A Career in Firearms?

You need business classes - first and foremost. If you do not understand marketing, accounting, taxes, payroll, and all of the other nuances in running a business, you have set yourself up to fail

Technically, machine-shop classes, precision work, metallurgy, welding. As for custom guns, then you will also need to understand all aspects of ballistics, stock making.
Having a basic mechanical engineering background wouldn't hurt either

Good luck

That's pretty cool man. I would like to own a business one day in firearms as well. I'm taking business management classes at the community college. In a week I have to do a presentation on a business plan i'm writing in my entrepreneurship class.

One of the best gunsmithing schools in the country is in Trinidad, CO.

Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk

Business classes wouldn't be a bad idea. Hands on skills are good too. Does your school still offer a shop class?

See if there's a good gunsmithing school in your state. You will need to learn machining and welding, but the gunsmithing school might teach you that.

Take some CAD classes. It would be a boon if you could design CNC gun parts.

Mechanical engineering is hard and a lot of work. If you can pull it off, more power to you.

Trade schools have CNC machine courses. They are good if you actually want to manufacture components (like Red Jacket does). There are also gunsmithing DVD's you can pick up here and there to work on the repair part of it.

The biggest thing down the road will be to make sure the town you live in is zoned to run a gunshop out of your home (assuming that's how you'll be starting out) because that is a critical piece of getting your FFL.

Also, any gun you get, learn how to take it apart. After awhile you'll know how to take apart dozens if not hundreds

Ryanxia said:

Trade schools have CNC machine courses. They are good if you actually want to manufacture components (like Red Jacket does). There are also gunsmithing DVD's you can pick up here and there to work on the repair part of it.

The biggest thing down the road will be to make sure the town you live in is zoned to run a gunshop out of your home (assuming that's how you'll be starting out) because that is a critical piece of getting your FFL.

Also, any gun you get, learn how to take it apart. After awhile you'll know how to take apart dozens if not hundreds

Click to expand...

Yes, CNC and Machining are where to start. Besides, if you can build and design guns you can do it with anything and sometimes when you are getting started you might have to make other things to feed yourself. I know many machinist's that work on guns at night and make other stuff during the day.

Yep, Trinidad St Jr College has a first rate gunsmith school. I should know, class of 64.....chris3

Another option which I agree buisiness courses are the way to go, is to mabye try and work for a gun store with a gunsmith dept. or if you are lucky enough be close enough to companies like STI Intl. or LaRue Tactical which are basically 20 miles from one another. Get a job with those types of companies, experience their buisiness models, go to school while getting your practical experience at the same time.

One of my uncles, now deceased, went to gunsmithing school at the Colorado School of Trades. He had been injured in the line of duty as a Detroit police officer and gunsmithing was his second career. Some years later he went to work for a rural sheriff's department where he doubled as a dispatcher and armorer. Unfortunately I never really got to know him.

Business in any industry, be it firearms, auto mechanic, brewery, office machine repair boils down to being 80% about business skills and 20% about the actual product/service. There are so many jokers that think they can run a business it's unbelievable. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. Focus on the business aspect and hire the industry aspect.

I'll leave you with one final thought:

Entrepreneurship is about living your life like others won't so later you can live life like others can't.

Just a thought...How about getting a job at one of the firearms factories...like, working for Ruger or Smith and Wesson for a few years to learn how they are made and tuned at the factory? Or maybe finding a gunsmith and becoming his apprentice?

In his book, "Shotguns and Shooting" the late Michael McIntosh devotes a whole chapter to David Trevallion, a custom stockmaker, who learned his trade as an apprentice at Purdey's. I have always thought working with a genius like Mr. Trevallion would provide a better education than one of our government cookie-cutter institutions.

Just thinking that college and business courses aimed at managing a Fortune 500 company might not be for everyone.

It's a tough industry to succeed in, but it can be done. First, you need to decide what specific area you want to focus on. General gunsmithing? Custom building with existing platforms? Completely manufacturing firearms from raw stock?

You also need to evaluate yourself honestly. Desire is only one of the requisite traits; You need to have the aptitude. The whole "you can do anything you put your mind to" bit of rhetoric is hogwash. People are just born to do certain things, and will struggle with endeavors they don't have an innate talent for. Some folks are meant to be artists, some doctors, some lawyers, and others design, build or fix mechanical things. If you want to be a gusmith, you need to be good with math, good with your hands and have an eye for both mechanical and artistic lines. If you want to run the business as well, you need to be good with people. If you can't deal with your customers or employees, you won't be successful in running a business, regardless of your talents in the trade.

I don't mean to be a buzzkill, I've just seen too many people go into something because they wanted to, but they just weren't cut out for it. It may be that they have the drive, but no skill. Maybe they have the skill, but lack the discipline. Sometimes they have the skill and the motivation, but their people skills aren't up to par. Doesn't really matter which combination it is, failure is the outcome.

If you believe you have what it takes to do the actual job and run a business, many others have made good suggestions for schools and courses.

Entrepreneurship is about living your life like others won't so later you can live life like others can't.

Click to expand...

Maybe for you. Most small business owners don't aspire to be rich, only to succeed. With a very few exceptions, becoming wealthy requires one be rather unscrupulous, willing to step on other's heads to get to the top.

