good gunsmith school?

[hoss6br]

hi all, im looking into a gunsmith school and thought maybe some could give me some feed back on american gunsmithing institute. i have there introductory cd and they seem pretty good, but a bit on the pricey side but cheeper then an on campus school i guess. any feed back would be great! thanks

 

[jonbearman]

there are a couple in pa. Google gunsmithing schools and you should be busy.There is one in rochester,ny, RIT(rochester institute of technology).

 

[artbosco]

Try looking at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado: http://www.trinidadstate.edu/index.php/gunsmithing Speedy Gonzalez is one of the instructors. More info on Speedy and two of his students: http://www.gunsandammo.com/content/bullseye-for-tsjc-gunsmithing-students#close

 

[hoss6br]

thanks for the info!!! i only live an hour from RIT so i will check into that. i would love to go to colorado with an instructor like speedy....... but im stuck in the 6 day work week rut!! i dont think the wifey would like that either :-\ thats why i was thinken the internet school might work but im undecieded, thanks

 

[whiskey08]

im kinda in same boat, I was just accepted into the May class at the Colorado school of trades. I chose there instead of trinidad because its 14 mos straight of strictly gunsmithing. Wife is gonna stay home and ill make the weekend trips back home to NM. Id love to learn from Speedy however i didnt want to do the college student 2 year program. He offers courses by themselves however, so you could always take a class taught by him.

 

[jonbearman]

Ilive in macedon and that makes you about an hour away or so.

 

[hoss6br]

hey jon were almost neibors! i live in hunt, down by nunday, i looked into RIT but didnt see that they even offerd classes for gunsmithing. i think AGI has a good thing going so i might do that. thanks ;D

 

[shortgrass]

There's definately an advantage to the in-residence schools. If you're preforming a task and the instructor sees your going about it in the wrong way or that there's an easier way to accomplish it they will show you. The internet can't do that. I attended an in-residence school, got alot of good pointers, had my mistakes pointed out to me and was showed how to correct them, I also learned from the mistakes others made and how to avoid them, and learned from some of the good ideas other students had, too. There's no substitue for "hands on experience" and being taught in a "hands on" way. It was more like OJT or being an apprentice than going to "school". I will say 'business class' was pretty much a waste of time, what was taught had little to no application to the gunsmith/firearms industry. On-line or correspondence courses will have limits as to what you can learn. As an in-residence student I was 'feed' all I could absorb or wanted to know about above and way beyond the 'required' material. It gave me a sound footing to start my business.

 

[hoss6br]

thanks for the coment shortgrass, i wish i had gone to a school right after highschool, but now being in my late 30's and wife , kids, mortage and all the rest that goes with it, just seems almost impossible to go to a school, ive ben fixen my guns and friends and family for a long time i just dont have the pistol and the semi stuff under my belt has of yet. thought that AGI mite give me the no how with there cd's that way you watch again and again.

 

[shortgrass]

hoss6br, I was in my mid 30's when I went to school. I was ready to apply myself and already had 15yrs. of 'job shop' machining experience under my belt. I've never seen any of the AGI cds, for all I know they may be just the ticket for you. I can understand those life obligations you spoke of. One of our classes was kind of a design, function, & repair thing. Most of the program was devoted to the higher end custom work with only that one class for one quarter doing repairs (we had 2-3 subjects per quarter). As it worked out, if you could do the high end custom work you were gaining repair and function knowledge at the same time. Good repair men are getting harder and harder to find these days as everyone wants to be the next 1000yd. rifle building guru. We spent alot of time on stock making, something I'd suppose isn't taught much anymore as wood is considered obsolete. It's all in the details, whether it be stock making, building competition rifles, metal finishing, or doing repairs. Good luck in your endeavor. I know in this area there's community college that has some night classes sometimes. Don't know who is teaching it but they need to be slapped. The 'junk' just seems to flow out of that situation and darn sure wouldn't 'fly' with the instructor/gunsmiths that teach at any of the 2 year schools. I've been fortunate to have met others that have gone to and graduated from schools other than the one I graduated from. Consider one of the NRA Summer Gunsmithing programs. Several of the two year schools have these in the spring and summer. There are many different classes available. They run a week long, sometimes two, depending on the subjet. Always taught by reputable 'smiths. You could use some of that 'vacation' time if the wife will allow. I guess the point is, be particular as to who you learn from, there are alot of 'hacks' out there.

 

[hoss6br]

thanks for the inspiring words shortgrass!