Realistically....is gun smith training worth it?

McDirkale

McDirkale

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Our local community college has a gun smith program. I do want to go back to school but haven't decided for what.

What's the "realistic" probability of this being a good career training path?
 
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McDirkale said:
Our local community college has a gun smith program. I do want to go back to school but haven't decided for what.

What's the "realistic" probability of this being a good career training path?
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I'd do it in a heartbeat if things were different!
 
McDirkale said:
You mean your situation
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This ^^^. I don't have the money or the time to make it a viable option. It's just another one of those "woulda coulda shoulda" thangs. I have a whole collection of 'em. :oops:
 
I thought about taking the courses in Montgomery County, but I think there would be skinny money in it. You’d have to be damn good at one niche, and well known at it, or a real jack of all trades I would think. Shotguns, rifles, semi-autos, wheelguns, ...
 
I went to Piedmont community college gunsmith program in the mid 90's after a messy divorce. Loved every minute of it. Several of my classmates went to work for big name companies and one is the current armorer for local PD. I do the occasional repair for friends, and friends of friends. Best part about my school experience is, i can buy used weapons with more insight as to what may be wrong with them and if so usually can repair them without having to pay a gunsmith a big pile o' money and wait 3 months to get my baby back.
 
BowWow said:
……….You might be better off going for Machining, Tool and Die, MoldMaking, etc, at least for a career.

Many of the skills you learn there will be applicable in Gunsmithing.
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Yep...and get real good at making solvent trap parts. :D
 
If you want to make a career out of it, I'd go to Montgomery instead of Fayetteville Tech. Not slamming the FT program, but Montgomery is one of the best programs in the country.

Even with that, there are easier ways to make money, in my opinion. Even if you become a custom gunsmith and get well known in your area of expertise, most of those guys don't get rich. They get to make a living doing what they love, but only a handful of them make what most consider to be really good money.
 
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If you do pretty much anything because you want it to be worth it, you'll likely be disappointed.
Do it because you want to do it. Learn more about what you want to learn more about. A motivated learner doesn't NEED a class for most things . However, if you don't know what you don't know... a class usually presents info in a framework that is easy to understand and helps you teach yourself.

Find a class you are interested in, get hold of the syllabus, ask if you can "audit" some of the lectures that are most interesting to you. That will either scratch your itch or tell you if you want to sign up for the full class next term.
 
I looked into the program at Piedmont when I went back to school in '12. I called a couple "name" gunsmiths to get a feel for what was out there & their response was that I'd better have a day job to support the gunsmithing gig.
 
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Bingo what Button said.

If you become a machinist...not a CNC Mill button pusher/swapping parts out. If you become a machinist, gunsmiths is relatively easy.

Understand simple things like why a G187 can save you time or a G81 Can cycle for drilling. If you were near me, I would say swing by the shop sometime.
 
On the tool/die/machinist note...my FIL was an old school machinist back in Hungary before he moved here. He had a tremendous language barrier that prevented him from finding work in local (Chicago) machine shops, so he re-trained to do mold polishing and started his own business. He made serious bank (paid off a house, had four cars, put two kids through Loyola/NIU) doing that up until 2006. He said the work started getting done overseas in China. Not sure if that industry has recovered here, but at one time it was a viable option if you're a meticulous type that knows .0001 matters sometimes.
 
IMO...it depends on motivation. If you love firearms, and want to passiontely dedicate your life to them, then yes, it is worth it. People often take up trades or jobs that may not make them rich, but make them happy and pay the bills. In my relatively limited experience needing gunsmiths the issue is often finding good ones. People generally find one they are happy with and stick with them for years. So I would think a major hurdle would be breaking into the game. Sure, I would trust most anyone to do work on a Glock or a new MP or something, but my old man has some older firearms that I would be really hesitant to trust to just anyone.

So, if you want to get rich, wealthy, whatever...probably not. But if you are passionate about them and dont mind working up a clientele and being dedicated to the art of it, then I say go for it.
 
I think it could be a fun retirement gig, where you do it because you want to, and any dough you make is just a bonus.

One thing I am always reminded of is that whenever I do a project, especially for the first time, whether it's building a deck, a fireplace, smithing on one of guns, re-plumbing under a sink, my wife always says, “You could do that for money!”

No I couldn’t, because usually I can only figure out one way to do every project, and if the customer wants it different I can’t accommodate them. And then I think about how much work I put into some fairly banal projects, and how little I’d probably get paid for it, and how I would react if the customer decided in their infinite wisdom that it should have been done differently...

You get the picture.
 
I graduated from the Gunsmith Program at MCC many years ago. It's a great program. Gunsmithing is not a great way to make a living.
 
fieldgrade said:
I think it could be a fun retirement gig, where you do it because you want to, and any dough you make is just a bonus.

One thing I am always reminded of is that whenever I do a project, especially for the first time, whether it's building a deck, a fireplace, smithing on one of guns, re-plumbing under a sink, my wife always says, “You could do that for money!”

