Gunsmithing good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

[SuburbanHick]

whats a good gunsmith school to go to if you would like to get into gunsmithing? is there a trade school??? or is there a college that offeres a 4 year degree in it?

Im about to thinking about what i want to do after the military but dont know how to get started

 

[customgun1]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

I know their is one in Oklahoma, and they offer a 2 year degree, associates of science or something like that,

 

[Rainier42]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

If you are in the NorthEast, the one near Pittsburgh, PA is supposed to be excellent:

http://www.pagunsmith.edu/index.php

 

[Ghost 1]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

If you stay in state, look at Montgomery Community College.

http://www.montgomery.edu/component/cont...56-catalog.html

 

[seanh]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

Colorado...
http://www.trinidadstate.edu/index.php/gunsmithing

 

[hewlett260]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

Colorado School of Trades.

 

[seanh]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

I'm not going to tell you to consider something else, but will advise you to speak to a number of smtihs. You'll want to do all the research you can to find out what it takes to make it in that business...it's not as glorious as it seems.

As an ex-smith, I can tell you when you're new, it's hard to convince someone to let you look at their gun...better to work with another known smith.

 

[jrm850]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

If I would have known then what I know now, I would have learned as much as I possibly could about the areas I wanted to specialize in and use whatever knowlege I could retain when interviewing schools. For me I was always interested in competition rifles so chambering techniques, action truing etc is what I should have looked for. I ended up going to a school that at the time was geared more for Custom wood stocked hunting rifles and general repair work. I liked my school well enough, but it fell short in the one area that was most important to me. Maybe the curriculum has changed since then...

I see that Trinidad, which incidentally was started by the great P.O. Ackley, has courses like this- http://nra.trinidadstate.edu/action-blueprinting-i.html

 

[SuburbanHick]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

well heres my thoughts.. I love rifles, i love shooting them building them hunting with them. I am crazy about balistics, comparing them so on and so forth.. I know its not a glorious job. But I cant help what I am passionate about. I am very new, but im also tired of guessing and want to learn how to do things the right way.Ive spent alot of time on a CNC, hunting shooting and competing. I know this is what I want to do. Infact im currently trying to change my MOS to small arm repair

 

[jeepwilson]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

+2 Montgomery Community College.Great people.

 

[dinc]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

Go to GAP's website. Look at their employee profiles. Do what they did.

I would recommend Trinidad. If you want to move to California and get their in state tuition, Lassen CC in Susanville would be good.

 

[ajwcotton]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

Here is what I am doing and this is what I came to after talking to a lot of smiths and kind of finding out what they recommend and what they would do different if they were to do it all over.

I ETS from the Army literally tomorrow I am moveing back home and am using some money that I have put aside to buy a grizzly lathe and tooling. Starting in the fall I am going to KU and will be majoring in mechanical engineering. Along with that I am going to take some classes on CNC and manual machining which will help two fold. It will get me going on the gunsmithing side right away, and secondly what I have found out from some mechanical engineers and machinists alike it really helps desigs stuff if you have an understanding of what the capabilities of modern manufacturing are and knowing how to operate the machinery will help this.

Hope this gives you some Ideas

 

[bptactical]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

Trinidad State College
Lassen
Yavapai
These are degree courses with business management classes. That is one of the most important skills to have.
Screw CST, I have seen a good number of their recent graduates and I can tell you they wasted their money.

Now to be a stick in the mud. I would let the politics settle down a bit before I made that commitment. We could be an endangered species and you may be better off learning to be a welder or machineist

 

[Boltfluter]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ajwcotton</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here is what I am doing and this is what I came to after talking to a lot of smiths and kind of finding out what they recommend and what they would do different if they were to do it all over.

I ETS from the Army literally tomorrow I am moveing back home and am using some money that I have put aside to buy a grizzly lathe and tooling. Starting in the fall I am going to KU and will be majoring in mechanical engineering. Along with that I am going to take some classes on CNC and manual machining which will help two fold. It will get me going on the gunsmithing side right away, and secondly what I have found out from some mechanical engineers
and machinists alike it really helps desigs stuff if you have an understanding of what the capabilities of modern manufacturing are and knowing how to operate the machinery will help this.

Hope this gives you some Ideas

Some very good advice. If smithing doesn't work out you can always go on to be a machinist or an engineer.

Regards, Paul

So
</div></div>

 

[Beef_Supreme]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

You are close enough to MCC to drive over there and visit them and look at what they do. Tours can be arranged, and there are several Marines I know currently enrolled there now, learning and having the time of their lives.
Plus, NC also has a program to get in state tuition rates, which made it roughly 500 dollars a semester for me, which is beyond good compared to the tuition at CST. The cost of tuition though does not of course include the cost of tools and materials, but it is very thorough. Like someone else brought up though, nothing beats experience, but you got to start somewhere and a college is a good place to start and get a bit of experience to move on to making it happen with a company or another smith.

Good luck. I made the decision you are in the process of making and it was a good one.

 

[locomacdaddy]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: suburbanhick</div><div class="ubbcode-body">well heres my thoughts.. I love rifles, i love shooting them building them hunting with them. I am crazy about balistics, comparing them so on and so forth.. I know its not a glorious job. But I cant help what I am passionate about. I am very new, but im also tired of guessing and want to learn how to do things the right way.Ive spent alot of time on a CNC, hunting shooting and competing. I know this is what I want to do. Infact im currently trying to change my MOS to small arm repair </div></div>

[on soapbox] You can never go wrong by pursuing what you have a passion for! Too many people chase the green, only to be disappointed in the end. Passion will fuel creativity and opportunity and ultimately lead to success. [of soapbox] Sorry for the rant but, too many out there tell you can't or you shouldn't chase your dream. In the end, that's what keeps us going! Best of Luck!

 

[swampbuck]

Re: good gunsmith school to go to??? advice please

I agree that taking some business management or accounting classes would probably be invaluable. I would also go with the above advice and be able to diversify. Running your own shop is great but remember you will have no company benefits. You will have to invest in your own retirement, buy your own insurance unless your spouse carries with her job. No paid days off.

Not trying to be discouraging but don't let your dreams trump the arithmetic. It may also be more cost effective to skip formal training and start an apprenticeship. It is great to chase your dreams but it is best to keep the lights on while you do it.