Gunsmiths...

[jonathon]

Well.. I'm young and still looking for my calling in life. And.. I am serriously considering looking into and getting the training to be a gunsmith and even open a shop.... well, I want to anyways.

Do you guys even think theres enough willing work out there to make a living?

[Sir William]

Yes. Mechanical devices malfunction.

[IZHUMINTER]

You might try asking this in "The Smithy."

[jonathon]

Reason I didn't is 'cause its more or less a general question about the field.. :confused:

[kjm]

I don't think there is much demand for gunsmiths, but if you want to work in that field their is a demand for exceptional gunsmiths. Do what you love and do it better than anybody else and you will succeed. Get some formal schooling and then work for somebody a while.

I've seen a lot of gunsmiths begin work in a gunstore, and then move up to bigger and better things. Some go into the military where IIRC, they will start you as an E-4. You can work depot or for a specialist team like the AMT.

[Spotted Owl]

I think the current trend is to buy increasingly cheaper and cheaper guns and treat them as disposible if they break. This is true for many consumer items, not just guns. Sure, there are people who buy quality guns worth repairing when they break, but many more buy pieces of crap that they throw away when they stop working.

Also consider the fact that the country is becoming more urbanized every year and fewer people are buying and using guns. Many of the people who are buying guns buy them for home protection. These people rarely go to ranges for practice, so the guns sit in a drawer or under the bed for years at a time. Since they're not being used, they won't break and won't need to be repaired.

[XavierBreath]

Nothing against the gunsmiths, but I think it's a very difficult profession to be truly successful in.

If I were thirty years younger, I would seriously consider the funeral business. Seriously. Or, maybe real estate. If you have the desire and drive, law or medicine.

Bottom line though, the tougher the business you are in, the tougher a businessman you have to be. The gun business is tough as it is, and you can be out of business with the stroke of a politician's pen. Something to consider over the long term.

[kjm]

Good point above. The funeral business is a HUGE money maker! I might would try to specialize in ethnic funerals. I had thought of getting into the Hindu Wedding business here around Houston. Lots of money to be made there too.

[RobW]

I don't think there is much demand for gunsmiths,
Why, for heavens sake, are then there such long waiting-periods for even simple repairs (months, even 1/2 to 3/4 year, I even heard of more than 1 year - can't verify that)? :confused:

[jonathon]

I'm a bit excited to be honest, looking into different places to get the training.

I don't have that desire to be rich, just to be happy(which comes down to doing a job I like and being married to a good woman pretty much), so it might work out :D

[JohnKSa]

If you want to do it right, you really need to apprentice.

In my mind there are "gunsmiths" and then there are "tinkerers and scope mounters".

A "gunsmith" should be able to repair a stock, bed an action, ream a chamber, rebarrel and headspace a rifle, remove the endshake in a revolver, tune an autopistol, do a trigger job on all common firearms, recrown a barrel, make, harden and finish simple small parts, lap a barrel, refinish firearms and perhaps have the capability to do at least a modicum of embellishment work. He should be intimately familiar with common firearms and reasonably familiar with the less common models which he is likely to see at least once in awhile. Then, he should have a specialty.

[jonathon]

Being an aprentice would be cool, I've learned a lot about leather stuffs and shoe repair doing that... Don't know of any gunsmiths around here though(serriously..).

[Harry Bonar]

Dear shooter:
The late Dave Taylor of Little Hocking Ohio - a master machinist and muzzle-loader and 32-40 barrel maker when I told him I wanted to open up a gunsmith shop and quit my job literally chewed my rear-end off!
That's good advice; keep a good job and do gunsmithing for fun and make a few extra bucks to keep you in "powder and flints" and go from there.
In my studies, even the best of the best gunsmiths died poor, some needing assistance! Even the old muzzle-loader gunsmiths were taken advantage of by slick rich guys! And their work was priceless!
I'm training a doctor to retire and do engraving and gunsmithing; but, he has a pension to rely on!
But, I want to congratulate you - you choose the highest and best of the skills and you show you are a true american and true-believer! Persue your dream!
Harry b.

