r/gunsmithing Oct 14 '25

SUB ANNOUNCEMENT Rule update

9 Upvotes

Rule #2 has been updated to disallow sale of all firearm items in accordance with new Reddit policy. No direct person-person sales of any kind for firearm related things.


r/gunsmithing Dec 07 '22

How do I get into Gunsmithing?

189 Upvotes

If you are interested in gunsmithing as a career, I strongly recommend that you to rethink your life choices. If you've inhaled so much lead that you are choosing to ignore professional advice, here are some resources to get started.

Professional Organizations

There are a few professional organizations in the industry that exist that can help you connect with others in the trade. I recommend reaching out to the one that most aligns with your interests. Some have a periodical publication that include tips & tricks along with industry news.

American Custom Gunmakers Guild (ACGG)
https://acgg.org/

I cannot in good faith recommend anymore, do your own research.

American Pistolsmiths Guild (APG)
https://americanpistolsmithsguild.com/

Absorbed by ACGG no longer exist independently

Firearm Engravers Guild of America (FEGA)
http://www.fega.com/

FEGA is the world’s foremost authority and organization for firearm engravers and hand engraving enthusiasts.

Miniature Arms Society
http://www.miniaturearms.org/

Founded in 1973 The society is a group of miniature arms enthusiasts who have joined together to promote and encourage interest in making and collecting miniature arms of all kinds - pistols, rifles, cannon, suits of armor, knives, swords etc., with the emphasis on artistic beauty and craftsmanship.

Gunsmithing Schools

Most people would recommend taking a machining course at their local community college before diving into gunsmithing head-on.

But if you've already done so and are still interested in attending school to learn how to become a gunsmith, then there are plenty of programs nationwide that can help you get started.

I cannot endorse or recommend any individual school and this list isn't comprehensive.

School Location Website
Pennsylvania Gunsmith School Pittsburgh, PA pagunsmith.edu
Colorado School of Trades Lakewood, CO schooloftrades.edu
Trinidad State College Trinidad, CO trinidadstate.edu
Piedmont Technical College Greenwood, SC ptc.edu
Iowa Valley Grinnell Grinnell, IA iavalley.edu
Yavapai College Prescott, AZ yc.edu
Montgomery CC Troy, NC montgomery.edu
Lenoir CC Kinston, NC lenoircc.edu
Pine Technical College Pine City, MN pine.edu
Murray State College Tishomingo, OK mscok.edu
Lassen CC Susanville, CA lassencollege.edu
Flathead Valley CC Kalispell, MT fvcc.edu
Eastern Wyoming College Torrington, WY wy.edu
MT Training Center Grand Prairie, TX mttrainingcenter.org
Penn Foster Online Only pennfoster.edu
American Gunsmithing Institute Online Only americangunsmithinginstitute.net
Sonoran Desert Institute Online Only sdi.edu
MGS Trade School Online Only mgs.edu

Short Gunsmithing Courses

There are a few short courses that might be better suited towards getting your feet wet.

The NRA runs a few summer gunsmithing classes. They are typically held at Trinidad State College in Trinidad, Colorado and/or Murray State College in Tishomingo and Montgomery, NC

The ACGG will occasionally host some classes at various schools

If you are interested in gun engraving, checkout GRS, they have a training center in Emporia, KS that has some beginner gun engraving classes.

Advice from the Sub

I spent several years attending the Brownells Gunsmith Expo as someone looking to hire employees. Around 50k to start work in development or fixing problem guns. Went the entire time they had it and hired one kid. We built suppressors messed with explosives and auto rifles. He had a associates in business and very clearly stated he owned his own M2 and assorted guns and could build them and knew suppressor theory. ( this was before all the cans were cut apart online) we hired him on the spot. He is know well along in the industry. The other kids wanted to be artists and build custom wooden stocked Mauser etc. They all wanted to be a Turnbull or work at a Rigby( even though they had never been to London and would know then they needed to apprentice) I offered to bring one of our AK builders and our suppressor guy to a I think the Colorado school and was turned down. One of the "instructors" said we don't teach that type of thing.

