How to become an Ontario Gunsmith?

Long Range

Long Range

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Campbellford Ontario
I am currently a millwright college student due to graduate this spring, and have been trying to look into taking a gunsmithing program but cannot find one in ontario colleges. The only thing i could find were online courses. Are these all that are available? Any info is appreciated.
 
there is a thread on here somewhere about gunsmithing courses with all the info you would ever need..

look into a machinist apprenticeship, so many of the skills are transferrable. to be a good gunsmith you must be a good machinist. thats a good place to start
 
To get a firearms business license as a "gunsmith" in Ontario you need formal gunsmith training. Of course that does not prevent you doing that work. I think you would find that most gunsmiths in Canada do not have "formal" training.
 
in all honesty since its not a registered trade. all you have to do is put gunsmith behind your name..

but to really learn, you would need to find a gunsmith that will take you under his/her wing and teach you. most say about 5 years and you qualify as a "gunsmith"
 
I still think that getting your machinist licence is the best route.. that is if you are serious about getting into gunsmithing.

this is just my opinion of course, but if I was a gunsmith and considering taking on a trainee/apprentice. and two guys came to me, one who had taken one of these gunsmithing courses that are discussed here regularly, and one who is a journeyman machinist.
I think the choice would be simple...

a machinist with a love for guns would be an easier person to transition into gunsmithing... and if the gunsmithing thing doesnt work out, you still have a trade to fall back on
 
sorry I guess I just assumed he wasnt a millwright as he said he was just graduating college.

I wasnt aware that millwrights schooling still involved a lot of machining.. I dont think any of the trades include as much machining as they used to.

but experience is experience, and skills and qualifications, licences are something they can't take away from you. I think that in gunsmithing, a good knowledge of machining is a must if you want to do anything other than the most basic of tasks
people are going to want to know that you have the skills and knowledge before they are going to let you work on their expensive rifles

there just arent enough young people getting into gunsmithing these days, the good gunsmiths are getting older. I think it would take alot of commitment to the craft to get in and stick with it. knowing a gunsmith that would take you under their wing would also be a help
 
There is still a fair amount of machining in the millwright program. Definatley enough to give me an edge over some one with little or no experience. I have also worked as a machinist and plastic injection mold maker. I just decided to go for the millwright cause it covers such a wide range work and skills. I want to become a certified millwright journeyman, and i thought it would be a good project to run a small home based gun repair shop on weekends and stuff just for extra money and then see where it takes me.
Thanks for all the advice.
 
Ian Robertson said:
I think you would find that most gunsmiths in Canada do not have "formal" training.
Click to expand...
There you have it. Get a lathe and maybe a mill. Learn all you can about it from other smiths/books. Once people see what you can do and you do it well, they will call you a gunsmith.

Here's my opinion.
A good gunsmith is like an artist with machining skills. Some are capable of doing everything well, some excel at stockwork, metal machining, rifles, pistols, etc. There are many out there. I don't know of any college course in Canada, but there are some in the USA. Still the best experience is hands on, Period!
 
Find a large CDN or better USA police dept with a big training division that fires many rounds and has a large range of weaponry, try to "intern" or get a job sweeping up in the armory and learn from them. Similarly, apply at gun factory... ?
 
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