[cntryboy1289]

I started doing my own guns years ago while I was a fire fighter. When I was hurt and had to retire, I decided to open a small home business. Believe me when I tell you that I couldn't make it if I didn't have my pension. I know of several folks like me who have their own shop and depend on a pension or another job to make their ends meet. I feel like Mr. bonar that is one of the nobelist of professions that deserves a more respect than it gets. If you want to learn the business, I would suggest going to school and learning to be a machinist and welder to support yourself and add the gunsmithing as a side job. There are several good schools that you could attend if you want to attend a gunsmithing course. Do a google search for gunsmithing college courses. Either of the ones that will come up would be a good school to attend. You will be able to take the machinist courses and welding courses there as well. The point of life is to be happy and you can be happier if the bill collectors don't come and take everything from you. There just aren't too many smiths making a living by doing smithing alone. It can be done in certain areas so don't give up hope if that is what you want to try. I would suggest that you need to be located in an area of 100,000 population to be able to begin to acquire enough business to make a decent living. It's not hard to stay busy, but it is hard to stay busy with the type of work necessary to make good money. I wish you the best of luck.

[cntryboy1289]

I started doing my own guns years ago while I was a fire fighter. When I was hurt and had to retire, I decided to open a small home business. Believe me when I tell you that I couldn't make it if I didn't have my pension. I know of several folks like me who have their own shop and depend on a pension or another job to make their ends meet. I feel like Mr. bonar that it is one of the nobelist of professions that deserves a more respect than it gets. If you want to learn the business, I would suggest going to school and learning to be a machinist and welder to support yourself and add the gunsmithing as a side job. There are several good schools that you could attend if you want to attend a gunsmithing course. Do a google search for gunsmithing college courses. Either of the ones that will come up would be a good school to attend. You will be able to take the machinist courses and welding courses there as well. The point of life is to be happy and you can be happier if the bill collectors don't come and take everything from you. There just aren't too many smiths making a living by doing smithing alone. It can be done in certain areas so don't give up hope if that is what you want to try. I would suggest that you need to be located in an area of 100,000 population to be able to begin to acquire enough business to make a decent living. It's not hard to stay busy, but it is hard to stay busy with the type of work necessary to make good money. I wish you the best of luck.

[Handy]

Don't confuse custom builders with gunsmiths. While someone specializing (and having a good reputation for) building 1911s or target rifles might do pretty well, the general gunsmith is an underpayed man of great training and even greater overhead.

The current crop of guns is both less likely to need fixing and more difficult to actually fix. The days of cheap sporterizing are over. You can't make a living fixing extractors on $90 Marlin .22s.


If you are a mechanical genius, figure out something no one has done (or done well), and get the skills to let you test and execute the idea. If it works, sell the product or the idea.

I can think of very few "craftsmen" of any stripe that can afford to do it as a business.

[Andrew LB]

Jonathon- It would probably depend on where you live and how much money you want to make in life. Doing a job i love is definately my goal in life... but so is cash.

Certain areas have very high demand for gunsmiths and their prices reflect it. There are barely any good smiths in Southern California and every one of them i've contacted (my Model 66 .357's barrel overturned) had long wait times to get the gun even looked at. I think it took them 3 weeks before they started the job. While the smith i used was excellent, the prices were also up there. But i'm willing to pay for quality work when its needed.

[Jammer Six]

I have heard it said that you can't make a decent living at the following trades: carpentry, welding, farming, commercial diving, plumbing, pipe fitting, heavy equipment operating, and finally, gunsmithing. They are all, according to these same sources, also impossible to break into.

All of them, of course, are wrong. The best in any trade will always be employed, including in the middle of a major depression. There is always a demand for another good gunsmith.

Good luck!

