How do you become a gunsmith
- Thread starter 3Gun Jim
- Start date
"...trade school..." Nor like an electrician or a plumber. There are very few courses in Canada. Several Stateside. A net search will turn up their sites. Forget the ones that want to sell you a video and the correspondence courses.
Jobs are few and far between and the pay is low for new guys too.
Jobs are few and far between and the pay is low for new guys too.
http://www.armurerie.ca/pages_en/index.html
The course is free if you are a resident of Quebec.
Classroom instruction is in French, course materials are in English.
Finally a good reason to be bilingual.
- Location
- In lalaland, that is Ottawa.
Gunsmith Trade Schoo Maniwaki, P.Q.
I know the principal of this school very well. It Is located in Maniwaki, about 140 km. north of Ottawa/Gatineau.
He is a Swiss and knows his stuff. They have a very well equiped machine shop at the school. If you go to the URL site, you will see some images of the shop.
Good Luck
I know the principal of this school very well. It Is located in Maniwaki, about 140 km. north of Ottawa/Gatineau.
He is a Swiss and knows his stuff. They have a very well equiped machine shop at the school. If you go to the URL site, you will see some images of the shop.
Good Luck
Here is a thread started by a Gunnar form Armco. I think it's a pretty good read about becoming one.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138983
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138983
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That was just what I was looking for. I don't know why I didn't find it when I did my search.
Thanks everyone for the help
Great article by gunnar. I am not a gunsmith but have a love of firearms not only for shooting but because they fine tuned pieces of machinery that are interesting to work on. Have some tools, a workspace, plenty of good reference materials and a job on the side and start as a part timer. Do drillings, boresightings, bedding, trigger assembly changes/tuning and such. If you have a lot of expenses don't count on it as a steady paycheck. Canada needs a program that can give certification and I believe that is coming soon. ;-) Advertise in your local paper and your local gun club if you are a member. Build a small website and let people know about you and what you can do. Hope this helps. Cheers.
I did the ICS Firearms repair course (its good for some basic understanding of various guns how they work, do's & don'ts, stock refinishing, blueing, scope & sight mounting etc. After finishing that I apprenticed with a registered gun smith but we didn't get very far before he took ill and passed on. I do all my own work on my own guns and am looking at a partner ship deal for when the Queen no longer requires my service.
Tex sends
Tex sends
That post by Gunnar was one of the best I've seen on CGN. If you are young and you can find someone to take you on, it could be the start of a life long career. You will probably get mostly grunt work for the first year, cleaning guns, maybe installing scopes, etc. but you will become familiar with the various parts and functions of the firearm. After all, that is the life of a first year apprentice. That first year is never wasted though. You learn a great deal simply by taking a lot of different guns apart and actually seeing the various methods of operation they have. You also get a pretty good idea of what "acceptable workmanship" really is. If you open your own shop, you will probably be doing those same jobs yourself even though you call yourself "Boss".
The only hands on training I have ever come across in Canada is the school in Quebec. There are correspondence courses but after looking at them, I don't think they will give you more than a starting point in the trade or maybe get you a job in counter sales at Wholesale sports or some other chain store. Trying to figure things out by looking at the poorly copied pages of their "manuals" is not a good way to learn any trade! The other alternative is the video courses which give a great deal more information and you get an over the shoulder view of the whole process. The down side is that most of these courses are make/model specific and the ones that do offer the full gunsmithing video course don't like to ship outside of the U.S. Of course, there are gunsmithing schools in the U.S. but you are looking at 2 - 3 years of living in the states and the expense of post secondary education.
If you are older like me (50) then you likely have some experience, training or at least a collection of tools to help out. Those transferable skills that everyone is supposed to have can come from unlikely sources. I used to work in diesel fuel systems until injuries made me look at career choices. But looking back at my trade, I know that I'm good with small parts, I can follow the mechanical functions and I have had experience with lathes and milling machines from making parts for antique or obsolete equipment. I've also had experience with cold and caustic blueing from rebuilding injectors and have worked with most normal shop and welding equipment. BUT perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that knowing what the customer expects to get back and delivering that to them is the best way to avoid being called an a**hole.
No trade is easy to break into and the first couple of years are the hardest but if you can push through those lean times, be willing to learn, and to talk to the customer you have as good a chance of making it as anyone.
The only hands on training I have ever come across in Canada is the school in Quebec. There are correspondence courses but after looking at them, I don't think they will give you more than a starting point in the trade or maybe get you a job in counter sales at Wholesale sports or some other chain store. Trying to figure things out by looking at the poorly copied pages of their "manuals" is not a good way to learn any trade! The other alternative is the video courses which give a great deal more information and you get an over the shoulder view of the whole process. The down side is that most of these courses are make/model specific and the ones that do offer the full gunsmithing video course don't like to ship outside of the U.S. Of course, there are gunsmithing schools in the U.S. but you are looking at 2 - 3 years of living in the states and the expense of post secondary education.
If you are older like me (50) then you likely have some experience, training or at least a collection of tools to help out. Those transferable skills that everyone is supposed to have can come from unlikely sources. I used to work in diesel fuel systems until injuries made me look at career choices. But looking back at my trade, I know that I'm good with small parts, I can follow the mechanical functions and I have had experience with lathes and milling machines from making parts for antique or obsolete equipment. I've also had experience with cold and caustic blueing from rebuilding injectors and have worked with most normal shop and welding equipment. BUT perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that knowing what the customer expects to get back and delivering that to them is the best way to avoid being called an a**hole.
No trade is easy to break into and the first couple of years are the hardest but if you can push through those lean times, be willing to learn, and to talk to the customer you have as good a chance of making it as anyone.
