Gunsmithing certification?

[greytdanehouse]

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on which of the gunsmithing schools has the best reputation?

 

[Dangerousways]

the one in Colorado school of trades and the one at Murray Sate college in Tishamingo, there are a couple others in other states. My son thought about becoming a gunsmith so we looked at all the programs. they also have a summer program at Murray state college. I would file an LLC, get your FFL 7, then you can gunsmith.

 

[greytdanehouse]

INdeed - f_5310.12-f_5310.16_application_for_federal_firearms_license

the one in Colorado school of trades and the one at Murray Sate college in Tishamingo, there are a couple others in other states. My son thought about becoming a gunsmith so we looked at all the programs. they also have a summer program at Murray state college. I would file an LLC, get your FFL 7, then you can gunsmith.

But I can't do anything until I close on the new house and get moved at the end of the month.

 

[mr ed]

It was too many years ago to recommend any.
50 years ago I would have said Trinidad.
But all those teachers are long dead.
The ones that replaced them were so-so.
But they are probably dead and gone too.
Same with just about any school you look at.
So just flip a coin and go for it.
Word of advice, Find something you like and specialize in it. Be the best at it.
Word will travel far and wide.

 

[Profreedomokie]

The two listed above I've been told are the best two in the country. I took a weeklong lathe course at Murray State years ago. Anyone planning on taking the full gunsmithing course there better be serious. They cram a four-year class into two years. 12 hours long class days aren't uncommon there. At the time I was there they had instructors from as far away as England teaching. We got out of our class early one day to watch an instructor bend a wooden stock to fit a guy. One little tidbit about Trinidad, Colorado is it was the male sex change capitol of the US according to 60 Minutes. Not that it has anything to do with the school.

 

[mr ed]

The two listed above I've been told are the best two in the country. I took a weeklong lathe course at Murray State years ago. Anyone planning on taking the full gunsmithing course there better be serious. They cram a four-year class into two years. 12 hours long class days aren't uncommon there. At the time I was there they had instructors from as far away as England teaching. We got out of our class early one day to watch an instructor bend a wooden stock to fit a guy. One little tidbit about Trinidad, Colorado is it was the male sex change capitol of the US according to 60 Minutes. Not that it has anything to do with the school.

Dr Bieber was world famous.
It was funny watching these guys.
Most looked like NFL linemen wearing dresses.
They had to live in Trinidad for a year dressing as a woman before he would operate.

 

[Fr Mulcahy]

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on which of the gunsmithing schools has the best reputation?

What's your mechanical background? Can you fix things? If not, gunsmithing school is not the place to start learning.

Do you work on your own guns? Handload your own ammo? If not, start with that.

Do you shoot competitively? It might help you get in.

Can you afford spending about $30,000 while earning nothing for two years? That's about what it will cost.

Do you know the average hourly wage for a new graduate? It's less than $25 per hour.

Did you know that around 90% of gunsmithing graduates aren't working in the field 5 years later?

If you want to get a taste of what it's like, attend next year's summer classes in Tishimingo.

 

[greytdanehouse]

What's your mechanical background? Can you fix things? If not, gunsmithing school is not the place to start learning.

Do you work on your own guns? Handload your own ammo? If not, start with that.

Do you shoot competitively? It might help you get in.

Can you afford spending about $30,000 while earning nothing for two years? That's about what it will cost.

Do you know the average hourly wage for a new graduate? It's less than $25 per hour.

Did you know that around 90% of gunsmithing graduates aren't working in the field 5 years later?

If you want to get a taste of what it's like, attend next year's summer classes in Tishimingo.

It's definitely not about the money. For starters, I'm mostly retired as it is. I've been working with firearms since the 1970s so getting the certification is mostly to have something to hang on the wall if I decide to open a shop. For me, this is mostly about keeping busy, doing something I enjoy, and maybe making a little extra cash, which I will almost certainly spend on steel targets and reloading components, let's be honest here.