[ClarkEMyers]

Don't know of any gunsmiths around here though(serriously..). That's either lack of a market or an opportunity - your guess is better than mine. I'd say that like school teaching say - where a lot of teachers leave the field - the things you learn will always be valuable to you but you may find yourself working as job shop machinist rather than a gunsmith.

[cntryboy1289]

Most of the ones you mentioned are high paying jobs around my neck of the woods. Don't confuse working a high skilled job for an industry with doing a high skilled job for yourself as a business. Most any machinist or welder or pipe fitter as well as a carpenter and plumber will always be in demand in our economy. Being a gunsmith and running your own business is quite a different undertaking. There are thousands of businesses that go under each and every year from all walks of life for different reasons. There have been many of excellent gunsmiths go into business and then have to close the doors. Like I said earlier, go to a gunsmithing college where you will learn not only working skills, but business skills as well. It takes more than a working knowledge of guns and a love of the job to make it in business for yourself. It's takes a lot of time to build up a customer list that will keep the doors open for you. My business booms when it's time to go hunt deer or ducks, but in the spring and summer I don't have much to do. Yes it can be done and is done by a good many of folks, but there are about as many that go bust trying to pay rent and keep a good inventory of parts so you have a good turn around. Don't give up if it's what you want to do in life, but don't go in with blinders on either.

[Jammer Six]

I won't. I've been a general contractor since 1997.

Thanks for the advice, though.

[Hunter Customs]

Yes you can make a living being a gunsmith. That being said do not plan to do so by working a 40 hour week. Mr Bonar and cntryboy1289 both gave some very good advise and both are speaking from experience.
Now back to the 40 hour week. Most likely you will not be able to hire anyone to help when you first start out and even when you are able to you may not want to. So that means you do your own paper work, ordering of parts, talking with customers on the phone or by e-mail and sometime after doing all this you must do the actual work on the guns. You might as well figure putting in at least 25 hours a week doing all the things it takes to run the business, so if you want to spend 40 hours working on guns you are now working a 65 hour week. To be successful you will most likely be working 80 to 100 hours a week.

Next you want to learn all the skills you can such as welding, machine skills (mill and lathe), as much finishing work as possible. The more work you can do in house the better. Remember when you have to farm work out you have to deal with that persons time frame and the amount of skill they have in doing the job.

Here's some things that were taught to me that may help you make it as a smith. Do not price your work to cheap trying to under cut everyone in the business. If you do it's almost a sure bet you will start doing poor quality work for the simple reason you do not feel as if you are making enough off the job at hand. You must set down figure what you have invested in your shop and machinery, than figure a fair labor rate that will help you survive in the business.
Do not count on making much money from parts unless you are having your own manufactured.
Be honest with your customer and do your best to provide customer satisfaction.
Do not claim to do work that you can't do.
Do not try and cheap out on parts as it will come back to haunt you. It does not cost that much more to use high quality parts and your customers will be happier in the long run.
Above all else do not knock another mans work to try and sell your own. This was taught to me at a very young age by my Dad. His words were " if you have to knock another man's work to sell your own than there must be something wrong with what you are selling".
Good luck in your endeavors and I wish you well in the business.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

[jonathon]

I've been fairly fortunate to be able to see what running a small business is like, chaotic, but if its a family thing, pretty dang fun... I was(well, still sorta) homeschooled, and I pretty much spent from 11 on till now working here.

I've been doing a bit more research(well.. a LOT actually), and am thinking that to start, I should get some machining skills, and perhaps get a job as a machinist first, using that as a way to support myself to go through a formal gunsmithing school.

Also seriously looking into joining the military for 4 years...

I got a year or so to figure out what I want to do with myself :cool:

[cntryboy1289]

Some of the best smiths I know got their start in the military working as an armoror. Let them teach the machinist skills you will need on their dime. You end up with as good a knowledge of machining as taught anywhere plus you get the added benefit of working with some of the worlds finest gunsmiths. The man I learned from came out of the Air Force. He had brought home so many of the tools he designed and built while in the military that are way beyond anything available on the market today. Good luck in your decision.