Starting up a Gunsmithing Shop?

[LRShooting]

As someone who was recently in your shoes, don't be so quick to set your future in stone. My life, and life goals, changed more than I could ever have imagined from 19 until I graduated college. Not to detract from military service, but 18-30 are some of the best years of your life. Its youth and freedom you will never get back. Think long and hard before you think about giving those years to the government.

Would it be wrong for me to say I don't see it as serving government, but as doing my duty and doing what I feel is right. Im not arguing, but I didn't no how you saw it.

 

[beag_nut]

Back to your original premise:
Attend a resident gunsmithing school. Nothing beats hands-on.
Forget CNC and get manually-operated machines. Gunsmiths have no need for CNC unless they invent a new product everyone will swoon over. Guess how many gunsmiths have done that.

 

[LRShooting]

Back to your original premise:
Attend a resident gunsmithing school. Nothing beats hands-on.
Forget CNC and get manually-operated machines. Gunsmiths have no need for CNC unless they invent a new product everyone will swoon over. Guess how many gunsmiths have done that.

Ha, yes thats a good idea. I was kind of thinking the same thing since I have gotten off topic twice now...

I do agree that gunsmithing school would be best. Although it seems like the only thing I can do it just forget the entire thought and just stick with hobby purposes. I dont see a reason to invest so much and risk so much all at the same time. I have been well informed now from this thread. Lets me focus my attention on other things that will pay for the toys I want much quicker than buying them and trying to make enough profit to pay for themselves.

Of course CNCs are just cool though man. I have made up a build list to make a Hobby CNC and itll run 500-1000$ to build if one so choses to do so depending on parts and materials you use. Just think of what an individual could do with a CNC, mill, lathe, and 3-D printer . Of course none of that is limited to guns only and for the tinkerer, its heaven.

 

[Comrade Mike]

Would it be wrong for me to say I don't see it as serving government, but as doing my duty and doing what I feel is right. Im not arguing, but I didn't no how you saw it.

Regardless of how you see it, it's a part of your life you'll never get back. Think long and hard about how you plan on using it. You don't know what's going to change in a year.

 

[LRShooting]

Regardless of how you see it, it's a part of your life you'll never get back. Think long and hard about how you plan on using it. You don't know what's going to change in a year.

Understood.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, LRShooting,

If you can stand a couple of more notes, I suggest spending a few dollars on a course (community college is good) in business management. It will be superficial at that level (no MBA) but it can open the eyes of a hobbyist. Another is to take a course (again a community college if possible) in machine shop work. Again, just the basics but the truth is that some folks just are all thumbs (I used to work with a guy I think had twelve on each hand) and it is good to know if one has an aptitude before sinking money into a business.

Nothing to do with gunsmithing, but the most failed business in the US is running a food business or a restaurant. Why? Because Aunt Minnie makes great pies so she decides to make money at it. The problem is that her great pies cost $35 each, not counting labor. She won't stay in business long. And Chef Pierre may be the greatest cook in the world, but if he doesn't know how, where and when to buy his ingredients, his restaurant will go down the tubes.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

Dear Comrade said:

Think long and hard before you think about giving those years to the government.

The years I spent in the military were some of the most miserable years in my life.

However, they were also some of the most memorable years of my life.

You make friends that remain like brothers as long as you both live.
And you have memory's you simply can't buy at any price in civilian life..

I don't look at it as giving the best years of my life to the government.
I look at it as a great experience I will never forget as long as I live.
And doing my duty as an American.

If the OP's dream is to be a Navy SEAL, then to do less then follow through and try to do it is a cop-out he will regret the rest of his life in the back of his mind.

rc

 

[BBBBill]

The years I spent in the military were some of the most miserable years in my life.

However, they were also some of the most memorable years of my life.

You make friends that remain like brothers as long as you both live.
And you have memory's you simply can't buy at any price in civilian life..

I don't look at it as giving the best years of my life to the government.
I look at it as a great experience I will never forget as long as I live.
And doing my duty as an American.

If the OP's dream is to be a Navy SEAL, then to do less then follow through and try to do it is a cop-out he will regret the rest of his life in the back of his mind.

