Is gun cleaning a good business?

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After the war? That is going to be a long time.
I'm just sick of taking classes that do nothing but repeat the classes I have already taken. I had one that repeated 8 other classes last semester. I know it makes it easy for future classes, but since I'm paying, I want to learn something darn it!
 
Do you have experience with cleaning a variety of handguns? Some guns you just cannot rely on the Numerich diagram.

Do you have someone that you can rely on for help is you are unsure of a particular firearm before proceeding?

Are you willing to taking in really neglected/flooded/rusted/et al firearms that needs all out elbow grease?

What will you do when you break someone's priceless heirloom and try to repairs/replace its hard to find parts?
 
Gotta be at the right place at the right time !!!

Example = I first was a Range Officier and then a Board Member for a very large public shooting range. I made very good side money giveing instruction in the different types of competition I was in -- IPSC , IDPA , Steel Challenge , 3 Gun Action , SASS/Cowboy Action etc. -------- was I a "big name sponsered " shooter ?? NO. Did I have a Masters Degree or was I "certified " from Blackwater/Glock/Thunder Ranch ??? NO.
What I was is a very good competitor who placed in or near the top at many local matches we held. POINT IS -- not really many people will want you to be "certified" to clean their firearms !!!

What YOU MUST BE is the three F's ---- Fair , Friendlly , and Fun . I have seen it in person and read 100s of posts where the "public" are treated like Jerks , Idiots , and belittled for their choice of firearms by gun shop owners or other "armchair commandos".

I am sure you know that you are not only selling a service to clean someones firearm --- YOU ARE ALSO SELLING YOURSELF !!!!

DO NOT let the "bah-humbugs" mess with your mind !!! I bet you have heard = Location , Location , Location -- a hundred times. That is why I posted about me at the range giveing competion instruction for cash. There are Two Kinds of Opportunities in life --- those you "luck" into and THOSE YOU WORK/PLAN FOR !!!

You have a solid idea and it could be a great part time income that may lead to a full time income !!! Example = me doing " action coaching " lessions then led to me meeting shooters who also wanted/needed work done to their firearms --- so I "farmed it out" to two gunsmiths for a 10% fee for the work I brought them !!! I DID NOT need a FFL , College Degree , or to be "Cerified" to do this.

Think about a portable firearm cleaning service ---- maybe go to where the shooters are and not wait for them to come to you. Find indoor ranges , Bullseye Leauges , IPSC/IDPA matches etc. -- hang around , shoot the match ,find gun/sporting shows, pass out business cards, etc. Try to
think "outside the box" , use the power of the Internet , etc. etc.
 
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I would pay $10 to have my guns ultrasonically cleaned, lubed and reassembled, by a professional company, with glee.... and I won't even pay a smith to work on my guns!!... I did once.... only disappointed... I do better work myself.... I don't think I can clean my gun better than an ultrasonic machine though.... see, that's the thing...

I would immediately inspect them afterward to be sure they were cleaned as promised, and reassembled properly.... and I wouldn't trust it with my life (or game) until I had fired it again..... but I take that precaution even if I clean it myself....

If you were a respectable company, or doing business through a respectable company (such as a local gun shop), I wouldn't even second guess your motive....

I don't know what all you guys think your guns are worth, but I put a WHOLE LOT more valuable things than guns in others hands knowing that I could, but don't want to, do the work..... my pickup comes to mind right off....

Yeah, sure, cleaning guns is fun (not)..... maybe I'm just not a 'real gun owner/shooter/hunter/reloader.... hhhmmpffff....
 
I'm not sure how big your market will be on cleaning, but if you are getting an FFL anyway you can do incoming transfers to make money and try and advertise your cleaning business. You'll probably make more money doing transfers, but it is easier than cleaning guns and money is money, right?

I get asked about once a year to clean a customer's gun. Granted, I don't advertise a cleaning service, but most folks do it themselves.
 
I don't see why it wouldn't work. I know a lot of people who pay good money to have fishing reels cleaned and relined. No reason to think they wouldn't pay to have a gun cleaned.

Most reel repair people I know have an arragement with a local tackle shop. Anyone comes in looking to have a reel cleaned, they get refered to "Joes reel cleaning". You might be able to work the same type arragement with a gun shop.
 
You'll need a Federal Firearms License in order to receive and hold the guns overnight...even if they're brought in by the owners. You'll have log in each gun, and log them back out when the owner returns to pick it up unless he returns on the same day during business hours. If you close at 6 O'Clock, and he comes rushing in at 5 after...you have to log it in and out in order to comply with the letter of the law.

You'll need liability insurance.

Good luck!
 
Friend of mine is a gunsmith. Over half the guns he takes in because they "don't work" simply need a good cleaning. He has a minimum charge of 35.00. He stays busy.
 
You'll need a Federal Firearms License in order to receive and hold the guns overnight...
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He will need the FFL to do any work on a firearm(ie: receiver) even if it doesn't stay overnight(it won't have to be logged in the bound book if it doesn't stay).
 
One thing I didn't see on your list of expenses is tools. In order for me to do "general gunsmithing" I have an inventory of general tools that runs about $2000. No you don't need $2000 worth of tools to take guns apart but you will run into old beaters that will require specialized tools. I did the school thing, 2 years out of state, $20K tuition bill. There is money in it if you go to work full time for a company but it is a hard road to travel if you try to do a home based business right away. $10 per firearm to clean will take quite a while to pay off your initial investment. Not to mention your expendables such as cleaner, patches, etc. If you are doing it as a hobby, it would probably be fine. Your most difficult task will be getting the word out. A word of caution, ultrasonic cleaners can strip anodizing off aluminum ie. Remington receivers, AR-15 quad rails, etc. Good luck and have fun at it.
 