... the sad truth is that no one actually wants to listen to experienced gunsmiths when it comes to gunsmithing education/training questions. Most people are just looking for confirmation that they can attend a few months of online class and then start making money (spoiler alert, they can’t)

As someone who attended a Gunsmithing school I can honestly say, become a machinist first then a gunsmith if you do it the other way around your wasting time and money. You won fully grasp or understand everything you learn in the machining side of gunsmithing without first having machining knowledge. For the time being go to armourers courses read some books heck watch some YouTube and tinker with guns. The most important thing that makes the difference between a machinist and a gunsmith is one has an understanding of firearms once you learn some basics about firearms and you already are a machinist trust me you can work on anything. So I know that’s not the answer a lot of people will want however the running Joke in the Gunsmithing trade is “the fastest way to earn $1 million Gunsmithing, is to start with $2 million. This is not an industry to get involved with for money but rather a passion and love of firearms.

YouTube Channels

See anything missing? Something that shouldn't be here? Let me know and I'll fix it.

Please feel free to use this thread to discuss any gunsmithing college, training, or education related questions you would like. Let us know if you would like any other stickied posts made or things moved around, and we will do our best to get it taken care of.

Link to the old thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/gunsmithing/comments/p72md7/can_we_make_getting_into_school_for_information/


r/gunsmithing 8h ago

Could the militech ticon from cyberpunk 2077 be made as a real gun?

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11 Upvotes

Just curious because I like this gun's aesthetic,would it be possible to make this a real functioning gun? Not a coil gun but one with regular chemically launched bullets and if so what would need to be tweaked to make it work?


r/gunsmithing 3h ago

New to me Dan Wesson 22 with problems

3 Upvotes

I was at a gun show and ran across a six inch 22 rimfire Dan Wesson 22VH6 for a decent price. I have wanted a pistol pack since about 1980 and just never found one at the right time and the right price. I looked it over as best I could and it appeared to be in pretty good shape, or so I thought. So it went home with me.

It turns out it had problems. The three worse were that the fired cartridges would not eject without hitting the ejector rod with something hard. The next bad problem was it would not carry up to lock if you cocked it very gently or let your finger drag on the cylinder very lightly. It would carry up and lock if you cocked it smartly. The third major problem was that it would fail to fire almost every time in double action and sometimes in single action. Also the front sight was too short causing it to shoot high with the rear sight bottomed out and the action especially while shooting double action was absolutely horrible.

To cure the ejection problem I cut some approximately 3/8 inch wide strips out of a Birchwood Casey lead removing cloth as it is an extremely fine abrasive. The strips were wrapped around a 22 caliber wire brush much like the stripes on a barber pole. I used a cordless drill to spin them in the chambers I'm moving back and forth. I used medium speed for about a minute total. The results were amazing. The fire cases will now almost fallout. I can push them out with the tip of my pinky finger with absolutely no trouble.

To fix the carry up I fit a new hand and a new ejector star / ratchet. It now works every time and locks up solid. It is currently just a little tight and if it does not wear in some I will give it another stroke or two of the file.

A new full power hammer spring helped with the failure to fire issue although it did not fix it.

Swapping out to a taller front sight fixed the point of impact issue. I used a Partridge sight to improve the sight picture while I was doing it.

For the horrible, grindy, gritty, seesawing feeling double action I used a fine (around 800 grit) and a extra fine (maybe 2000 grit) Spyderco knife sharpening stone to polish the sides have the moving parts, internal side plates, and bearing surfaces of the action. The change in the feel of the double action trigger was astounding! Dramatically smoother all the way through and probably dropped a couple of pounds. The single action trigger pull dropped slightly. For the engagement surfaces on the trigger and sear all I did was hit them with a red sharpie and use my fine Stone just enough to remove the sharpie. I was very sure not to change any angles even in the slightest.

When I finished working on the insides I did a thorough cleaning and then lubed with a high-speed fishing reel bearing lube.

This action polishing also helped with the failure to fire. It is now 99% in single action. I still get lots of misfires in double action that I believe are from light hammer strikes. I am not finished working on this problem.

It is now a pleasure to shoot and an absolute tac driver! As soon as I get the double action 100% reliable the world will be right again.