^^^^ That right there! I spent 33+ years in the Army, reserve and active. Started out active and just retired after spending the last 14 active. Totally disabled from injuries sustained and lots of wear and tear. Eight surgeries in 4 months time with several more to go. Still wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[LRShooting]

Hi, LRShooting,

If you can stand a couple of more notes, I suggest spending a few dollars on a course (community college is good) in business management. It will be superficial at that level (no MBA) but it can open the eyes of a hobbyist. Another is to take a course (again a community college if possible) in machine shop work. Again, just the basics but the truth is that some folks just are all thumbs (I used to work with a guy I think had twelve on each hand) and it is good to know if one has an aptitude before sinking money into a business.

Nothing to do with gunsmithing, but the most failed business in the US is running a food business or a restaurant. Why? Because Aunt Minnie makes great pies so she decides to make money at it. The problem is that her great pies cost $35 each, not counting labor. She won't stay in business long. And Chef Pierre may be the greatest cook in the world, but if he doesn't know how, where and when to buy his ingredients, his restaurant will go down the tubes.

Jim

I currently have been taking a few...not main courses though. My major is ag based in systems management and plant sciences as a dual major. That being said, I am still required to take economics and business classes. Macro and micro economics, financial planning, ethics, etc. Running a farm is basically a huge business with very deviating costs due to changes in year to year needs for soil, plant genetics, etc. Therefore, the majors simply require we have basic knowledge of it and the ag business majors get the brute of it.

 

[LRShooting]

Dear Comrade said:
The years I spent in the military were some of the most miserable years in my life.

However, they were also some of the most memorable years of my life.

You make friends that remain like brothers as long as you both live.
And you have memory's you simply can't buy at any price in civilian life..

I don't look at it as giving the best years of my life to the government.
I look at it as a great experience I will never forget as long as I live.
And doing my duty as an American.

If the OP's dream is to be a Navy SEAL, then to do less then follow through and try to do it is a cop-out he will regret the rest of his life in the back of his mind.

rc

Your reading my mind. Thats not very polite . But seriously, Ive talked to my future brother-in-law and he basically said the same thing. He never saw combat, but he did become an active marine and understood what it took and how miserable it was. From what I understand, however, its all about the mentality of what you are doing and how dedicated you are.

Far as regretting...thats currently my biggest fear in life is not doing that and knowing that I did not at least try. Time will tell, but I have a few years to see how it turns out.

 

[LRShooting]

^^^^ That right there! I spent 33+ years in the Army, reserve and active. Started out active and just retired after spending the last 14 active. Totally disabled from injuries sustained and lots of wear and tear. Eight surgeries in 4 months time with several more to go. Still wouldn't trade it for anything.

God bless. I hope your future surgeries go well for you.

 

[rcmodel]

For a farm kid from Missouri, you sound to me like you have a firm grasp on life and what you want to do with it then most young kids these days!!
Must have good parents!

Your $$$ may be a little unrealistic, but at least you are thinking about $$$ & acres, and tools instead of hip-hop music, or playing with a skateboard!

You are on track to do well in life.

Just stick to the plan and avoid the steep hills and low valleys with whatever money you have!

BTW: May I suggest K.U. For school.
M.U.. sucks!!!!

BeSides that, MO came over here and burnt our town down in 1863!
Never trusted them since.
But you sound more house trained then most of them MO heathens across the border.

rc

 

[LRShooting]

For a farm kid from Missouri, you sound to me like you have a firm grasp on life and what you want to do with it then most young kids these days!!
Must have good parents!

Your $$$ may be a little unrealistic, but at least you are thinking about $$$ & acres, and tools instead of hip-hop music, or playing with a skateboard!

You are on track to do well in life.

Just stick to the plan and avoid the steep hills and low valleys with whatever money you have!

BTW: May I suggest K.U. For school.
M.U.. sucks!!!!

BeSides that, MO came over here and burnt our town down in 1863!
Never trusted them since.
But you sound more house trained then most of them MO heathens across the border.

rc

I must admit, that gave me a pretty good laugh . We are no longer rivals, but KU still must pave way for MUs dominance. I love MU, personally, and dont pay attention to the sports really, but you have to admit the FB team did pretty good for new comers into the SEC.

I do have good parents, but I need to give credit to the community as well. Depending on how much work you do within the community, they can really impact the way a person acts. I do enough volunteer work and meetings that the majority of people I hang out with are at least 35 just due to, as you say, most kids worried more about stuff jacking up their truck higher and seeing who can get the drunkest. People around here dont do the hip hop/skateboard thing. You might get shot for looking like a weird creature roaming around.

I must say RC, that meant a lot. Doesn't matter if I know you or not, but the fact that you can say that and not know me either is a significant confidence boost.

