 'Did the chicken or the egg come first' way of thinking I guess...
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I've considered taking classes so I can have a better understanding of firearms and ammunition for my own purposes, not to actually get into the trade. I'd like to be able to comfortably work on my own and my father's toys. If I had to guess, it's not much different than trade school in the way that I'll only learn the basics, but wouldn't get the knowledge I'd want unless working as an apprentice under and experienced gunsmith. Am I correct?
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Probably.
The best schools offer two year courses of study taught by gunsmiths.
What you are describing is Armorer's knowledge. Most major firearms manufacturers offer Armorer's courses, for a price. There are usually one or two day courses. These courses are mostly familiarization, troubleshooting and parts changing courses.
The best schools offer two year courses of study taught by gunsmiths.
What you are describing is Armorer's knowledge. Most major firearms manufacturers offer Armorer's courses, for a price. There are usually one or two day courses. These courses are mostly familiarization, troubleshooting and parts changing courses.
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Not always. You can learn the machining skills as you learn the manual skills of 'smithing. My own experience... I went to visit my gunsmith uncle one summer (remodeling the interior of my cousin's house) and would go "help" him during days when it was too hot to work inside that oven. He started me off cleaning up parts, then disassembling and cleaning entire guns, then making simple parts, then making more complex parts. Five years I've been at it now, and I wouldn't want to do anything else. I'm nowhere near as skilled as your average "educated" gunsmith, but knowing the tricks to everyday things is probably the majority of your accumulated knowledge. Like knowing that a Remington 1100 and 11-87 usually needs the edge of the locking lug in the barrel slightly rounded to prevent extractor breakage, or that you NEVER take the take down lever out of a High Standard HD or HB first when breaking it down, or the trick of holding a Ruger Mark series pistol at just the right angle while reassembling to allow the hammer strut to hit the mainspring plunger just right, or using a drill press to compress the mainspring on and old Stevens shotgun. There are thousands of little mental notes you'll make all through your career. But the best thing is... get books! Get all the books you can find. If you are ever stuck, you can bet someone's been there before you, and (hopefully) they wrote down and published the fix.
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