No I couldn’t, because usually I can only figure out one way to do every project, and if the customer wants it different I can’t accommodate them. And then I think about how much work I put into some fairly banal projects, and how little I’d probably get paid for it, and how I would react if the customer decided in their infinite wisdom that it should have been done differently...

You get the picture.
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Dont have time to look it up, but there was a funny price list I saw that went something like this:

Standard price: $100
If you watch: $150
If you comment: $175
If you insist on helping: $200
 
B00ger said:
Dont have time to look it up, but there was a funny price list I saw that went something like this:

Standard price: $100
If you watch: $150
If you comment: $175
If you insist on helping: $200
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If you already made a brave attempt $300
 
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There are still a lot of people paying way too much for 1911s/2011s in addition to a decent number of people dumping crazy money into custom work on CZs, High Powers, and other desirable non plastic guns. To be honest, I am surprised at the money that goes into custom Glocks and some of that goes well beyond parts swapping.

I'd say it is possible to make a lot of money at it if you are also good at marketing but it won't be the easiest path to make a living. Probably best to do it as a second job until you get enough business.
 
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Robbie said:
There are still a lot of people paying way too much for 1911s.
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This is blasphemy.
You can’t spend too much on a 1911.
Just as you can’t buy too many of them.
Or too often.
 
In my line of work I have hired many (dozens at least) gunsmiths that are graduates of Montgomery and other schools. The work we do here is not gunsmithing. I have 3 grads working for me now. Most of them end up working for one of the major manufacturers either in a call center helping folks or some have gone into repair for Benelli etc. Couple of the guys I hired actually went on to become Armorer Trainers, but that is a best case. Majority that I still keep up with are at Brownell's, Midway, Weatherby etc. and not in a repair or manufacturing aspect. Only know of one that runs his own shop and repairs gun for a living and he is also a hell of a machinist. These are all really sharp guys with tons of knowledge. So as to actually making a living doing gunsmithing, going to be tough. Is it a great skill to have, absolutely, especially if it is something you are interested in. They all tinker and do some side projects, but found the money was just not there for full time. If you can find a niche like Doug Turnbull did, then you can writet your own ticket. Marlin Custom work seems to be in high demand right now. The pendulum has swung back to lever guns are cool.
 
Yup...the issue will always be someone being shocked when you need to charge them $500 for work that will take days to complete using highly specialized and expensive equipment.

I’m often baffled by our own leathersmiths here who charge a pittance for what I know is hours of work that draws on years of experience and equipment I can’t afford.


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Gunsmithing is a great hobby but probably hard to make a good living. People don't like to pay for quality and many would not know it if presented. When I was in school , there was a sign on the wall that was from the instructor's shop . It was for his customers. They could pick any two of the three regarding the work he would do for them.
FAST
GOOD
CHEAP
 
I'd love to go through a full curriculum or even just take some classes. I'm not afraid to tinker with gun stuff. I even bought a lathe and have build a couple of bolt actions and threaded a few of my barrels. Also built a few form 1 silencers using it. That has to be many thousands of dollars in labor costs saved. The lathe hasn't paid for itself yet, in savings, but if I had bought it a couple of years sooner it sure as heck would have.

I look at it as a skill that you can use to save yourself money. Not something to retire on. Probably a skewed way to look at it, but it seems realistic to me.

CHRIS
 
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Everyone else has basically hit the nail on the head. Typically but not always you can do something you love and make some money. You might not be rich but you will be happy doing what you enjoy.

You can work a job you hate and become wealthy. Some people fall somewhere in the middle. Do I think gun smithing is a good career path? Nope. Learn machine work and do the gun smithing as a hobby. Way more money to be made doing that. This isn’t 1950. With the quality of manufacturing parts these days everything is basically bolt on since the tolerances are so good.

As a kid my Dad taught me the above. He is now retired but was a highly skilled mechanic for over 40 years. Made “good money” by all standards in his profession. By the time he was done it wasn’t a passion anymore it was a job.

I took his advice and have a job that I tolerate..... I don’t love it but it does pay my bills as well as providing the lifestyle my wife and I want. On the side I do lawn care for “fun money”. More than anything it’s a stress reliever. Would I want to do lawn care for my full time job? Heck no! It wouldn’t be fun anymore! I’d have to work my ass off to come close to making what I make at my main job. Again... not fun at that point.

Do gun smithing as a side gig or hobby and find something else that will provide you the income/ time to do things you enjoy.


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CHRIS_WNC said:
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I look at it as a skill that you can use to save yourself money. Not something to retire on. Probably a skewed way to look at it, but it seems realistic to me.

CHRIS
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That's like saying I got into reloading to save money.

Machinery cost, tooling cost, gadget cost etc... It is a way for me to learn a new skill and make a gun that's mine. I do it for fun and yes, it ain't a cheap hobby. I dont think I will ever do gun work for anybody else and I dont expect a monetary ROI on my equipment. I do expect to be able to take raw steel and make what i want for myself.
 
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