 

[Garrobo]

I would suggest

that you plan on at least ten years apprenticing with a competent gunsmith first. Then decide if you want to gunsmith rifles, shotguns, revolvers, pistols, machne guns, cannons, etc. plus either bolt action, trap and skeet, autoloaders or whatever. Next would come the stocks. Wood is another animal entirely. I've been at it for 35 years, have $20,000 in machinery and tools and I still don't think that I am entirely competent. I think you never are. Then comes the liability aspect. Do you want the liability of blowing up a guy's favorite gun by some stupid mistake you made. Plus, some people are NEVER satisfied with what you did for them and keep coming back and coming back wanting this or that at no charge looking for the 1/4" tack driver that they have read about and no one has ever seen. After all this time and a thousand gallons of Mallox, I am about ready to sell out. Unless you are one of those guys who builds $75,000 shotguns and rifles for the jet-setters and millionaires, you will never get rich working on firearms. Good luck.

 

[DeanDallas]

Now I am going to post some out loud thinking I have a bad habit of doing.
This whole deal is none of my business, but.
Learn a trade while you are still young, then go after your dreams. Hell maybe 2 or 3 before you make the leap.
I did and the first trade saved my rear in my old age because the great ideas I made the leap on fizzled out & left me high & dry.
I like the bit of advice one poster made about the 100,000 investment.
I can apply that to trucking, it takes 400,000 before you go broke in 10 years.
Its not what you make, its what you get home with.
I was in the 2-way radio business & made big money selling nation-wide. But cell phones made that go away.
I am a retired long boom crane operater, I cut my own deals at top pay the last 20 years of my work history.

 

[LRShooting]

Now I am going to post some out loud thinking I have a bad habit of doing.
This whole deal is none of my business, but.
Learn a trade while you are still young, then go after your dreams. Hell maybe 2 or 3 before you make the leap.
I did and the first trade saved my rear in my old age because the great ideas I made the leap on fizzled out & left me high & dry.
I like the bit of advice one poster made about the 100,000 investment.
I can apply that to trucking, it takes 400,000 before you go broke in 10 years.
Its not what you make, its what you get home with.
I was in the 2-way radio business & made big money selling nation-wide. But cell phones made that go away.
I am a retired long boom crane operater, I cut my own deals at top pay the last 20 years of my work history.

Hence the reason I am going to college now. So far, im not learning a super amount, but only because my first major is basically the same thing Ive been doing all my life. The other is more into the science of things and so its helpful.

 

[Jim K]

Again FWIW. One gunsmith service I see a need for based on reading these sites is stockmaking/woodworking. There are always queries from folks who want to replace broken or rotted stocks or "restore" cut down military rifle stocks. While some of those stocks are available in a partly finished state, others have to be made from a blank. Either way, a lot of folks want the work done, can't do it themselves, and will pay good money for a good job.

Not as glamorous as building AR-15's or turning out more 1911 clones, but work in which skill will be rewarded.

Jim

 

[LRShooting]

Again FWIW. One gunsmith service I see a need for based on reading these sites is stockmaking/woodworking. There are always queries from folks who want to replace broken or rotted stocks or "restore" cut down military rifle stocks. While some of those stocks are available in a partly finished state, others have to be made from a blank. Either way, a lot of folks want the work done, can't do it themselves, and will pay good money for a good job.

Not as glamorous as building AR-15's or turning out more 1911 clones, but work in which skill will be rewarded.

Jim

And it is a good suggestion...but I balk at the liability and legal issues.

Plasma gettin bigger, Jesus gettin smaller.
Spill a cup of coffee, make a million dollars.
Customs caught a thug with an aerosol can. Toby Keith-American Ride

Sue for anything these days and if I so chose to do something for others, I would keep it it local as in friends and neighbors (Unless i ended up actually getting something big going). Ill keep it in mind though. All the suggestions so far have been helpful.

 

[joem1945]

Looks to me the money maker today is indoor gun ranges. Not cheap to set up but if your in a good location with parking, have your FFL and a small store for ammo, saferty glasses and hearing protection it should make money. A note of caution; I had my own business for a little over 20 years. It's NOT A HOBBY! You will be married to it 24/7 if you intend to make it a real go. Would I do it again?

 

[DeanDallas]

Hence the reason I am going to college now. So far, im not learning a super amount, but only because my first major is basically the same thing Ive been doing all my life. The other is more into the science of things and so its helpful.