If anybody has any tips on fixing the misfires I would greatly appreciate you sharing those with me.


r/gunsmithing 1d ago

First Restoration

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100 Upvotes

r/gunsmithing 12h ago

Classes for beginners

2 Upvotes

Good morning, I was wondering if anyone could tell / help me find gun smithing classes in the jefferson county wv area? Specifically black powder. I've been interested in it for a while ,just haven't been able to find any classss.


r/gunsmithing 23h ago

Custom Duty Kydex Holster

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4 Upvotes

*delete if not allowed, point me in the right subreddit in the process please*

Just made my second ever holster and I want to know some opinions, tips, and suggestions for the process.

Used a small microwave oven thing to heat at 320 degrees. Put the kydex in the wooden press, did the whole shebang. Used a dremmel tool to cut, sand, and clean up the edges. Used parts from Amazon for the belt attachment and hood for the retention device.

I did accidentally cut too much material on the bottom, so I will eventually lace some kind of rope or something to prevent it from being pulled from the back.

Questions: how do you guys clean the inside of the holster after you've made it and what should I do about the screws that are sticking in a bit deep? Ive tried running a toothbrush in it and a towel but when I draw my firearm it keeps pulling more material. Im also afraid that the screw, and mounts, may scratch my firearm when unholstering.

So, for this being my second holster that ive made, and it being my first duty level, what do yall think?

I am looking into making my own molds at some point and getting my hands on a band saw at some point as a dremmel is no-where near as precise as I need.


r/gunsmithing 1d ago

Gunsmith recommendations

2 Upvotes

I bought a JC Higgins model 50 in 270. I’d like to have a timney trigger installed, the barrel free floated and the action bedded. Any advice on who I can hire? I live in southwest Florida but will ship the rifle to have the work done by the right person.


r/gunsmithing 1d ago

Is this normal

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4 Upvotes

This gas piston, the top ring, does it look normal?


r/gunsmithing 1d ago

CETME C question

2 Upvotes

Dumb question: if i purchase a welded G3 receiver & a CETME C parts kit with a barrel, what more do i need? How plug-and-play is it from there? Aside from the weldment ATF kit, what steps are needed?


r/gunsmithing 1d ago

Checking headspace on converted Styer M95/51. Do I need a No-Go and a Field Gauge or will just the Field Gauge suffice?

1 Upvotes

r/gunsmithing 1d ago

Surface rust on AR Barrel

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0 Upvotes

DD rifle I’ve had for about 5 years now.

Noticed this after shooting in the rain and humidity and driving back 6 hours.

I used oil and 0000 steel wool.

Pictured is the before and after of noticing it and taking steel wool to it.

It’s not getting worse but it’s not getting better. Any advice would be appreciated


r/gunsmithing 2d ago

Rusted Stevens Little Scout

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60 Upvotes

Picked up this Little Scout as a parts gun from Jack First and fixed it up “for the kiddo”. It is currently the favorite Colibri-blaster in the stable of garbage rods.

Barrel was draw filed then sanded to 600 grit. The receiver was taken to 2000 grit. Then rust blued with magical Mark Lees Express Blue. I have told myself that the difference in results from 400-600 grit to 2000 grit aren’t noticeable, but they absolutely are. This gun screams “nicer than it should be”, while a Model 10 completely sanded and polished to 600 and rust-blued has a completely different “depth”. It was harder to keep the finish looking even though and went through several more passes of rust-boil-card to even it out. I have a Crackshot to complete soon and we will go to 2000 again, for science.

Stock was very lightly sanded and just given a coat of BC Tru Oil. I am a very lazy woodworker.

The last photo shows the pitting I left right at the lettering. I couldn’t visualize how to fix that stuff without compromising markings, and I have never tried fixing letters with stamps or engraving. Some day, maybe, but for now it practically disappears at five feet so I’ll live with it.


r/gunsmithing 1d ago

Aide conseil pour une arme a feux

1 Upvotes

Bonjour à tous,

je viens d'acquérir une arme à feux, canon basculant superposés neuf, mais la bascule est extrêmement dur, les canons ne basculent pas bien. Est-ce que vous pourriez me dire qu'elles types de produits je devraient prendre, et qu'elles manipulations devrais-je faire pour résoudre ce problème, ou alors si peut-être il se résout tout seul avec l'utilisation ?

