Getting started
Call it what you will, preparation, groundwork or paying your dues, becoming a gunsmith doesn’t happen overnight. Whether school, on the job or self taught, the amount of knowledge required to become a journeyman gunsmith is immense. No one can acquire this amount of skill and knowledge without a true love of the craft. If you know you want to be the “Gun Man” this book will try to get you started and keep you out of trouble. Remember if you love what you do you never have to work for the rest of your life.
If you are one of the lucky few that can take advantage of a school of gunsmithing then you need to be truly thankful. These schools are few in the U.S. and around the world. Even when located close by a lot of people can’t take advantage of organized traditional school because of economic conditions and family situations. If you are working hard to keep food on the table for a family then taking a couple of years off to learn a new skill is out of the question. But if you can do it this is the fastest way to learn.
The ones that landed a job where the employer trains you are probably the luckiest of all. Of course you already know these are hard to come by but there may be opportunities that have been overlooked. Sporting goods stores may hire a part time position to clean guns and install scopes and slings. Amazing how much you can learn just by taking a gun apart and studying the mechanism. Why not pick up a few dollars at the same time. I would rather get a check for 20 dollars than write one for a 1000!
For the self-taught gunsmithing is more of a challenge. If the will is there and applied with enough persistence and patience it will happen but it does take a lot of study. Taking advantage of any opportunity to learn is the key. This means working on guns when you get the chance and studying when you don’t. It also means learning the skills that support the gunsmithing. Machinist classes, welding and even shooting will help. Most community colleges have some classes that will help build your skill level and they are usually very flexible with schedules and real bargain.
Just learning to reload will be a big step in the right direction and almost mandatory for the gunsmith. After all the gun isn’t much good without the ammo and each one depends on the other being correct for the intended task. A lot of gun problems are traced back to improper hand loads. Hand loading teaches you the special relationship of headspace and chamber dimensions and customer expect you to be able to solve their reloading problems too. They will not trust or waste much time with a gunsmith that doesn’t know how to reload or shoot.
What, you have to shoot too? Yes, you don’t have to be world champion but you need to at least be competent. Competitive shooting is great for the gunsmith and his reputation. Nobody has to know your scores and they really don’t care but they feel better about their gunsmith if they know he is a shooter. Lots of opportunities in most parts of the country to become part of some type of organized shooting. Highpower rifle, bullseye pistol, IPSC, cowboy action, skeet, trap, sporting clays and lots more. You will no doubt run into potential customer on the range because at every match someone has problems. Being the gunsmith for a well-known shooter doesn’t hurt your reputation either. And it is a business expense if you plan well.
Understanding the laws concerning guns and gunsmithing are also a requirement for the gunsmith. At the present time gunsmiths are required to have a federal firearm license to take in work for repair that will be kept overnight. Each firearm being kept for repair must be recorded. Even if it was not the law this would still be a good practice. Imagine if you suffer a burglary and have to report stolen guns. It would be very unprofessional if you could not give a complete list of exactly what was missing and the serial numbers. Local laws are also a consideration and vary from location to location. Consult the ATF directly for the latest requirements and pay no attention to what others say. Beware of the startup kits offered by lots of sham artist online. These are nothing more than the free forms from the ATF. Get it straight from the top and save yourself a lot of trouble and money.
When you decide to get your license you need to think long and hard about exactly what your business will include. Will this be a service type business offering repair work only or do you plan to include retail sales? Will you have full time traditional hours? Will the business be in your home? What is available for a business location in your area? Will you be the sole owner or is this a partnership? Will there be employees? What kind of overhead will there be? Choose wisely, it is easier if you get it right from the start.
I have to admit I had very little experience with anything retail when I started in business. I knew how to fix guns but making a successful retail business is a whole other can of worms. If you plan on selling a few items along with your gunsmithing business don’t under estimate how much time it will take. I thought I would do repairs and if someone wanted something ordered like a gun or accessory I would order it for a small fee and make a few extra dollars. Well I learned, selling involves time and time is money. The man or woman looking for a gun first wants to find out what you know about guns and why this one is better. Maybe more than one trip to talk about the upcoming purchase. Then it is time to compare prices. They will drive 40 miles if it is $10 cheaper.
Next comes the search to find the distributor that has one in stock. This can really eat up time too. Then you order and it comes in wrong or he doesn’t like it. Who pays to send it back? Yes that’s right, it you! Now it comes in and he takes it. You spent an hour talking to him, 40 minutes finding one, 10 minutes each time he called to see if it came in yet. 20 minutes getting the return ok and 20 minutes repacking for shipment. 25 dollars shipping and insurance an a 10% restocking fee. Now 30 minutes to seal the deal and do the required legal paperwork. Wow I hope it is approved the first time. You have spent from 2 to 3 hours making your sale ( and $25). Lets say it is a $400 sale and you were making $75 dollars. Take out for your overhead and maybe you made $20 for your 3 hours. Now think about the 4 guns you didn’t repair while you were being Mr. Salesman and you start to get a feel for the retail business.
The retail business can be profitable but it requires a lot more than a casual interest. You can no doubt remember a lot of retail sporting good businesses in your area that didn’t survive. It is a tough business.
Maybe you can start like a lot of gunsmiths with a small shop at home either in the transformed garage or an out building located next to the home. It has the advantage of low startup cost and if this is a second job as soon as you get home the shop is open. Just be prepared that anytime you are home you are open. Doesn’t matter what the posted hours are if you are home you will have customers. Prepare your family too. One year I made a part for an over under on Thanksgiving day while my customer ate my turkey. He was going to Spain the next day on a hunt and this gun was the only one cleared thru customs.
Maybe after a few years working at home you decide the time is right to enlarge and go full time. Maybe an employee to handle sales and errands. Understand that employees have to be paid out of your profit. If this employee will be making $20,000 a year and you are doing retail at 20% markup then sales will have to increase well in excess of $100,000 before you break even. That is a lot of recoil pads! Of course there are lots of other things to consider too with employees like employee theft, liability and even OSHA.
Same way with a full partner except you can never tell a partner what to do. Partnerships have the highest failure rate of any business. It isn’t impossible just difficult.
By now you might not have a warm fuzzy feeling about starting your business. That’s ok, business is rarely a warm fuzzy, but it can be profitable if well planned and worked with an eye on the bottom line. Yes I know the idea is to do something you love and you don’t want to think about business but somewhere the bills have to be paid. Plan well both for the expected and unexpected and you will be fine. Gunsmithing for the professional is different than as a hobby. I have enjoyed it both ways and it is a great profession.