has anyone ever heard of this?

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firemanstrickland

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Jan 18, 2011
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hello all,
I am interested in getting in to gunsmithing for myself and to make some money on the side. i am interested in becoming a certified gunsmith but i dont know of any schools near me that i can get my gunsmith degree at, i was told you can get ur degree online. has anyone here ever done that? is it legit? i need info, please help. here is a website i have been looking at, anyone ever hear of it? http://www.becomeagunsmith.com/home.html
please help, any info is greately appreciated.

Thank you, David
 
An on-line gunsmithing school is about two cuts below getting a Law degree or Medical license on-line!

Do Not waste your time or money on them!

The only way to become a gunsmith is get your hands dirty.
Get a job sweeping floors in a gunsmiths shop and work your way up while looking over the skilled gunsmiths shoulders.

Or go to a well known trade school that specializes in gunsmithing like the Colorado school of Trades.
http://www.schooloftrades.edu/

Even then, you are still not a gunsmith, until you find a speciality job where you can make a living as a gunsmith.

And there ain't many of those slots left to fill.

rc
 
I have to add that I know a guy that went to a gunsmithing program thru a community college and got some sort of a degree. He opened up a business. It took about 6 months of screwing up peoples guns before he closed the doors.

The only real gunsmith I know was a machinist by trade and a gunsmith on the side.
 
Funny how often that is the case!!

The skills of a machinist are certainly necessary to be a gunsmith.
Probably also a precision welder, fine furnature quality woodworker, and a few other things too.

Any of which trades he could make more money doing.

But not even most machinists or welders or furnature makers are qualified to work on guns!

rc
 
Gunsmith

RC got it right, if you don't have a good machinist, welder background, which usually have a good mechanical ability. You will have a hard time making it regardless of the certificates you have hanging on the wall. Got on here in town changing tires. Al
 
I have even seen a few who were qualified to be called gunsmiths that really didn't cut it. I'm not a gunsmith but i have worked in machine shops and I feel pretty competent at fixing my own guns. I think what you have been told is the gospel. hang out in a shop with a good smith and pester him while sweeping floors.
 
I hate to tell you this but it cost a pile of money to get into it.

I have posted it before and dont mean to be negative but lay down and let the thought pass.
There is alot more to being a gunsmith than mounting a scope or cleaning someones gun for them. If a part is broken, you have to have the knowledge and equipment to be able to make one. You will also have to have your FFL's which will add another headace to the process.
The only way to learn it is to do it. No one can teach it to you becouse it is always something different. Find someone who does it who will let you hang around.
 
There is no such thing as a "certified" gunsmith because there is no established system for anyone to verify the credentials or competence of someone who wants to hang out a sign and call himself a gunsmith. If you want to become a hairdresser, you have to go to a recognized school and pass a fairly rigid state examination (at least in this state).

But to become a gunsmith, all you need is a kitchen table, an FFL (which says nothing about your competence) and enough money to buy a newspaper ad. Do you need tools, or equipment, or training, or experience? Nope, just some people willing to trust you with their property.

Jim
 
I am a gunsmith and graduated from the Colorado School of Trades. In my opinion, the online courses from AGI are great for reference but don't do justice to learning the trade in the fullest extent. The reason I went to a school was to learn the hands-on applicaitons such as polishing metal, bluing, lathe work, and mill work. The combined experience of all the instructors could not be beat. If you had a question, you simply asked someone and they showed you right there on the spot. The accredited closest program that I know of in your neck of the woods is the Pennsylvania Gunsmithing School.

http://www.pagunsmith.edu/index.php
 
firemanstrickland said:
sorry boss, but pennsylvania is no where close to south carolina, thanks anyway
Click to expand...
He didn't say close. He said closest. Accredited gunsmithing schools are few and far between. Online learning is good for book-smarts, but grants 0 hands on experience. I'm not a gunsmith, but that is the eventual goal. I learn by doing, on my own guns. I hope to start a part time job next month working for a well known local gunsmith/FFL as others have said, sweeping floors and helping around the shop.
 
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