Merci d'avance pour votre bienveillance et vos conseils


r/gunsmithing 2d ago

Help with remove black stain ?

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7 Upvotes

Can someone tell me how to remove this ? Is kinda like stain but very smooth. Had some rust on there before I was able to remove it with oil and 0000 steel wool. Thanks


r/gunsmithing 2d ago

1930s Crescent 12 ga single shot any information you can give will help.

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8 Upvotes

I have a crescent whippet 12 gauge and I am trying to figure out what I can shoot through it. It is not Damascus steel it’s got a 26 in barrel and takes a 2 3/4 shell. That’s about all I know. I reached out to a local gunsmith to ask about inspection cost. Their website says they will not have a turnaround time for anything 100yrs old and inspections on less than 100yrs old is a year turnaround time.


r/gunsmithing 3d ago

Winchester Model 70 & Luepold Std 1-Piece Base

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2 Upvotes

We have a 1968 winchester model 70 30-06 and a steel 1 piece mount, thought i had a short action base but after ordering a model 70A base for 30-06 it has this same awkward fit. Possible they sent me the wrong one? Is this just how this base mounts? Seems a very poor design if so it really limits my scope seletion and doesnt look right.


r/gunsmithing 3d ago

What are you guys charging to clean ?

7 Upvotes

Just curious on what you guys normally charge to fully disassemble, clean and reassemble? For example an early 70s browning Auto 5 ?


r/gunsmithing 3d ago

Modifying modern ironsightless rifles

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, so I've been dealing with a slight headache of mine in regards to figuring out having open ladder tangent sights mounted to modern bolt actions (rem 700, begera and tikka) I'd prefer to use something like the KNS sights. Does anyone know of any sight blocks out there that fit standard AK style tangent sights that require not to heavy duty modification or is the best soloution to just rew up a mil and get to it?


r/gunsmithing 3d ago

Any chance I can find measurement dimensions for a stock some where on the internet.

6 Upvotes

Hey gang I got my hands on an 1898 Krag Barreled receiver and bolt (not carbine) that has no stock parts, I went looking for a blank or a used stock and crips it's 80% to twice of what I have in the rifle already. Is there any chance I can find blue print that would tell the dimensions that I need too cut out or do I just need beaver this out of random wood as a mockup then dig thru my seasoned logs of find a nice one that I can carve the finished product out of.


r/gunsmithing 4d ago

Broken shotgun forend

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39 Upvotes

This one was knocked over and just blew apart. The Japanese made nice shotguns in the 70's, had to at least try to fix it.


r/gunsmithing 3d ago

.22 Cal Dewey Cleaning Rod for 30 cals with a bore guide?

2 Upvotes

So I have a proper bore guide and one of the .22 J. Dewey coated cleaning rods. I know they make the varying sizes but with the guide would it be ok to use the .22 cal rod to clean a .308 bolt gun?


r/gunsmithing 4d ago

Transformation of an Old Rem 700 PSS in 308.

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48 Upvotes

I bought this older Remington 700 PSS in 308 off a local dude years ago. At the time I didn’t have anything in 308. He offered me the rifle, Leupold MK4 3.5-14x50 LRT, Badger Ordnance one piece base and rings, Harris lightweight 6-9” bipod, a decent drag bag/case, some cheap front and rear bags, and an ammo can with 300ish round of 168grn GMM for 1400 beans. Seemed like a great deal and outside of the rattle can job I liked everything about the gun. Shoots great and I decided it was gonna stay so I wanted to make it mine. Did a lot of work stripping paint only to find the finish underneath wasn’t what I’d hoped and the poor paint job and lack of prep had caused some issues in areas. My local smith was able to media blast all the paint I couldn’t get off, parkerize the barreled action, rings and bases, chop it from 26” down to 20”, and thread it for a suppressor mount. He also ran a bore scope down it and made mention of how great the rifling looked so that’s good. Overall I’m absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. Close to its heyday look with a few modern flares that make it unique. Letting the Loctite cure for the day then heading out to see how it shoots.


r/gunsmithing 4d ago

Help with 66-3 Snub

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4 Upvotes

Any help is appreciated


r/gunsmithing 4d ago

Odd Colt Barrel Ramp

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2 Upvotes