Re: Gunsmithing school
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Møønlight</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yea I did actually. I was inquiring specificly to those two particular school's, hoping someone had a recommendation or two or perhaps went to one of them.
Thanks,
ML </div></div>
Know of a couple of guys who went to CO School & frankly, they were the biggest hack artists I've ever seen as 'gunsmiths'. I also personally know one of the instructors that recently went to teach there & he is a rip off artist with barely passable gunsmith skills. Doesn't say a lot to me about them if the graduates I have personal experience with are hacks & they use instructors who are also hacks. I may be maligning the place but I can only speak from what I know personally.
I went on a NRA summer gunsmithing class to the Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad CO & found the instructors that they have on staff to be first rate. The dorms are, well, rough/basic but I guess they would be inexpensive on room & board on a full time basis. The area is pretty damn nice too.
I have no knowledge of the AZ college you mentioned.
One of the premier FAL smiths & Small Arms Review Gunsmith of the year 2009, Mark Graham often recommends that a machine shop course would stand you in much better stead than a gunsmith school. Certainly taking a real in depth machine shop course (that is far more widely available pretty much everywhere in the US) would be an excellent first step to full time gunsmithing. Maybe you could then fill in with make up courses as required for specific firearms?
I am not in the same class as Mark or anywhere near 99% of the smiths on this board but I would think that it would depend on what kind of gunsmithing you intend to pursue on graduation. Are you looking to specialize on Remington 700's or 1911's or something else or just cover all the bases & repair guns period? Not really a lot of point you spending the time & money to learn to make stocks or learn checkering or hot bluing if you never intend to go that route.
Do you have the experience to run your own biz or will you work for others first? If working for others, it seems that a diploma from a gunsmithing school will help in that respect.
Good luck on whatever you decide but I would certainly take a trip to the colleges you mentioned BEFORE jumping in & would definitely take the machine shop classes first too.
