Info for you
First of all, the two are seperate, the American Gunsmithing Institute has some very good courses and the American Gunsmithing Association has a very good magazine and other benefits as well.
I have taken the courses that AGI has and I believe they are first rate and recommend them to anyone. You can go to a school and get the knowledge or you can stay at home and get the same knowledge and I think it is as good as going to a school. Some will argue this point with me, but not anyone that has actually seen the videos and taken the tests.
I talked with a guy the other day about this. He wants to become a gunsmith and was considering going to the school in Colorado. From what he told me, his investment not counting the cost of being there for two years without working was going to be more than $30,000. That's an awful lot plus once you get out of school, you can figure on spending almost as much building a shop and supplying it with the tools and machines that you are going to need as well. That's around a $60,000 investment before you start out making any money.
Take into consideration that you can get the Master course from AGI which includes every course they offer on gunsmithing, this will include every kind of pistol and revolver, 22 rifles and pistols, shotguns from semi-auto to break action, plus centerfire rifles, plus building 45 ACP's, making Glocks Rock, blueprinting of rifles and refinishing of the guns, plus a mahine shop course and a welding course, a mini lathe, a band sander, plus a Foredom Tool and your investment will be around $5500.
You can still live at home and work a job as well as take this course so you don't have to give up a job that may actually be earning your family a living and take your time becasue there is no time limit on finishing the course.
The one drawback that you may encounter is the fact that you may not have access to all of the various guns that you will work on with the DVD's, but you will have the DVD's for future reference if one comes into your shop later on down the line. You can of course buy the gun you need and refinish it if you don't already have access to what you need to practice with and turn it around for a profit or keep it if you choose to do this.
I have a fairly extensive collection myself and what I didn't have, my father or Father In-law had and didn't run into this but on one gun, but I did find someone that had it. You can still pass the test though even if you don't have access to the gun if you can simply watch the DVD and take notes on them.
You can get a payment plan if you need that as well with AGI, just ask them about it.
I worked for a smith for a couple of years while I was taking the course and I learned as much from the videos as I did from him. I think you will enjoy them as well. Best of luck with the decision.
