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Posted: 9/8/2012 12:34:21 PM EDT
| Is AGI (American Gunsmithing Institute) the only "home-study" course out there? Is there a "Industry Standard" for certification as a gunsmith? I ordered the AGI Introduction packet and it's filled with "satisfied customers"... I love working on firearms and would like to develop this into something that I can make a part-time income at but, I want to do it right! Is the AGI Certified Gunsmith Program the way to go or does anyone know of a different program or a better program? Thanks for responding... |
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No. It might work for a few people that already have good mechanic skills and instincts and are trained as machinists.
Enroll in a school. There a several around the country. I've been attending classes during the NRA summer program. I went to Montgomery Community College in Troy, NC in early August this year. |
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The only gunsmith "certification" or "diploma" that has any value at all is one from a top gunsmithing school like Colorado School of Trades or Trinidad Junior College.
There are others. A diploma or certificate from a top school will get you a job interview anywhere, because these schools have industry wide reputations for turning out real pros. The real schools are attendance schools that typically take at least two years and cost a lot of money. In those schools you're trained by Master gunsmith/teachers who are looking over your shoulder and telling you if you're doing it right or wrong, and how to do it faster and better. To be clear: An internet or mail order "school" is good only to teach you enough to do hobby work on your OWN guns. They will not qualify you to work on customers guns. A certificate of diploma from the internet and mail order schools is worth no more then one you print up on your own printer. Paying the high amount of money these places charge is a waste of the money if you want to be a true pro. Apply for a job with a certificate from these places and your resume goes straight into the trash can. If you're lucky they won't actually laugh in your face. Look at it this way: If you owned a very expensive sports car and it needed work, would you allow a mechanic work on it who learned what he knows over the internet or from a mail order course? We NEED good gunsmiths. There aren't enough good ones and there are too many with these "certificates" hanging on the wall who are little better then gun butchers. If you really want to be a professional gunsmith, go to one of the top schools or pick another trade. While you're at it, take some business courses. Many very good gunsmiths go broke in less then a year because while they're good gunsmiths, they know nothing about running a business. |
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http://www.montgomery.edu/gunsmithing-home.html
Troy North Carolina not too far from you... |
| I am using the Sanoran Desert Institute to get my degree in Firearms Technology (AS w/ gunsmithing cert) along with working/ learning from a couple of local gunsmiths. Distance courses help alot but doesn't replace the actual classroom learning. I was lucky to have these guys take me under thier wing. |
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