What ever you chose be sure you enjoy doing it, those years get long in a miserable occupation.
Saying this, I enjoyed every day of my heavy crane work, it may be hard to believe to most people.
But it took raw guts some days & boring as hell the other days. I had post stress syndrome for years after I was forced to retire from bad knees.
Still young at retirement I am now 79 still miss the stress & heavy lifts. I am a stress junkie.

 

[rbernie]

One gunsmith service I see a need for based on reading these sites is stockmaking/woodworking.

The need is definitely there, but I'm not sure that most folk are willing to pay the cost for proper stock work. My informal survey of the DFW gunsmiths would suggest that most folk will pay $200-$300 for a an AR part but won't pay $80 for a repair on the average sporting gun.

 

[rcmodel]

One other thing I always ran into that makes you go bald prematurely.

Most all current modern guns have lifetime implied warrantees.
And seldom break.
So you don't work on them.

So you get to see 15 RIG revolvers or Iver Johnson's for every broken Browning, Ruger, Colt, S&W, or Winchester.

You end up working on old no name beaters you can't get parts for.
Then if you spend the time to make the parts?

You are a low-life scum when you present the bill for twice what the gun is worth in working order.


rc

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

RC said it right. You do end up working on a lot of junk. Every now and then something cool comes across the bench and makes things more interesting.

I chose to specialize in one or two areas I became known for so I ended up working on those a lot more. The AR-15 is a popular platform and becoming very proficient in it would be a good thing. Also 1911 pistols and S&W revolvers will always have a need for specialized work. Cylinder and Slide offer a custom course in the 1911 pistol and the S&W revolver. I hear they are some of the best schools you can take on the platform. It has been my dream to do one or both of those someday. I got my AR-15 experience by working for a manufacturer. I ended up working all the way to lead gunsmith. Later I taught an AR-15 armorers course at the local indoor range. I also have a fascination with .22 long rifle firearms. They take a tinkerer's mindset to figure out sometimes and offer a challenge.

Should you decide to attend a formal school I would recommend bringing as many guns as you can to work on. Some schools have a store room where people can drop their guns off to be worked on but some are reliant solely on what you bring. The more you have the more you learn. Also bring lots of extra money. The school I attended offered firearm customization classes on certain platforms and they also had armorers courses come through regularly (Beretta, Colt, Glock, Sig, H&K, etc.) They ran anywhere from $150 to $600 each. Think about which ones you want and where you are in the country because you have to recertify every couple of years and some are impossible outside of school to recertify. I currently hold a Glock and S&W M&P cert.

 

[LRShooting]

RC said it right. You do end up working on a lot of junk. Every now and then something cool comes across the bench and makes things more interesting.

I chose to specialize in one or two areas I became known for so I ended up working on those a lot more. The AR-15 is a popular platform and becoming very proficient in it would be a good thing. Also 1911 pistols and S&W revolvers will always have a need for specialized work. Cylinder and Slide offer a custom course in the 1911 pistol and the S&W revolver. I hear they are some of the best schools you can take on the platform. It has been my dream to do one or both of those someday. I got my AR-15 experience by working for a manufacturer. I ended up working all the way to lead gunsmith. Later I taught an AR-15 armorers course at the local indoor range. I also have a fascination with .22 long rifle firearms. They take a tinkerer's mindset to figure out sometimes and offer a challenge.

Should you decide to attend a formal school I would recommend bringing as many guns as you can to work on. Some schools have a store room where people can drop their guns off to be worked on but some are reliant solely on what you bring. The more you have the more you learn. Also bring lots of extra money. The school I attended offered firearm customization classes on certain platforms and they also had armorers courses come through regularly (Beretta, Colt, Glock, Sig, H&K, etc.) They ran anywhere from $150 to $600 each. Think about which ones you want and where you are in the country because you have to recertify every couple of years and some are impossible outside of school to recertify. I currently hold a Glock and S&W M&P cert.

That is actually something I had never thought about either. I dont know if Im the only one, but I assume most people dream up big dreams of gun shops full of precision rifles capable for long range and tactical or fun guns. Dont really think about the local beaters that get dragged for miles through woods, creeks, and aren't that special.

 

[Ex]

...Exactly WHO offers custom stockwork these days, by THIS I mean a stock made from a BLANK ??

Places like this!
http://http://hollandandholland.com/gun-room/

And wouldn't that be a job any of us would love! But I agree about starting your own, as attractive as working for yourself is. The firearms market is very un-certain right now and in the foreseeable future.