getting started?

Y

younghunter86

Inactive
Don't know if this is the correct forum for this post but didn't know where else to ask or if there is even an answer. Just wondering how some of you got started in gunsmiting? Did you take classes, mail programs etc? Basically any suggestions on how to get started or what I need to be doing.
 
Are you Younghunter from Jesses ?
I am not a Gunsmith but do my own work as practical , A strong background as a machinist is often a starting place .
 
I just finished a mail course. It was alright, but I am signing up for a local school to get a more hands training. If you have plenty of project guns the mail course may work for you, I only have one project gun. And a few brave friends let me work on a theirs. I am going to the classes so I can get a broader knowledge of firearms in general. Good luck.

73's Mac.
 
I took a mail-order class years ago. As MacLeod said, they're not real informative, but they can introduce you to the basics. College/Vo-Tech classes are best - hands-on always is. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) has individual video courses on specific firearms that would be very helpful, and I hear they are very good. Most gunsmiths are "self-taught" through curiousity or necessity. I have somewhere around 100 books on gunsmithing (I'm not for sure of the actual number) and I am still aquiring them as I find good ones. Try eBay and Amazon.com for new and used books.
 
" What is the difference between a Pizza and a Gunsmith? A Pizza can feed a family of four".
I am self taught in the Art of the 1911. I built 12 guns from scratch for friends who bought the parts wholesale and let me build the guns for them. They were all IPSC shooters and the guns all ran 100% after I figured out how to overcome the difficulties with the design. I also started working on guns for LEO's that I worked with. That was my college education and by avoiding all the bad information at the gun smithing schools , books, and homemade videos by AGI and the like, I became a very good pistolsmith, part time. That was 20 years ago. I do not recommend gunsmithing as a career choice. It's a business that very few people make a living at. That is why I made my living elsewhere and did the guns part time. That way I didn't have to build guns for Jerks to eat. If you insist on trying to make a living at this, you have my best wishes, and deepest sympathy.
 
Harry Knows.....................it's a gypsy curse. Don't think for a minute it is because we are afraid you will compete with us. It would be 20 years before anyone even hears about how good you are...............or how bad! If you do really great work, your clients keep it a secret because they do not want you to get too busy to do their work. If you do bad work, they will stop strangers in the street and tell them about it. Either way it's a terrible way to try to make money. Harry and I won't name names, but we know some guys that are bandits.
 
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