I get occasional inquiries of what it takes to be a gunsmith. I'm shooting from the hip and won't get it all in here so feel free to pitch in. Real gunsmiths like @Bunguffer and @rijas will be along shortly-
It takes time and patience. You have to be a problem solver and diagnostician. Don't be the guy who just throws parts at a gun until it works. Figure out what the problem is and go from there. You have to be a woodworker, metallurgist, machinist, welder and others I can't think of now. Know your market. I was the gunsmith for a small mom and pop gun store here in town. General repair is where the money is. I invested in a mill but according to my math I would have had to do 40 hours of machine work to break even on it before I could turn a profit. At $100 per hour in my market, that would equate to 10 years. I sold the mill. Don't take on more work than you can keep up with. There are horror stories of guns that disappear into gunsmith hell and don't get out until months later and they may or may not be fixed. Know your limitations, a good gunsmith knows when to say no. Be upfront and honest. I missed a part on a gun I worked on for a member a while back. Guess what? I'm gonna tear the whole thing apart to put in a $6 part...for free. I've helped several members fix their guns on the forum or on the phone so they didn't have to bring it in. I was at my wits end when my ATV brakes locked up. Another member helped me fix it with a phone call. Karma is as good as it is bad.
If you are serious, the closest option is MIT. (Murray In Tishomingo). They only accept 35 students a year and the competition is fierce. I'd recommend getting a real job while you learn to be a gunsmith. As for apprenticing, there are several reputable gunsmiths in the area but I don't know if they offer apprenticeships.
If you specialize, it will take time to get your name out. Ed Brown, Wilson, Geissele, Ron Power, etc. and those guys didn't just show up on the scene and be a hit overnight. Be careful of YouTube University. There's some good info on there and there's a lot if Bubba's. Discernment is knowing which is which. I've had customers bring me a bag of gun parts because they saw something on YouTube. A month or two ago, I had a difficult fix for a member's gun. There were two different solutions all over the Tube and NEITHER was the fix. I took the time and figured it out. I did NOT put my fix on the Tube. If you tell me "you built your own AR-15", I am not impressed. If you can change your spark plugs, you can "build" an AR-15. If you have an AR-15 and you changed out the handguard and stock, IT IS NOT "CUSTOM"!!!
I'm headed to work, I will answer questions as best I can.
It takes time and patience. You have to be a problem solver and diagnostician. Don't be the guy who just throws parts at a gun until it works. Figure out what the problem is and go from there. You have to be a woodworker, metallurgist, machinist, welder and others I can't think of now. Know your market. I was the gunsmith for a small mom and pop gun store here in town. General repair is where the money is. I invested in a mill but according to my math I would have had to do 40 hours of machine work to break even on it before I could turn a profit. At $100 per hour in my market, that would equate to 10 years. I sold the mill. Don't take on more work than you can keep up with. There are horror stories of guns that disappear into gunsmith hell and don't get out until months later and they may or may not be fixed. Know your limitations, a good gunsmith knows when to say no. Be upfront and honest. I missed a part on a gun I worked on for a member a while back. Guess what? I'm gonna tear the whole thing apart to put in a $6 part...for free. I've helped several members fix their guns on the forum or on the phone so they didn't have to bring it in. I was at my wits end when my ATV brakes locked up. Another member helped me fix it with a phone call. Karma is as good as it is bad.
If you are serious, the closest option is MIT. (Murray In Tishomingo). They only accept 35 students a year and the competition is fierce. I'd recommend getting a real job while you learn to be a gunsmith. As for apprenticing, there are several reputable gunsmiths in the area but I don't know if they offer apprenticeships.
If you specialize, it will take time to get your name out. Ed Brown, Wilson, Geissele, Ron Power, etc. and those guys didn't just show up on the scene and be a hit overnight. Be careful of YouTube University. There's some good info on there and there's a lot if Bubba's. Discernment is knowing which is which. I've had customers bring me a bag of gun parts because they saw something on YouTube. A month or two ago, I had a difficult fix for a member's gun. There were two different solutions all over the Tube and NEITHER was the fix. I took the time and figured it out. I did NOT put my fix on the Tube. If you tell me "you built your own AR-15", I am not impressed. If you can change your spark plugs, you can "build" an AR-15. If you have an AR-15 and you changed out the handguard and stock, IT IS NOT "CUSTOM"!!!
I'm headed to work, I will answer questions as best I can.
