31 October 2005, 07:05
Lotec25gunsmith school
hello everyone this is my first post and i have a question. I am about to move to Tampa Florida and looking for a gunsmith school in the area down there. I have searched online and i am comeing up empty. I dont care to dive to get to one just dont want to be real far away. Any help anyone could give me would be great.
Thanks
Lotec25
31 October 2005, 11:27
D99The big three are Susanville, CA at the college, Trinidad, CO at the college, and the one in Denver the Colorado school of trades or something like that.
That's the extent of my gunsmith school knowledge.
Someone is offering really good DVD schools, and they are supposed to be exceptional. I would take the machine shop courses first.
31 October 2005, 16:03
M PursellBrownell's has a listing of gunsmithing schools on their webe site;
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Company/links.aspx?catid=8The closest to you is in North Carolina. That's a bit of drive. You might try a different route. This is how I did it. Go to a local community college or trade school and learn how to operate machine tools and how to weld. Then take some of the NRA summer school classes offered at the various colleges. There you'll learn how to apply what you know to firearms and pick up specialized skills. After you know a little about what you're doing, find a good local gunsmith willing to take you on as a helper/apprentice. The folks that graji-ated from the schools sometimes look down their noses at folks that came my route, but you can become a good gunsmith by either method. The most important part of any education is you. What you bring to the table and how hard you work is the most important.
I hope that helps get you started.
31 October 2005, 17:16
MasteriflemanLotec25 - MPursell has the right idea. I attended the Colorado School of Trades when I lived in Lakewood, CO and it is one of the best. Dick Kroeckle and Eldon Adams, two of the best instructors CST ever had, both told me, "You can make a good gunsmith from a good machinist but not necessarily the other way around".
31 October 2005, 21:48
22WRFquote:
Originally posted by M Pursell:
Brownell's has a listing of gunsmithing schools on their webe site;
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Company/links.aspx?catid=8The closest to you is in North Carolina. That's a bit of drive. You might try a different route. This is how I did it. Go to a local community college or trade school and learn how to operate machine tools and how to weld. Then take some of the NRA summer school classes offered at the various colleges. There you'll learn how to apply what you know to firearms and pick up specialized skills. After you know a little about what you're doing, find a good local gunsmith willing to take you on as a helper/apprentice. The folks that graji-ated from the schools sometimes look down their noses at folks that came my route, but you can become a good gunsmith by either method. The most important part of any education is you. What you bring to the table and how hard you work is the most important.
I hope that helps get you started.
Mark
Do you have a website? What kind of work do you do?
01 November 2005, 01:33
M Pursellquote:
Originally posted by 22WRF:
Do you have a website? What kind of work do you do?
22WRF, no website. I'm a low tech, one man operation. I have an old house out back that's been converted to my shop.
I do mostly repairs. I also refinish wood & blue metal, recut checkering, rebarreling, welding, drill & tap, recoil pads, choke tube installation, choke reaming, all sorts of lathe & mill work and I sweep out the joint. I better stop while you're still awake. Basically, I do whatever comes in the door. I do build custom rifles but I have to fit it in between customers with broken guns that want to get back out hunting. Somethings I can't do but I know who to refer them to.