Learning Gunsmithing??

[todayzprophet]

Hey guys, I just wanted to ask if any of you knew of any great schools or programs of some sort that anyone in the country can learn gunsmithing skills from. Sure, I know there are a few scattered across the nation that are brick and mortar physical locations, but most of us are unable to move and go to some school thousands of miles away. The state of Alabama doesn't have any sort of formal school for it. I have looked at Penn Foster's Gunsmithing course with cost about $800 in total to complete. What is everyone's opinion of this course? And yes, I'm sure some of us may be lucky enough to know an old-timer that can show us the ropes as an apprentice but not all of us are so lucky. So what is the general opinion of taking the Penn Foster Gunsmithing program in the overall High Road?

 

[Byrd666]

The best gunsmith I've ever known, a local guy, not a "national" type guy, and this was quite a while ago, got all his education by way of the United States Navy. Other than military training, I'm not sure where to look. You might try asking one of your local PDs and see where their armorer got his/her training.

 

[Sam Cade]

A gunsmith is just a machinist who has specialized.

If you want to be a gunsmith, a REAL gunsmith and not just some guy who sprays duracoat and chops shotgun barrels learn to be a proper machinist and apply those skills to firearms.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Day to day gunsmith work will be cleaning,repairing and refinishing(wood and metal). Providing hot blue services is one of the more lucrative aspects of gunsmithing as once the initial set-up cost has been recouped it is almost all profit. Actual machine work will be limited to re-barrelling or custom building firearms. Making parts is a losing proposition as it takes much more time than "most" customers are willing to pay for(but you still need to know how to do it) but there are exceptions. Most replacement parts on modern guns are drop-in fit but some will need fitting. Cleaning ,rebluing and simple repairs will pay the bills and can be learned from "most" online schools. In an ideal world,every state woulkd have an accredited gunsmith college and plenty of opportunities for apprenticeship but that just isn't the case. I like AGI video courses and Modern Gun School(the advanced course). They won't teach you everything but they are a good start.

 

[todayzprophet]

Thanks for the info. I looked up the Modern Gun School (had never heard of it) and requested information to be mailed to me about their Advanced Gun Repair course. Sounds like it is definitely advanced and contains most likely more information than most people know. Again, thanks for the feedback.