Gunsmithing

Hey Guys

I have recently taken an interest in gunsmithing and I am even looking at taking a course in it. I was wondering what kind of online resources you guys use and if you guys have any websites or books you would recommend. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
TSG

well, i would sign up before announcing you are interested in it.

in australia there are SOO many hurdles, plus you have to submit to regular checks, and keep intricate records.

also you go on a watchlist. mind you, annoucing on thsi forum you are interested in it, got you on a watchlist too...

hi to the bored guy reading thsi forum because some other guy mentioned a keyword. !!

how can i get your job NSA dude? (:

Hey Smokeing gun, I think you are getting into a good field. I'm not a gunsmith but working as a gun engraver for 25 years I've had to do a lot of disassembly and some wierd jobs like trying to inlay brass into the top of a henry rifle reciever. I love working with firearms almost as much as shooting them, lol.
For tools I have to recommend Brownell's. They have everything and then some. I don;t know where the good schools are but I'm sure they offer some good dvds. A basic knowledge of metalurgy will be helpful to you as well.
Wish I could help more but it;s been one of those things I've learned on the job. All I can tell you is that it's very satisfying work and I'm glad to have been able to do it. Best of luck.

Do t bother with the online route. By and large it's a crock. You either ge sent a fake certain fir your check involving no study whatsoever or you read through standard armorers manuals and then find you can't get a job anywhere.

It should be taken as seriously as any other trade.

Find a real school, real apprenticeship and learn every bizarre thing you can.

www.pagunsmith.edu...
www.nragunsmithing.com...


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I would recommend you contact the NRA to see if they have a recommendation of schools (online or off) for gunsmithing. NRA Contact Info

You could also contact local gun shops or firing ranges since they could quite possibly guide you to any good local mentors as well.

Originally posted by ch1ldofthe70s
I would recommend you contact the NRA to see if they have a recommendation of schools (online or off) for gunsmithing. NRA Contact Info

I am actually in Canada eh, we don`t really have the NRA (unless they branch into Canada but I don`t think so).

Why Gunsmithing? Are you interested in a commercial venture or just making guns for protection for when The SHTF?

If the latter there are tons of great websites now that will help teach you how to make guns.

Someone correct my if I am wrong, But as I understand it in the USA at least it is legal to make your own guns for personal protection provided you do not make any type of gun that would normally be considered illegal ie. No full automatic weapons.

This being said, you have to make sure you really know what you are doing for safety's sake and depending on where you live you still may have to register the weapon. In Chicago you cannot own any gun at all period.

I found this:

"for legal questions like this, it's best to go to the source.

from ATF's FAQ (question A6): www.atf.gov...

(A6) Does the GCA prohibit anyone from making a handgun, shotgun or rifle? [Back]

With certain exceptions a firearm may be made by a non-licensee provided it is not for sale and the maker is not prohibited from possessing firearms. However, a person is prohibited from assembling a non-sporting semi-automatic rifle or non-sporting shotgun from imported parts. In addition, the making of an NFA firearm requires a tax payment and approval by ATF. An application to make a machine gun will not be approved unless documentation is submitted showing that the firearm is being made for a Federal or State agency.

[18 U.S.C. 922(o) and (r), 26 U.S.C. 5822, 27 CFR 478.39, 479.62 and 479.105]


somewhere else the question of transfereing a gun you make yourself sometime in the future comes up (can't find the link right now) and you can legally transfer or sell a gun you make yourself...you just can't build a gun for the sole purpose of selling it (without a license). but once it's built, it is effectivelly your property, and if you get tired of it, you can legally transfer it (just like any firearm you own). The ATF strongly suggests putting a serial number on it if you transfer it, though. (and some states always require a serial number)"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Do not vouch for the accuracy of this information, just throwing it out there.

Searching these thing I just found out that all firearms for home protection are illegal in Canada . They have very strict laws. This is sad and I understand it is done to try to lessen crime. What do you do when a criminal enters your home with a gun?

Can you tell me, You have heard - "if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" is this a big problem in Canada? Are people at the mercy at the criminals with guns?

[edit on 20-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]

Start by going to your local junior collage and see if the have a machinist course.

All of the good gunsmiths i know are machinist by trade and do gunsmithing because ether there are no machinist jobs around, They liked gunsmithing better or They had to find a lighter job because they became disabled.

Any good machinist has all the skills needed to become a gunsmith.

