Now that I'm well into the AGI course, I thought I'd pass on some thoughts and impressions. I'm taking the Level 1 Professional Gunsmithing Course.
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The main video course - Comprising a stack of 30 DVD's (108 hours). They come in paper sleeves, but they give you a big storage book to organize them in. This course is organized into five modules. The first is a general introduction. It covers the basic concepts of firearms, how they function, the different types, etc. Major focus on terminology. It's fairly short. The other four modules cover handguns, shotguns, rifles, and .22s, repectively. Each module is broken into sections, organized by gun type, single action/double action, locked breech/blowback, etc. Each section focuses on several guns which represent different basic design principles. The idea is, once you are familiar with the functionality of these particular guns, you will find that the vast majority of all the other guns are just some variation on them. For instance, under Double Action Autos - Locked Breech, they cover the Smith & Wesson, Glock, Sig P220 and Beretta 92. For each gun, the instructor walks you through complete disassembly. Each part is examined in detail, with discussion on its function. Then he walks you through complete reassembly. Then he discusses the mechanical function of the gun, showing how all the parts interact to make the gun operate. He discusses the various problems that can occur, how to diagnose them, what causes them, and how to fix them. He also discusses how to tune the gun, trigger jobs and the like. And most importantly, everything focuses on the right way to do things, and the safe way. He mentions that a lot of his business as a gunsmith comes from repairing guns that have been worked on by 'kitchen table gunsmiths'.
Five written tests - One test for each module. An 80% passing grade on each exam earns you a certification for that module. While the tests are open book, well video actually, they are involved and they are NOT easy. You have to really pay attention during the videos. I've found myself rewatching several of the videos in order to answer test questions.
Additional videos - The package include 14 extra DVD's, which expand on the basic course. They aren't involved in the testing/certification process, but contain much information of use to a gunsmith. Such as Professional Gun Cleaning Secrets, Buying and Collecting Used Guns Without Getting Burned, Super Tuning the Factory Rifle, etc.
Bonus videos - When I spoke with them on the phone about my interest in the course, they sweetened the pot by offering me five free trigger job courses of my choice. These are detailed courses devoted to specific firearms. For instance 'How-to AR-15 Rifle Trigger Jobs'
Basic gunsmithing tool kit - This contains a couple of hammers, including a lead alloy mallet which will not scratch or mar steel. It contains a wide array of punches, in both steel and brass. And a large set of gunsmithing screw drivers. At first I thought they were just your every day ordinary screw drivers, like you can pick up for $9.95 almost anywhere. Then I looked closer. Most screws used in guns are still the traditional straight slot screws. The kind where its easy to round off the slot so that you can't turn it with anything. But if you look at the physics of it, the reason for this is that a regular screw driver has a tapered tip. So that when the screw driver is in the screw slot, the blade is bearing on the top of the slot. The screw drivers in this set have had bevels ground into the tip, so that the tip which fits into the screw slot is perfectly flat, or even tapered slightly in. The tip bears on the bottom of the screw slot. Not the top. Believe me, these things are worth their weight in gold. They grab the screw and turn it, no matter how tight it is, without so much as nicking the edge of the slot.
Jack First Gun Parts Books - Three huge books, about the size of a major metro phone book. One for handguns, one for rifles and one for shotguns. It contains an exploded diagram of every gun imaginable, with an indexed parts list showing the part names and numbers, as identified by the manufacturer. Basically the same type of thing you get in a typical owners manual when you buy a gun. Priceless.
Gunsmith starter kit - Including work order forms, work tags, stock books, inventory log book, etc.
FFL kit - An audio CD, with documentation on the regulations concerning FFL's and how to get one.
One Brownells Accurizing/Bedding kit - All the materials needed to glass bed one rifle barrel, with a DVD covering the process in detail.
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At this point, I'm nearly finished with the handgun module of the course. I should be sending my certification exam in by the end of next week. Let me tell you. In spite of the fact that this is a 'home study' course, the course is VERY detailed and intense. I find I'm only good for about an hour per sitting. It's a lot to absorb. To give you an idea how thorough it is, the instructor spends a good deal of time on the concept of 'range' in a revolver. For those not familiar, range refers to how well each cylinder bore aligns with the barrel when the cylinder is locked up. Ideally, you want the cylinder bore to be aligned exactly center to center with the barrel at all points. Any misalignment affects the accuracy of the gun. The instructor demonstrates how to test this on a gun. He discusses the causes of a gun being out of range, and how to correct it. And this part gets scary, because it actually involves bending either the yolk, or in some cases the frame of the gun. That's right, I said bending the frame. YIKES! The instructor demonstrates the process, in detail, on an actual gun. He takes a revolver that is already out of range, and corrects it. Then he messes the gun up, and corrects it once more. Portions of this process involve striking the frame and/or the cylinder HARD with a some sort of heavy blunt tool. ZOWIE! I think it will be a while before I'm brave enough to try it on one of my guns, or anyone else's. Speaking of which. You know on double action guns with swing out cylinders, how many people have a habit of closing the cylinder by flipping the gun, so that the cylinder snaps closed? See it a lot in the movies. Looks 'cool'. Did you know that's one of the quickest ways to knock a revolver out of range, and ruin its accuracy? I didn't.
The instructor, Bob Dunlap is quite good. It doesn't take long to figure out this guy KNOWS guns. And while the material can be rather dry, he has a good teaching technique, which makes it interesting, and sometimes comical. For instance, they didn't edit out some of his boo boo's. He frequently finds reason to laugh at himself during the instruction. And he has a lot of personal insight into the industry in general. At one point he discusses why so many new factory guns seem to have problems today, even from the more respected manufacturers. He says that if you can find a S&W revolver made circa 1910, you will be amazed at how good the action is and how accurate it is. That's because guns in those days were hand made by highly skilled artisans. Every gun was as perfect as technology allowed. But today, most guns are mass produced on machinery. And he says that while this machinery is capable of extraordinary accuracy, the problem is that in many gun factories today, these precision machines are being operated by....in his exact words....'Blind high school dropouts on drugs'. Hmmmm...must be talking about Taurus. Anyway, this situation is is bad for gun buyers, but good for gunsmiths, since it generates demand for their services.
I'll pass on additional info as I get further along, but so far, I give the course a solid thumbs up.
