For you gunsmiths out there…how did you go about getting into it?
Thanks
Derek
For me it started by tinkering with my own guns. I think gunsmithing is just another form of mechanics and I started working on motorcycles as a teenager. I worked as a m/c mechanic until going in the Army. After that I started a shooting hobby and eventually went to gunsmith school on the GI bill. I only stayed in the field for a few years as a full time smith before getting into other forms of employment for income. I still work on guns regularly.
Billy
AGI has programs and so do a few schools. I’m not a gunsmith. But I do enjoy watching the AGI videos and working on my own guns. It does cost more up front to fix things when you buy the videos and proper tools. But now you can always fix the problem again later if needed.
Plus the thing I like best is just the personal knowledge of knowing exactly what is going on in there. I’d bet 90% of gun owners don’t know exactly how all their guns work.
PointBlank, are you thinking about becoming a gunsmith as a profession?
Billy
I was doing stuff on my pellet & BB guns as a kid, I guess I just never stopped. Theres something very relaxing and satisfying about working on guns, from cleaning to lathe, milling, drilling, welding, grinding or filing. I am far from certified, I just enjoy tinkering.
Was thinking about it as a side/job kind of.
PointBlank you might speak to gotm4 here. He is a certified SIG/Glock/Bushmaster armorer. He can probably fill you in on what path he took to get his certs.
Liability insurance is VERY high as a gunsmith (FYI). You also generally need an 07 FFL to do any kinds of mods to a weapon as the ATF will deem you a “manufacturer.”
C4
I am certified by Glock and Defensive Edge as an Armorer…
Armorer certification doesn’t really mean too much, unless you are working on carry weapons for LEO’s or private citizens. The backing of Armorer level certification allows you to go into a court and tell the Judge/Jury that you indeed understand that weapon system, are able to identify the difference between what is in factory spec or not, and whether or not a particular firearm is safe for use, in the event a weapon you have serviced has been used in a deadly force encounter.
In my opinion, there is much more to being a gunsmith. You have to be an expert machinist, as well as an expert wood worker.
Any idiot with poseable thumbs can ruin a gun. But it takes a trained, qualified gunsmith to take a bunch of metal and turn it into a firearm.
I had one friend that went through the program out in Susanville, CA. I looked at going to the Colorado School of Trades… but I worry too much about future legislation to put all my few eggs in the basket of gunsmithing for a living.
Also, I have several of the home videos. They are neat. They are informative. But they do not a gunsmith make.
Good luck!
Thanks to everyone that has posted so far as this is the kind of information I was looking for. It is something I would like to do, and wanted to check into it, and research it to see if I could go farther with it.
I appreciate it,
Thanks
Derek
I was fascinated by guns and how they worked as a kid, and it never went away. Right out of high school, I went to a local 'smith and asked about being his next apprentice. He told me that his next apprentice would know something about machining, as it had so much to do with it. I went and took some machining classes at a local college and came back. He said he was retiring soon and wouldn’t be taking any more apprentices. Fast forward 21 years. I’ve been machining ever since, didn’t see the need in wasting mom and dads money, and studying gunsmithing on my own. I was doing it for myself and friends. I did take a correspondance course to round out some things I hadn’t been able to pick up on my own. For almost a year and a half now I’ve been working at a local shop part time as the official “gunsmith” there. I hope to build a customer base that will allow me to retire from the machine shop. This will be furthered by my wife’s graduating college with an RN degree and going to work. She and I will be following our dreams. Depending on what exactly you plan on doing, it can be fairly easy or very difficult. I have also completed Glocks Armorers course, and anybody who can change their plug wires can fix a Glock. Fitting hammers and triggers or sears is another story. The potential for destruction is high. I do gun welding, which also can get problematic. Making parts can be much more than it appears, as some parts require hardness and strength that others don’t. I’m not trying to talk you out of it, there’s room for all, but the water’s deeper than it appears.