Working and Jobs in the firearms/shooting industry

[1776 Rebel]

I subscribe to the Shooting/Outdoor/Fishing wire of Jim Shepard. Also the NSSF emails. It is interesting to read the various press releases and news of the various manufacturers in the shooting industry. This is a business after all. At the moment I am among the unemployed. I have worked in the computer industry for many moons. As I try to figure out what I want to be when I grow up I am noodling on whether to get involved with the thing I really love most. Firearms and shooting.

I was wondering about the experiences some of ya'll here might have had working in the industry. Have you worked for a large manufacturer? Had your own business? Run it or been at the worker bee level? Made money or lost it? Had fun or seen it as a drag? Are still in it or moved on?

[Rob10ring]

Hey Rebel - I've been mulling over the same thing. Work is slow, and I'd rather be doing something I love too. Not a lot of this industry in California.

Good Luck!

[gunman1911]

The firearms industry is (I feel) is very rewarding to take a chunk of metal and turn it into a work of art the everyone wants to buy is to me a reward in its self,. I have never worked in a manufacture but have been involved for over 25 years. It is not and easy or cheap ting to get into first there is machining involved in most of the aspects,lathes, mills,surface grinders just to name a few. Then there hand tools, files stones various hammers and on and on. There ae several collages that have courses for this field and I have seen one (can't remember which one) where you build a 1911 at home. How did I learn, I went to the gun shows and talked with a lot of people and yes was told all kinds of things like that's a trade secret. Until I  meet a gentle man how was older than me by about 50 years who sold 1911's. I said I heard that they are not that accurate, he looked at me and all he said is 1" 50 yards I guarantee it. that's when I bought my first Colt Series 70 and fell in love. Mr. Russ Carzink was his name and he was willing to take me under his wing with the 50 years experience of his, the first time I wrote a barrel hisaye gleamed and said how many did it take for you to get it right, I looked at him and said that's my first one, good he said here's your first slide open the ejection port. Well home I went with a smile, back I went next week . And asked well? He grinned with his cigar and said the price of scrap cost you 50 bucks want to try again? 200 dollars later and I got it right. form there he taught me how to properly fit a slide and I am a firm believer that you don't squeeze one, you peen the frame. It last a lot longer and you customer is more happy. Good luck to both of you, once you try it you'll never go back .

[tombogan03884]

The firearms industry is (I feel) is very rewarding to take a chunk of metal and turn it into a work of art the everyone wants to buy is to me a reward in its self,. I have never worked in a manufacture but have been involved for over 25 years. It is not and easy or cheap ting to get into first there is machining involved in most of the aspects,lathes, mills,surface grinders just to name a few. Then there hand tools, files stones various hammers and on and on. There ae several collages that have courses for this field and I have seen one (can't remember which one) where you build a 1911 at home. How did I learn, I went to the gun shows and talked with a lot of people and yes was told all kinds of things like that's a trade secret. Until I  meet a gentle man how was older than me by about 50 years who sold 1911's. I said I heard that they are not that accurate, he looked at me and all he said is 1" 50 yards I guarantee it. that's when I bought my first Colt Series 70 and fell in love. Mr. Russ Carzink was his name and he was willing to take me under his wing with the 50 years experience of his, the first time I wrote a barrel hisaye gleamed and said how many did it take for you to get it right, I looked at him and said that's my first one, good he said here's your first slide open the ejection port. Well home I went with a smile, back I went next week . And asked well? He grinned with his cigar and said the price of scrap cost you 50 bucks want to try again? 200 dollars later and I got it right. form there he taught me how to properly fit a slide and I am a firm believer that you don't squeeze one, you peen the frame. It last a lot longer and you customer is more happy. Good luck to both of you, once you try it you'll never go back .

