Working the Dream: The American Gunsmithing Institute

You may recognize the American Gunsmithing Institute’s (AGI) “Become a Gunsmith” advertisements and armorer courses through video, but perhaps you never considered ordering the materials for one of several reasons. Three of my initial thoughts were:

No one can become a gunsmith through a study-­at-­home course. You can’t learn how to be a legitimate gunsmith outside of a classroom at an institution.

Even if you complete a course and receive a certificate, there is no way that the shooting public will consider the training to be legitimate.

With how busy life is, I could never be disciplined enough to stay focused and complete the courses.

However, I am the editor-­in-­chief of Guns & Ammo magazine. I owe it to readers to evaluate AGI’s products as I would any firearm. In the last issue, there was an ad with the headline, “If you want to become a gunsmith, you need to read this book!” So, I ordered a copy of Gene Kelly’s “Becoming an American Gunsmith” (2021), which was free aside from the $5 spent on priority shipping and handling.

The U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School used to train soldiers and Marine Corps armorers at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. That is where I earned my first certification as a small arms repair technician in 1998. Today, that training is conducted at Fort Lee in Virginia. It was an intensive experience that set the standard for me to compare more than 50 armorer courses, gunsmithing classes and recertification that followed during 25 years. Most of that training occurred at a bench in a classroom. I’m now at the point in my career where I get to instruct a few armorer courses annually.

Though I’ve visited colleges that teach gunsmithing to the level of an Associate degree — Montgomery Community College and Trinidad State College are examples — life has never afforded me the time to attend and complete a two-­year gunsmithing course in person. Therefore, I never refer to myself as a gunsmith despite rarely encountering a problematic firearm that I am unable to repair. Comparing myself to the gunsmiths I highly regard, however, I lack the metalwork, machining, welding and woodworking skills that are necessary to be a full-service ’smith. During a conversation with Gene Kelly, president of American Gunsmithing Institute, I realized that there was a fundamental principle absent from my training.

“The core of our program is design, function and understanding,” said Kelly. “When a person fully learns design and function, you’ll never look at anything the same. You will even perform other jobs better because you’ll consider the flow of actions to find the choke point and identify the breakdown. What I learned from Bob Dunlap; we had the privilege to preserve. Now we can pass it on. Darrell Holland, for example, is one of many AGI instructors who are first-­generation students who learned under Bob.”

Robert “Bob” Dunlap — not to be confused with “Gunsmith” author Roy Dunlap — was an engineer, a gunsmith and teacher. Even as a professional gunsmithing instructor, Dunlap operated a staffed shop that performed warranty work for Browning, Colt, Hi-­Standard, Remington, Smith & Wesson, and Winchester, to name a few. Kelly was one of Dunlap’s pupils when Dunlap was the senior gunsmithing instructor at Lassen College in Susanville, California. After graduation, Kelly worked as a gunsmith and security professional. In 1993, Kelly learned that Dunlap was interested in retiring, so Kelly convinced Dunlap to preserve his teaching methods through video recordings. After years of investment, Kelly’s American Gunsmithing Institute was able to compress Dunlap’s entire college-­level “Design, Function and Repair” course into 108 hours of instruction.

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As a young firearms inventory manager working for the National Rifle Association, I ordered and watched these early videos on VHS tape. They enhanced the need for me to maintain and service a variety of firearm types beyond what was in the U.S. military’s inventory. As I recently watched AGI’s Armorer’s Courses on the SIG Sauer P365 and the Law Enforcement Armorer’s Course on the AR-­15, M16 and M4A1 platforms, I was reminded how the program’s unique teaching style and close-­up camera work do a better job of illustrating function, troubleshooting and repair than sitting in a class with other students, trying to learn. While watching an AGI video, you can pause, rewind, and look closely at trouble areas with as much time as you need to fully understand the situation before moving on at your own pace. In a physical classroom, the instructor must keep the course moving. My conclusion? Yes, you can effectively learn how to be a gunsmith through AGI’s program.

AGI offers an affordable Practical Gunsmithing course ($797) — worthwhile for every gun owner — two levels of Professional Gunsmithing (Level I, $5,997; Level II, $8,497), as well as a Master Gunsmithing course ($11,997) and Advanced Master Gunsmithing ($14,997). AGI includes advice, communication with an assigned instructor, guidance on learning gunsmithing as well as lessons on starting a business and obtaining an FFL. This program is great for anyone ranging from a recent high-­school graduate to a retiree. On completion, you will possess the knowledge, confidence and certifications to successfully operate a gunsmithing business.

Many can relate: The best thing about at-­home training is that I can adapt courses to my hectic life and schedule. I always have video and resources available to go back and refresh myself with, and my success is almost guaranteed because I am assured to understand each topic before moving on to the next. All that is required is an investment of my spare time, tools, guns, and the effort to apply myself.

I have worked as an armorer for 25 years and managed an FFL for almost 20 years. Experiences in my career taught me how to diagnose and troubleshoot malfunctions with small arms, and how to disassemble and reassemble firearms necessary to replace parts with new ones. However, my armorer training was compartmentalized to specific firearm platforms whereas a gunsmith is expected to understand the underlying operational concepts for every firearm. I know how to order replacement parts and install them, but a gunsmith, on the other hand, can save customers time and money by repairing the worn, bent, or broken part, while also having the skill to manufacture a new part from raw materials, if necessary. A gunsmith can extend that savings — time and money — while profiting enough to make for a lucrative business.

There are as many as 400 million firearms in the United States, and there are not enough gunsmiths to save them. The lasting benefit is freedom. Once you have the knowledge, no one can take that away from you. There will always be a demand for gunsmiths, and it will be you who decides how much you’ll earn, when to work, what you’ll work on and where. That’s living the American dream. 

For more information, visit americangunsmithinginstitute.net.