Continuing Education For Gunsmiths

Would you like to improve your gunsmith skills? Want to learn new and better ways of fixing guns? Want to meet and learn from some of the best gunsmiths alive? Think you already know everything there is to know about firearms? Well, about sixty years ago my granddad taught me that there may be a dozen ways to skin a cat but if you only know ten of them you may not know the best way yet. So, I am always on the lookout for new things to learn.

I learned to work on guns as a kid because I didn’t have the money to buy anything that wasn’t broken. People that knew I was interested in repairing guns were always dragging up an old shotgun with a broken firing pin or some such. After reading many gunsmithing books I decided that I wanted to be a first class gunsmith. I didn’t have the money to go to gunsmithing school so I got a job as a tool and die maker to learn the machinist skills required for the job.

I also started taking part time courses at local colleges. Metallurgy, physics, math and anything else I thought would improve my skills. So I learned gunsmithing the hard way, mostly by trial and error. I still yearned to go to a formal gunsmithing school but they were all far away. Marriage, kids, and supporting my family made that dream seem like an impossibility. But, I have always continued to look for new ways to continue my gunsmithing education.

I take NRA summer gunsmithing classes and tour as many firearms manufacturing plants as I can. I am a Federal Firearms Licensed Type 7 manufacturer and have been able to visit many other manufacturers, as well as two barrel makers. One of the barrel makers has an open house each year and anyone can attend. In this article I hope to bring information to other gunsmiths about the opportunities to continue your education by attending NRA summer gunsmithing classes and the chance to tour a premier barrel manufacturer.

NRA Gunsmithing Classes About three years ago I started attending NRA summer gunsmithing classes. Think of this as a one or two week vacation with your peers where you learn new skills at the same time. The NRA summer gunsmithing classes are taught at the best brick and mortar gunsmithing schools in the nation. They are also staffed by some of the best gunsmiths in their fields of expertise.

There is a wide selection of courses available and you can learn almost any kind of gun and knife making skill that you may be interested in. The four major gunsmithing schools that participate in this program are Montgomery Community College in Troy, North Carolina; Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado; Lassen Community College, Susanville, California; and Murray State College, Tisho-

Brownells furnishes instructors and chemicals for the classes, and a lot of freebies for the students. mingo Oklahoma. The selection of courses available can be found online at NRAgunsmithing.com. Check out the list at each school to see which scheduled course you would like to take. I have attended classes at both Murray State and Trinidad State and have met many new friends at both places.

The instructors are willing to assist at any level from beginner to expert and many of the students are full time gunsmiths, so there is a great depth of knowledge available on any firearms-related subject. You will have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with your peers and plenty of chances to discuss your projects with experts. There are places close to Murray and Trinidad where you can camp if you wish and both schools have low cost dorm rooms available. The dorms are modest but cheap.

You can also buy a low cost meal ticket for the week at the school cafe. The food is okay and will keep you in budget if you can not afford five star accommodations. I especially liked Trinidad as there are plenty of things to see in the area and it is cool in the summer. Some of us bought out of state fishing permits, which were inexpensive, and went trout fishing in Trinidad Lake at night. The lake is only a couple of miles from the school and is a beautiful place to fish.

We caught trout and then went back to the school and prepared them on the outside grill. Delicious! Having attended courses there I can personally recommend Murray or Trinidad. The other two schools, while certainly good, are too far away for me to attend. Regardless of facility, I suggest that you look into attending these NRA gunsmithing short courses regardless of your level of expertise. You will expand your networking group and polish your existing skills while learning new ones.

I am lucky to own a very well equipped shop but many of the people attending these classes do so for the chance to use a fully equipped machine shop for those special projects that they don’t have the equipment for in their own shop. So, for a vacation you will never forget, new friends, and a great learning experience, try the NRA summer gunsmithing classes. I hope to see you there! In addition to attending a formal course, a tour of a manufacturer’s facility can also be educational.

My most recent tour was of the Shilen Rifle Company at their Sixth Annual Shilen Rifle swap meet and open house. This annual event is next scheduled in the spring of 2012.

Held in Ennis, Texas, the Shilen Rifle Barrel swap meets are fantastic events and has become one of the items on my annual must-do list. Any gunsmith interested in learning more about how precision rifle barrels are made while having a great time in the process should get on the email list for this event. There is a swap meet, factory tour, free food and drinks, drawings for free or discounted items and discounted prices on barrels.

The Shilen team—Wade Hull, Mikel Shilen, Bill Hull, Jennifer Hull, Dave Robinson, Ed Shilen and all the other employees—roll out the red carpet for all visitors. The swap meet portion of the event allows anyone to set up a table or drop a tailgate in the parking lot to sell or trade gun and hunting related items, provided all state and federal laws are obeyed. There are no fees or costs for setting up and there are some great items, as well as many great gunsmiths to talk shop with.

I always make new friends and extend my professional network at this event. Then there is the factory tour! Factory tours start at 8 in the morning and run through 11 AM with a tour scheduled every hour. During these tours the machines are running. You will get to see a blank barrel drilled in a deep hole gun drilling machine. It is then moved to a barrel reaming machine to ream the barrel prior to the rifling process.

Shilen barrels are rifled using the button rifling process and you will see the barrel moved to the button rifling machine where the carbide rifling button is pulled through the barrel to make the grooves and lands. Next, the barrel goes to the hand lapping area where it is lapped and inspected with borescopes and air gauges to ensure that it is in tolerance. If it meets all specifications it then moves to the chambering department.

If you have questions at any time during the tour the Shilen team will be happy to answer them. Tours continue in the afternoon but no machines run then. If you get hungry, plant, Ennis, Texas. The machine in the lower right is an engine lathe converted into a rifle barrel reaming machine.

Thanks to Shilen Rifles, Inc for allowing me to take this photo for publication. there is complementary chili, Frito pie and drinks (coffee, water, tea, etc.) If you plan on going to one of these events you need to RSVP so that they can plan how many people to feed. Also, if you plan to set up at the swap meet, let them know in advance. When you get to the Shilen factory don’t forget to sign up for the drawings! Drawings are usually held every thirty minutes from 9 AM through 1:30 PM.

The drawings are for Shilen items including caps, T-shirts, triggers, barrels, and the like. Some items are free, others are for 50% off. Everyone has a chance to win so don’t forget to sign up. Finally, there are the "Swap Meet Barrels." These are barrels where customers ordered a certain contour or caliber and then changed their mind and wanted something different. In the name of customer service Shilen let the customer change their order and then placed the barrel back in stock.

At swap meet time these barrels are offered at discounted prices. All warranties apply, so these are not low quality or factory second barrels. So, with a swap meet, factory tours, free food, drawings for free items, discounted barrels, and a lot of really great people; what gunsmith would want to miss this event? If you live close enough, or can travel to Ennis, Texas, you will not regret the trip.

Call or email the good folks at Shilen jennifer.hull@ shilen.com) to get on their email list so you will be notified of next year’s event. This is usually in the spring around early March. I hope to see you there. Note, I am not affiliated with the Shilen Rifle Company, I am just a satisfied customer. So, plan ahead for next year. Get on a manufacturer’s email list and start planning what gunsmithing courses you would like to take.

Those classes and tours can fill up fast and some classes have awaiting list of people wanting to enroll before registration even begins. Call in advance to see if there is awaiting list. I hope that you take advantage of these opportunities to improve your skills and add to your network of gunsmithing friends. AG