Study Unit Getting Started in the Firearms Industry

Study Unit

Getting Started in the Firearms Industry

By Don Shumar

About the Author

Don Shumar figured out what he wanted to do early on in life, and he was able to do it. The shooting bug bit when he was around nine years old and the family spent summer vacations on Lake Michigan's east shore. There Don cut his teeth on an old Stevens Favorite .22 rifle.

Don gained his first competitive experience on a junior small bore rifle team sponsored by a local club and the NRA. But shortly after graduating high school and attending college, he switched to his first love--pistols. He was good, but eventually his swelled head got shrunk in national matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. After three Army Marksmanship Training Schools and tips and coaching from some of the best shooters of the day, he made the Michigan State Pistol Team. During the middle 1960s, Don's interest turned toward international style shooting, and he attended three U.S. Team tryouts (including one for the Olympics).

Don got started in gunsmithing by working on his own match guns. Eventually, this led to a job with a major retailer/gun repair shop/ warranty repair center in Southwestern Michigan. For someone with his interests it was the perfect environment.

About the last thing Don expected was a writing career. But the National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers (NAFLFD) was looking for a Handgun Editor. Don has held the post for over a decade. His articles cover virtually every firearms topic in the industry, and his Gunfix'n column is especially aimed at gunsmithing. In past years Don has authored articles for American Handgunner, Combat Handguns, and Gun Digest.

Today he lives in the Southwest, where "there's year 'round shootin' weather." If he isn't burning powder or tinkering with guns, you'll find him writing about some 40-odd years of experience with everything from pellet guns to muzzleloaders. Yes, it's a rough life, but somebody has to do it.

This first gun pro study unit will provide you with a sense of direction. You'll learn about core, intermediate, and advanced gun pro skills that will increase your knowledge about all major aspects of the firearms industry. Then you'll study how firearm manufacturers, distributors, and retailers fit into the picture. This study unit also contains a major section dedicated to safety, which is first, and always the most important issue when handling firearms. Other important topics include inquiring and using proper tools and proper firearms cleaning procedures. The unit ends by covering an important core skill, preservative packaging.

When you complete this study unit, you'll be able to

? Describe how the firearms trade functions

? Define what a gun pro is

? Identify career opportunities for the gun pro

? Recognize the importance of safety when handling firearms

? Identify nomenclature related to firearms disassembly and assembly

? Identify gunsmithing tools and their uses

? Explain firearm care and cleaning procedures

? Explain how to preserve package a firearm for off-season storage

INTRODUCTION AND PROGRAM OVERVIEW

1

Core Skills

3

Intermediate Skills

4

Advanced Skills

8

THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY

16

Manufacturers

16

Distributors

17

Retailers

19

Dealer Perspectives

20

Gunsmiths

23

SAFETY: FIRST, LAST, AND ALWAYS

31

Safety When You Own Guns

34

Safety When You Carry a Gun

36

Safety When You Shoot a Gun

38

Safety in the Retail Store

39

Safety in the Gunsmithing Shop

42

SELECTING PROPER TOOLS

47

Your Workbench

47

Your Tools

50

PROPER CLEANING

58

Cleaning Tools

58

The Typical Cleaning Job

60

Perform a Function Check

69

Preserve Packaging

70

SELF-CHECK ANSWERS

73

EXAMINATION

75

Getting Started in the Firearms

Industry

INTRODUCTION AND PROGRAM OVERVIEW

"A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Amendment II; U.S. Constitution. Firearm! The word echoes thunderously like a peal from the Liberty Bell. Possession of arms is often the principal condition that separates free people from slavery. While certain individuals scheme to control and confiscate privately owned firearms, our founding fathers safeguarded against this. Having suffered under the tyranny of England's King George III, they knew that no inalienable right was secure unless ordinary citizens possessed the means to guarantee it. Therefore, the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution proclaims that "the people" have an undeniable right to possess arms. Americans owe their freedoms to those who fought and won a revolution, established a republican form of government, and then marched westward to conquer the wilderness (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1--Today, many honor the memory of revolutionists by dressing in period costume and competing with vintage firearms, or copies thereof. (Photo courtesy of Mountain

State Muzzleloading Supplies)

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