Do you have someone that you can rely on for help is you are unsure of a particular firearm before proceeding?
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He is on The High Road, what more could he need?
 
I put a WHOLE LOT more valuable things than guns in others hands knowing that I could, but don't want to, do the work..... my pickup comes to mind right off...
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See, some YMMV!

The above statement would be why I would say that it is worth a shot, assuming that this would absolutely not be your sole source of income. It seems like it could wither prosper, flop or break even. I wouldn’t consider it unless I had a primary income elsewhere and that this cleaning thing is something that you know you would love doing daily. I personally love what I do for a living (networking geek) and would never think of starting my own business in something that I felt was anything less than ridiculously fun to me.

I say it is sink or swim because most gun owners that I know are also tinkerers. I know a few who could care less about tinkering with their weapons. These guys typically have $3000+ trap/game over & unders or they are the “I don’t want it anyway but factory” guys. I know many people who are XD/Glock/Sig/whatever guys who scoff at any deviations from factory and could care less about the inner workings, so long as the gun works. I also know a few Colt guys who feel any deviation from factory is sacrilege and you are ruining a future collector's item. The rest of the owners that I know enjoy tinkering or at least inspecting and cleaning their guns themselves.

Me, I’m a tinkerer and I hate taking anything to someone else. If a vehicle goes in for repair it is because I lack the tools (and they are too expensive to rent), I don’t have the time or I feel totally out of my league (like assembling a reciprocating assembly). Other than that I love tearing a vehicle, weapon or whatever completely apart on my Saturdays. I may cuss while and bloody up a few knuckles while I’m pulling the supercharger (and the brake booster and most everything in front of the front cover) off of my mustang just to change a silly belt or helping a friend assemble an ar with the cheapo parts he ordered, but I love it.

Either way, good luck with your quest to find something!
 
Besides the FFL, you have to figure in the shipping costs. To and From. Will the average gunowner want to package his pride and joy and then deal with UPS? I know I hate sending my guns back to the factory and thats for a necessary repair. I've used Ultrasonic cleaning and in order for it work properly, the guns must be field stripped. You just can't dunk them in a tank. The barrel will still have to be brushed out if its heavily carboned, lead or copper fouled. If the gun has wood or stag stocks they will need to be taken off as well. Ultrasonic cleaners will sometimes remove some painted surfaces like the white dots on a front sight. Truthfully, a toothbrush , some patches and some solvent followed by a can of brake parts cleaner will do everything an ultrasonic will do. I do wish you the best on finding a job though. Times are tough for many people right now.
 
a can of brake parts cleaner will do everything an ultrasonic will do.
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I've never used ultrasonic cleaning but unless it cleans at the molecular level,I think my boiling soapy water does just as well.
 
The only way something like this could work would be if your shop was located at a shooting range. People might be willing to hang around an extra 15 minutes while you cleaned their gun. That's the only way you will ever be able to generate enough customers to make any money. The idea of leaving your gun and picking it up a few days later makes no sense. The kind of people who don't know enough about their gun to be able to clean it themselves probably only own one gun so they aren't going to go without it for a few days.
 
I wouldn't regularly pay $10 to have someone clean my guns, but I'd pay more to have someone teach me how to clean them properly.
 
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folks might look at YOUR plan as a way to con you out of your guns.
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You mean if he were traveling to shooting ranges,et.al.? Doing cleaning from the back of a van? I CAN see THAT.
I don't feel like I'm doing it right.
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If it is clean and works properly when you're done,you did it right!
 
I would have to go into custom gun making and spend several years making a name for myself.
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No offense intended, so please don't take this the wrong way. It sounds like you are looking for instant gratification. In today's economy, I don't blame you. It is hard getting by as it is, much less on an apprentice's salary as an adult with dependents. My kids need shoes and food constantly (let alone doctor bills), so I have to work and make decent money. I can't afford to apprentice. I enjoy tinkering, but I pay the bills with my day job.

Still there are a few people who revolutionized the gun industry through persistence without apprenticing and formal gunsmith training. There are a few that come to mind:
  • Eliphalet Remington
  • Mikhail Kalashnikov
  • Gaston Glock
  • Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling...a good ol' boy from Hertford County, NC.:cool:
 
"Think about a portable firearm cleaning service ---- maybe go to where the shooters are and not wait for them to come to you. Find indoor ranges , Bullseye Leauges , IPSC/IDPA matches etc. -- hang around , shoot the match ,find gun/sporting shows, pass out business cards, etc. Try to
think "outside the box" , use the power of the Internet , etc. etc."


^^^^^ This is how I would build that kind of business as it can be done on the weekends and evenings to get you started. It can easily be expanded to your home as it grows and you see the opportunity. Might also be some CHL instructors that can refer business to you at their location for a finders fee. What do you have to lose? You will certainly be able to make up your investment in less than a year, part time. GO FOR IT!
 
Local shop here does that and makes some decent money. I'd get the biggest ultra-sonic tank I could though. Seems like there's always something bigger to put in there.

Quick note - get a good cleaning solvent designed for guns. It makes a difference.
 
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