Got some SAD news for you Gunman as far as manufacturing goes. When I first applied to Thompson Center I had visions of lines of gunsmiths each making guns from beginning to end. The sad reality is that whether you're making guns, medical devices, or putting butt holes in animal crackers, parts are parts. I worked at T/C twice for a total of 6 years as a CNC machine operator, the last time was 01 - 04 I was let go because their choices were that or raise my pay over $12/ hr (NH avg is $14/hr) The insurance was OK, good thing as about 8 people I worked with either had heart attacks or died of other causes, and they had profit sharing. I don't know about the current insurance but the profit sharing and annual bonuses went away when S&W bought them 

[CurrieS103]

The build at home 1911 is from Patriot C.O.P.  A bit expensive but how may get to build their own match grade 1911?

http://www.1911patriotcop.us/home.htm

American Gunsmithing Institute has a home gunsmithing course. 

http://www.americangunsmithinginstitute.org/

[Sponsor]

[dj454]

I can't speak from experience but I have heard from some former and curent gun shop owner/operators when I expressed interest in running my own gun store and they told me don't make your hobby into a career because it can take the fun of the hobby. I can speak from experience on making another love/hobby into a career. As a teenager I was fascinated by cars and loved to work on them so I pursued it as a career. Even my college professors warned me but I didn't listen. I have been a mechanic for the past 13 years and I find it very hard to get excited about working on a car anymore so maybe there is something to that saying.

[1776 Rebel]

Like most industries there are only a few folks that hit it just right and make out like bandits. I guess there are the Larry Potterfields etc. It takes lots of hard work and years to make it click. From following things like the shot shows or NRA annual meetings the vast majority of gun/shooting/hunting businesses are small shops. Even a Remington is not that large by corporate standards. That says to me that there isn't a ton of dollars floating around the industry.

My background is technical and sales. I've talked to a number of sales reps at the NRA meetings and it seems like there is a good amount of turnover. That doesn't sound good. Plus you have to have the right territory to make a go of it. Seems like nobody is getting super rich on that side of the business selling guns directly.

Gunsmithing might have been an option for me years ago but I am in my late fifties now and between education and apprenticing it would be a crap shoot. I have seen some ads for reps at larger companies like ATK but they are really a defense industry conglomerate rather than a gun company. Training and education is a niche deal. You should really have the background in LE or Military then it looks like you have to scramble for endorsements and run around like a chicken without a head to make a go of it also. Everyone now is throwing up websites that they do tactical trainng. I bet you that the War is driving a lot of that. Blackwater is something of an exception. The founders were well connected with government contacts and basically lucked out when the war came along. They went from near to nothing to a billion dollar enterprise overnite on govt contracts.

All this doesn't mean that things are bleak. I hear you DJ454 about turning a hobby into a career. That is in the back of my mind also!!! But there still are ways to make a buck and enjoy it I am sure. I hope at least

[ericire12]

Just go get a part time job at a gun shop....

[Big Frank]

When I got out of high school an army recruiter told me a pack of lies and I thought it was all true. If I ever would have got the $3,000 cash bonus they promised for signing up for 4 years I would be happy. Anyway I took the aptitude tests and when the recruiter saw my scores he asked me what job I wanted. I said I wanted to be a gunsmith. He said the army doesn't have gunsmiths, they have small arms repairmen. So I signed up with my Military Occupational Specialty gauranteed to be small arms repair. I had 8 weeks of basic training, about 8 weeks, self-paced, in small arms school, then went on to work on everything from .38 Special revolvers up to 4.2" mortars for the rest of my time. After I got out I worked for GM until I had to take an early pension for total and permanent disability. But I can't get Social Security for another 20 years because "there's nothing wrong with me".

I always dreamed of being a gunsmith but needed a job I could live on. Now I just work on my own guns, fixing and customizing them. I recently found out one of the guys I used to work with in the army is the director of the Military and Law Enforcement division of one of the world's biggest gunsmith supply companies. It's POSSIBLE to use military experience as a stepping stone to a gunsmithing career, but it's not a big help to most people. I still occaisionally think about attending one of the gunsmith college courses and working at it part time, but I hate school, and don't much care for work since my injury.

[Ron J]

I have tried to land a sales leadership/business development position in the firearms industry for years.   Despite having “pedigree” education and award-winning expertise in sales leadership and strategic sales planning from a couple of $15b per year companies … I can’t get a gun company to give me the time of day.  Man … I would take a HUGE cut in pay to work with firearms too. 

My background has been in perishable foods.  Developing sales plans and launching new brands (that 95% of America has consumed!) that if you don’t sell … you smell.  Needless to say, there is an intense sense of urgency in my DNA.  All the same, it would appear that gun manufacturers are very parochial in their view of who to hire.  If you don’t have “gun” industry experience you will have difficulty getting past the HR gatekeepers. 

My advice.  Keep pressing on.