Not everyone can attend a resident course. Many universities offer distance learning for complete college degrees. Gunsmithing is no different.

by Jerry Spadorcio

I have been working as a professional gunsmith for about 11 years working from a shop I built on my property. When I retired from law enforcement after 30 years, I wanted to do something fulfilling with my retirement. Since I had a love for guns, gunsmith school was the natural choice. I wanted nothing more than to have my own shop and hang my shingle.

While I did consider attending a full resident course and investigated those options, I ultimately chose taking a correspondence school instead of attending a trade school. A resident gunsmith trade school can cost $20,000 to $40,000 or more for tuition alone, not including the cost of living expense for a two year school or longer.

Instead, I went with distance education courses offered from the American Gunsmithing Institute (AmericanGunsmithingInstitute.net) out of Napa, California. They are a private proprietary institution approved to operate by the California Bureau for the private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (as amended) and division 7.5 of Title 5 of the California Code. This course put me in the right direction and fulfilled all of the requirements I needed to become a qualified gunsmith.

Read more in the December 2015 issue.

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