AGI Gunsmithing Schools
The American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is headquartered in Napa, California. It is well-known throughout the gun enthusiast community for offering several levels of home study for hobbyist and practical gunsmithing. Gene Kelly is the president of AGI, and the instructional DVDs are taught by master gunsmiths such as Robert "Bob" Dunlap, Gene Shuey and Darrell Holland.
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Traditional Gunsmithing
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There are no federal or state certifications or requirements to be a gunsmith other than applying for and receiving a federal fire arms license. This merely says a person has the government's permission to work on firearms but there is no qualification or standard that has to be met by the individual. Although there are a few schools that teach gunsmithing, the traditional way to break into the field is from another occupation. For example, Bill Wilson, a highly-regarded smith, was a watchmaker before he began working on guns.
AGI DVDs
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Gunsmithing is a difficult craft to learn. A gunsmith must be part artisan, part engineer and part puzzle-solver. There are dozens of basic gun designs and dozens of variations of each of those. Serving an apprenticeship under a master gunsmith is normally the best way to learn. AGI provides the basic and advanced information on its DVD series. While the hobbyist level DVDs are not as detailed as the professional ones, each provides the information needed to take apart the weapon, clean it, fix basic problems and put it back together again. The instructions also give hints and tips about issues that are sometimes not readily apparent.
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Professional Course
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The AGI professional course is much more expensive than the individual hobbyist courses and is sold as an entire package. A sample of the gunsmithing lessons is available on a free DVD from AGI's website. It also comes with the complete course catalog of over 70 courses. Another way to learn about the quality of the courses is to sign up at the website for the 21 free "mini lessons" that are sent via email.
Types of Courses
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AGI courses include building and customizing handguns, rifles and shotguns, trigger jobs, metal and stock refinishing, glass bedding, shooting techniques and specialized armory courses on specific firearm models. AGI also offers a certified machine shop course, certified welding course and a certified locksmithing course. All the courses come with a 90-day money back guarantee if the customer is not satisfied.
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References
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