12 Best Online Gunsmithing Schools & Programs 2024
12 Best Online Gunsmithing Schools & Programs. If you like guns and wish to build a career from them, you should check out any of these online gunsmithing schools. These institutions offer gunsmithing as an online program. Students can enroll and study from the comfort of their homes. The gunsmithing program takes less than six (6) months to complete.
Upon successful completion, they acquire a certificate or diploma and can sit for any federal or state licensing exams. By acquiring a distance education from gunsmithing schools, you will build a rewarding career from something that you really love.
A gunsmith is a skilled tradesperson who designs, manufactures, modifies, and repairs a wide range of firearms. Gunsmiths may also carry out creative works including metal engraving and woodcarving. Gunsmiths must possess certain skills including metalwork, woodwork, parts fabrication, ability to operate machinery, attention to detail, mathematics, and chemistry.
Top accredited schools that offer gunsmithing programs in the USA
- Flathead Valley Community College
- Sonoran Desert College
- Piedmont Technical College
- Pennsylvania Gunsmithing School.
- Colorado School of Trade
- Marshalltown Community College
- Trinidad State Junior College
- Piedmont Community College
- Gunsmith Institute
- Modern Gun School.
- Montgomery Community College
- Murray State College
- Penn Foster College
- Pine Technical and Community College
- Lenoir Community College.
The main duties of gunsmiths
- Repairing damaged firearms.
- Inspecting, cleaning, and lubricating guns.
- Replacing barrels and firing mechanisms.
- Assembling and dissembling firearms.
- Removing corrosion from metal gun parts.
- Correcting headspace of guns and cartridges.
- Adding custom or aftermarket parts including swivels, recoil pads, sights, scopes, grips, and stocks.
What are the Best Online Gunsmithing Schools?
Below is a list of the best online gunsmithing schools. These online schools were selected from other institutions based on the complexity of the gunsmithing curriculum, financial aid, nature of the gunsmithing coursework, online availability, skillset, entrepreneurship as a self-employed Gunsmith, and accreditation.
1. American Gunsmithing Institute
American Gunsmithing Institute is one of the top online gunsmithing schools in the U.S. It offers several online courses for both hobbyists and professional gunsmiths. The institute also offers certification in gunsmithing. American Gunsmithing Institute offers over 108 hours of online training in gunsmithing where students learn how to design and repair pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns. The online courses are offered in a video format by renowned gunsmiths.
2. Ashworth College
Ashworth College is a private for-profit online college in Norcross, Georgia. The institution is one of the best online gunsmithing schools as it offers a diploma in gunsmithing that focuses on short guns and rifles. Here, students learn how to clean, assemble & disassemble, inspect, and maintain firearms through Ashworth’s comprehensive 19 lessons. The acceptance rate of Ashworth College is 100%. Ashworth also offers affordable monthly payment plans for as low as $49 per month, family tuition discounts, and student referral bonuses. The tuition fee for the online Gunsmithing program is $754.
3. Penn Foster Career School
Penn Foster Career School is a private distance vocational school in the U.S. Penn Foster offers an online diploma program in gunsmithing. During the program, students learn about gun safety, firearm assembly & disassembly, and restoration of an antique firearm. Students also learn how to customize gun stock for specific purposes including mounting scope, precision rifle competition, basic metalworking, handloading ammunition, metal finishing, machine tool operation, and history of handguns and rifles.
4. Sonoran Desert Institute
Sonoran Desert Institute is a private online for-profit institution in Scottsdale, Arizona. The institute offers online gunsmith programs including Associate of Science in Firearms Technology, Advanced Gunsmithing Certificate, Advanced Armorer Courses, and Ballistics and Reloading Certificate. It takes four semesters (16 weeks) to complete the associate degree while the certificate programs can be completed in less time. Students may choose to enroll in the certificate programs first and go on to pursue the associate degree at a later time.
5. Modern Gun School
Modern Gun School brings an extremely flexible course for those interested in Gunsmithing, either as a hobby or a full-time career. They have a perpetual open enrollment, so you can start at any time during the year and begin courses in either Basic or Advanced Gunsmithing. These courses come in the form of online classes that you take on your terms. And they’re even personalized by the staff and Master Gunsmith for individual students’ needs and areas of interest.
6. Penn Foster College
Not to be confused with Penn Foster Career School, Penn Foster College has been around for over a hundred years. They’re fully accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission and regionally accredited by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. The diploma program will teach you all the basics of gunsmithing, including safety, machining, maintenance, and design. It’s just a 3-month program and, like many of the others on this list, is completed online. Tuition is less than $1,000 too.
7. Colorado School of Trade
The Colorado School of Trade offers a few degrees in machining-related fields, including an Associate of Occupational Studies degree in gunsmithing. The four primary classes you’ll take in the 14-month course are Basic Gunsmithing, Machine Shop, Stock Making, and Design & Function. The first will get you comfortable with the basics of gunsmithing and firearms maintenance. Then you’ll learn machine shop basics like how to use a lathe, a CNC, and other common tools like Dremels and grinders.
8. Montgomery Community College
It got accreditation by both the State Board of Education Department of Community College and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The college is a National Rifles Association-approved gunsmithing school and shooting program. They offer different gunsmithing programs which you can select from like Gunsmithing Refining Certificate, Gunsmithing Diploma, Gunsmithing Technology Certificate, Gunsmithing Design and Repair Certificate, and others. The duration for each program varies and could cover 2 years.
9. Pine Technical and Community College
One of the top accredited gunsmithing schools in the USA is also the Pine Technical and Community College. The institution’s accreditation is by Higher Learning Commission. Their gunsmithing program is the Gunsmithing and Firearms Technology which lasts for 2 years. The first year of the program covers topics such as the fundamentals of functions, disassembling, reassembling, maintenance, and repairs of the different designs of firearms and their accessories.
The second-year covers areas such as blueprinting and rebarrelling rifle actions, making 1 and 2-piece gunstocks, performance-enhancing shotguns, and learning the act of finishing.
10. Flathead Valley Community College
Flathead Valley Community College is a public community college accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college offers a gunsmithing training program called the Firearms Technology. It is designed to build your knowledge about the design and functions of modern firearms. It expands your knowledge on gunsmithing, metal finishing, and stock finishing techniques.
11. Piedmont Technical College
Piedmont Technical is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College. The college’s gunsmithing training will teach you all the skills you need to have a successful career as a gunsmith. The gunsmithing program will provide you with complete knowledge on gunsmithing. It goes from the introductory level to the advanced level.
Exposing you to all the basic knowledge and theoretical aspects of gunsmithing to the practical level. At the end of the program, you’ll have acquired the necessary skills need to start up your own professional gunsmiths business or get employment with a gunsmithing company.
12. Pennsylvania Gunsmithing School
The gunsmithing school is located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Avalon, Pennsylvania. The institution was founded to reeducate World war II veterans who wanted to start a career in gunsmithing. The school is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. They’re also a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Private School Administrators (PAPSA).
They deliver the best knowledge on gunsmithing through the use of a combination of traditional and modern gunsmithing techniques. Students learn how to design, modify, customize, repair, and polish firearms, operate drill presses, lathes, etc, and weld or fit chamber rifle barrels.
Recommendation
- 20 Best Paying Jobs In Metal Fabrication
- Is Metal Fabrication A Good Career?
- 15 Best Paying Jobs In Metal Fabrications – Metal fabricator salary