Non machinist doing guns are just gun repairman.

Then once you have the training you have to get a FFL to be able to work as a gunsmith.
The only gunsmiths that don't need a FFL are the few that build air guns.
these can be a trade in themselves.
www.quackenbushairguns.com...
www.pyramydair.com...
en.wikipedia.org...

thehighroad.org is a good gun board, anyone who enjoys firearms should check out the work of Oleg Volk at www.a-human-right.com...

I work in film doing props. the company I work for does mostly gun stuff, an ability to maintain the gus we use for props and to create custom guns that the script calls for would help advance me in the industry.

here in US we have gunsmithing schools, most are 1 yr or 2 yr courses,some of them offer 1&2 week gunsmithing and machinshop courses in summertime.NRA website has list.go to programs then education and training.yes being a machinist is best start,vo-tech schools are big here in US, but the independant ones are just ripoffs ,they just want your student loan money, our only good vo-techs are part of our public school system(only good thing about our public fool system),and offer night classes,if your close to border you could take US training.how is vo-tech system up in canada???

[edit on 21-12-2009 by madokie]

I'm not really sure about our community colleges, I use to compete in a skills competition where people studying a trade has an opportunity to compete in that trade. but I was with the best of the best kinda thing, from what I hear it is good. I know the recording arts program is pretty good but besides that I don't really know many other graduates of community college. they do have some nice shops though. I am currently taking tech theater at university and alot of it is carpentry with a metal work component and some times plumbing, but we also do props and lighting (electrical and physics heavy) as well as some technical drafting.

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix

Searching these thing I just found out that all firearms for home protection are illegal in Canada . They have very strict laws. This is sad and I understand it is done to try to lessen crime. What do you do when a criminal enters your home with a gun?

Can you tell me, You have heard - "if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" is this a big problem in Canada? Are people at the mercy at the criminals with guns?

[edit on 20-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]

It's not really a big problem here I grew up in a town where I never locked my doors and I use to leave my car unlocked with the keys in the ignition and never had a problem. I do know of cases where people have used firearms to defend their homes and as far as I know they were never prosecuted criminally. I believe those laws are oriented more to preventing accidents by people unfamiliar with firearms finding loaded weapons and hurting themselves or others. when I took my firearms course the first time they explained that having guns and ammo locked separately was a conscious decision to give an emotional person time to think about possible consequences of their actions before they go through with them.

I took my firearms course the first time they explained that having guns and ammo locked separately was a conscious decision to give an emotional person time to think about possible consequences of their actions before they go through with them.

What a load of crap. That gives the person all of about 10 seconds to think about it. And emotional people don't even think anyway, they just act.

I think I have some gunsmithing manuals in PDF form and will try and find them.

But you can check for yourself too on places like scribd.com. That will give you an idea on what is involved.

I do have some files here on homemade expedient firearms in case you're interested.

I have to agree with ANNED you can take all the course you want and learn all about guns, but in the end, you need to be able to manipulate the steel, move it, see whats inside and know how to get the result of bringing said item out of the larger piece.

You really need a machinist course, IMO.
That would give you other avenues also, jobs and knowhow.

Metalurgy would also be good, do to a lot of the parts you will be dealing with are highcarbon=workhardened, heat treated...
I have watched many many unedjumacted ppl burn up 100's of dollars in tooling, not knowing that if it was only annealed it would cut like butter, and could have been normalized and re-heat treated.
Thats just a minor example of something that makes a gunsmith, stand out as to being knowledgeable or just a repairman.

[edit on 21-12-2009 by Doc Holiday]

If you go onto certain "bit-torrent tracker sites" and do a search for gunsmithing or survival, there is a really good torrent with tons of gunsmithing info and ebooks,etc. in it. You should diffinitly check it out.
If you have no idea what i'm talking about, google "bittorrent", "torrent" or "uTorrent".

reply to post by The Smoking Gun


When I joined the Marines I signed up to be an Armorer... what they call a gunsmith. They sent me to school and in a way I trained under some great people who knew about every type of weapon from field artillery to pocket pistols... later I had to apply for the federal Lic, but my background made this go smooth as silk...

Now I wouldn't recommend following in my foots steps, that was a long hard road, rewarding yes, but not for everyone... still maybe the National Guard, weekend warrior, might be something to look into, get similar training the translates into a good paying civilian skill...