I run an honest business, and I make an honest living providing a quality service at a fair price. I'll never make millions this way, but I can pay my bills and sleep at night, knowing that my customers are happy.

Are you wanting to be a true custom gunsmith such as Bowen Arms or a mainly parts swapper?

A parts swapper is someone who does repairs such as action jobs, mechanical repairs, basic machine work like mounting scopes and sights and even refinishing service. Please don't get me wrong . I think it could be a very good living.

A true custom gunsmith such as Bowen Arms will require a higher level of skill and more knowledge. There is always room at the room for true pros.

You'd be better of becoming an auto mechanic or something so you could eat and start cutting into guns later. Hey #5; "shop class?" Are you kidding? Shop class for becoming a gunsmith? Sure.

Hey, I was just about to ask this.... as you all know, I wanna be a gunsmith .

Kidding aside, would it be more worthwile for me to become a gun retailer or an actual gunsmith?

Maybe for you. Most small business owners don't aspire to be rich, only to succeed.

Click to expand...

You've lost it already. Being an entrepreneur isn't about being rich. The first 4 years of being in business, I depleted my life savings, worked 16 hour days, ate two meals a day, lived in my car outside the rented garage my business was in with no heat during the winter for two years, all the while not knowing if I would make it another day. Doing that lead me to build a successful business that continually grew exponentially over the next several years and allowed me to buy my first house. I was the owner that did the business trips to tour the floor of the machine shop that was making the parts that would be used in my products. I extended a clean hand to shake the grease and grime encrusted hand of a machinist who was apprehensive of shaking mine due to the muck on his. I told him "Don't hold back that dirty hand. That grime is paying both our mortgages."

Do you have what it takes to sacrifice your life like that for the chance at a better life? I knew what I wanted and would do nearly anything to make that happen.

If you sacrifice now, you may be rewarded later. It's not a given, it's a risk. It's business.

With a very few exceptions, becoming wealthy requires one be rather unscrupulous, willing to step on other's heads to get to the top.

Click to expand...

Respectfully, this is stereotypical crap.

I run an honest business, and I make an honest living providing a quality service at a fair price. I'll never make millions this way, but I can pay my bills and sleep at night, knowing that my customers are happy.

Click to expand...

That's all that matters. I've posted how I got started before here, so I won't repost, but that's what business boils down to being: happy customers, happy employees, and a profit in the bank accounts. If you want the Cliff Notes version of business, that's it.

You should really go for a degree in mechanical engineering. The world of firearms is heavily dependent on engineers. Instead of wanting to repair or build guns, you should go for designing guns. That's where the money and innovation is. How are your math and science skills? If they're sharp, you'll want to go this route.

Not everyone is cut out for engineering. You have to go into it with strong math and science skills.

Kidding aside, would it be more worthwile for me to become a gun retailer or an actual gunsmith?

Click to expand...

There is little margin in Title I firearms. There is much more margin in Title II firearms. For gunsmithing, there is much more margin in that than retail gun dealer.

If you want to be a gunsmith, be a gunsmith. Supplement the revenue by doing transfers and special orders. Chicken scratch like that can be left to specific "pick-up" days where you only do them. I do transfers only on Fridays. Let's them do the weekend fun stuff with it and the best day for financial mischief is Friday. Focus on a specialty and stick to that. Don't get sidetracked, you'll likely lose money. No special monetary deals for friends. I've got a great promotion I run but I can't post it in public due to the ultra-conservative nature of the forum.

If you're 21 and can get an FFL, go ahead and get properly zoned for an 01 FFL and get started. Do transfers and light gunsmithing while you're in machine shop school. Mount scopes, clean/check/test, part swap, etc until you get your calling.

Ditto on Trinidad.
Zeke class of '61

Kidding aside, would it be more worthwile for me to become a gun retailer or an actual gunsmith?
There is little margin in Title I firearms. There is much more margin in Title II firearms. For gunsmithing, there is much more margin in that than retail gun dealer.

If you want to be a gunsmith, be a gunsmith. Supplement the revenue by doing transfers and special orders. Chicken scratch like that can be left to specific "pick-up" days where you only do them. I do transfers only on Fridays. Let's them do the weekend fun stuff with it and the best day for financial mischief is Friday. Focus on a specialty and stick to that. Don't get sidetracked, you'll likely lose money. No special monetary deals for friends. I've got a great promotion I run but I can't post it in public due to the ultra-conservative nature of the forum.

If you're 21 and can get an FFL, go ahead and get properly zoned for an 01 FFL and get started. Do transfers and light gunsmithing while you're in machine shop school. Mount scopes, clean/check/test, part swap, etc until you get your calling.
__________________

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Don't make the mistake of confusing a hobby with a livelihood. The gun industry is generally not very lucrative. If you like guns, you're probably better off training for a well-paying job (such as cyber security, which is a hot field now), and then using those earnings to finance your gun hobby.

I'm thinking about applying at SIG Sauer when I'm done with College, by the time I graduate they may have then moved to the location near my school. Granted it's not owning my own shop as I want to in the future but it's a good starting point.