Gunsmithing School Advice

[AllTheCoolNamesAreTaken]

It's just that.. wondering if anyone has any direct experience (or knowledgeable information) with/about different gunsmithing schools. I'm leaning away from "for profit" places, and figured it may be better to get a certificate, and a degree (probably from an NRA certified school).
I'd like a pretty well-rounded education/experience..(Don't want to be a master at carving stocks, and nothing else.) I do appreciate my classics, don't get me wrong.. But every shade-tree gunsmith works on people's levers.. but can't get around a whippersnappers slam-bam autoloader.. Which more lately have been tickling my pink a bit more.
Any thoughts on the Montgomery program in SC? I've asked a few local counter commando's.. Who rant about "this guy graduated from *random school*, and doesn't know jack." But if I had to light a room, I wouldn't pick the bulbs that work at the gun stores around here.

Hope that semi makes sense.
Sorry if this thread is more of a strand.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AllTheCoolNamesAreTaken]

Okay.. Okay... Haven't proof read since school.. Hence my interest in going back. *North Carolina*.. The South Hasn't risen yet, google reassured me that they are in fact, still two states.
Just to state the "slam-bam" auto.. There's a pretty reputable gunsmith in my area who everyone and their grandmother swears by.. Long story still pretty long, I went into his fine establishment to have him double check my not professional job, informing him my sights are still a *C-Word* hair off.. impact .5 inches right at 10 yards.. he looks at me like I asked him the square root of something. and stated, "What's the problem, then?".. And apparently my Sig220 was just a space gun of sorts.. (Wasn't aware that de-cocking levers have been invented.) I apologize about my double/long winded posts.. It just disgusts me the fact that I don't see pride, precision, craftsmanship, and professionalism anymore. Maybe I'm a dying breed of perfectionist.. but I'd like the the know-how to put it to good use.

 

[earlthegoat2]

While I consider 1/2" off at 10 yds perfectly acceptable and your smith probably feels the same way, you believe there is room for improvement and that is perfectly fine.

Your story is not so much about you going to Gunsmithing School as it is your dissatisfaction with your local smith. Any smith, and I mean any, can adjust a sight. No matter what pistol configuration you have. As long as the sight is adjustable with a screwdriver or a drift pin any smith can handle it. I think the smith figured if he moved the sight a little then it would just be 1/2" off the other direction.

Which begs the question, how do you know your guns sights are 1/2" off. THat is a pretty small measure for a platform as unstable as a handgun. Were you shooting off a Ransom Rest or some other method of rock solid and repeatable test firing? Smiths know the limits of their abilities and they for sure can make a good guess about most of their customers.

The Montgomery CC program is a good one. Any of the attendence programs out there are better then any correspondence course.

 

[AllTheCoolNamesAreTaken]

I guess that did turn into a bad rant.. Not too often that the thread poster gets so off topic, huh? I apologize.. I guess I was *attempting* to state when it comes to firearms, I'm pretty over-demanding, and would expect the same.. Basically emphasizing how I don't want to just learn the basics of something, to wind up not being able to apply myself as hard as I want to.. Hence the hope for a pretty d*mn good school.

 

[k_randomfactor]

Something I posted on another forum a while back...


i ended up at Murray State in OK after wasting a bunch of time (his and mine. his being worth a whole lot more) at the local 'smithshop in wichita falls. he and BB both recommended MSC, so off i went.

i lucked up (read badgered them til they said yes)and got an ubercool summer job at Shiloh Sharps in Montana, and learned some of the manufacturing side of the house, before ending up at ***edit***

the best summary of the job i've heard is "gunsmithing is a great way to take a large fortune and turn it into a small one". gunsmithing is not a way to get rich. most of the folks in this business are in it because they love the business. being a gungeek helps, as does some form of mechanical apptitude. learn to run a machine shop. learn to weld. most of all, as BB stated, learn the theory behind what goes on.

if you are really interested in this as a profession, go to a good school. Murray State in OK and Montgomery in NC i know are good schools. i was surprised at how much i actually knew coming out of school. i was even more surprised at how much i didn't. the rule of thumb is an FNG takes 2 years MINIMUM to start really being productive. figure that those two yrs are your apprenticeship, even after going to school. school gives you a baseline skillset that your job later builds on.

most 'smiths specialize. unless you get hooked up with a gunshop that needs a 'smith, or you go to Gander Mountain (my second job) or Basspro as one of their inhouse 'smiths, it is really difficult to make it as a general gunsmith. time is money, and most general purpose guys never do enough of anything to get REALLY good at it, not to mention having to keep inventory and literature on a lot of esoteric ****.

if you want to do this, figure out what you really like. i mean 'like' enough to spend 60-70hrs a week doing it for money, and then doing it for fun on the rare day off you allow yourself. like shooting 1k yd matches? build F-class guns. like shooting USPSA or 3 gun? there you go. a big upland bird shooter? shotguns are your thing. i recommend that you do what you build. a guy building race guns for IPSC that doesn't play that game can build technically good stuff, but it will take him a lot longer to get the small stuff that makes the difference between good and great.

not sure if you are really interested in gunsmithing? consider one of the NRA Summer programs at the schools. they are 1-2 week courses in one area. they give you a taste of school, and can let you see if this career is really right for you. they are taught by some of the best people in the business, and you can learn a bunch.