A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms.
Gunsmiths may be employed in:
- factories by firearms manufacturers,
- armories by military or law-enforcement agencies,
- sporting goods stores, or
- small gunsmith shops, as either the owner, or as one of a handful of employees.
To pursue the entirety of this trade, a gunsmith must possess skills as a mechanic, a metalworker, a woodworker, and an artisan; be knowledgeable in shop mathematics, ballistics, and chemistry; and be capable of working accurately and precisely. Those who are (self-)employed in small gunsmith shops must also possess skills as small business operators; work effectively with a wide variety of customers; and remain abreast of, and comply with federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and requirements.
Due to the great breadth of subject matter to be mastered, many gunsmiths specialize in only a few of the skills required of the general gunsmith. Alternatively, some gunsmiths learn many of the skills of the trade, but only apply them to a few weapon types (e.g. only pistols, only shotguns, only (pre-1964) Model '94 Winchester Lever-Action Rifles).
Legal Requirements
Global Overview
In many countries of the world, the possession and ownership of firearms by civilians is highly restricted or outright illegal (see Gun laws). The practice of gunsmithing is therefore typically restricted. The only firearms-related repairs are by individuals trained and employed by the military or police. These individuals are known as Armorers. Typically, their skill level is usually far below that of the artisan Gunsmith. Where the Gunsmith frequently has to design, manufacture and fit parts ranging from small internal parts and assemblies, the Armorer usually only has to replace standard interchangeable parts belonging to only one type, series, or family of military-related firearms. They typically are furnished a large inventory of standard parts that are known to wear and cause malfunctions in the "weapons" they will encounter, and they are simply trained to replace these items until satisfactory function is restored. They usually are employees of military and law-enforcement institutions, and may be officers of these agencies that do these repair are part of their official duties. Their repairs usually only on the weapons and weapon systems that are the official property of these institutions, and limited to restoring these government-owned firearms to officially sanctioned standards of functionality and configuration.
In the regions where ownership is permitted but very limited and highly restricted to those individuals able to afford the high costs of acquiring and owning a firearm despite the expense, those firearms that are allowed tend to be fewer in number, but with levels of craftsmanship and decoration that approach that of an art object instead of simply a device to expel a projectile. Gunsmithing in these regions (as in Germany and Britain) is concerned with the hand crafting of completely custom-made firearms, tailored to the requirements of the owner, and the expense of this type firearm can exceed that of a typical residential dwelling.
Germany has a tradition of hunting, but this is generally a very expensive undertaking that limits its participation to the "well-heeled and Noble". Firearms possession is highly regulated by the Police, and most hunters have only one long gun, and perhaps one pistol. This has led to the development of the "Drilling," a multi-barrel gun that may incorporate a double-barreled shotgun above with a high-powered single-shot barrel below. These typically have highly sophisticated breech mechanisms, precise fitting, and are hand-engraved by artists specializing in this work. The stocks are usually fitted to the individual and are very expensive wood with highly-figured grain.
England makes some of the most expensive hand-crafted firearms in the world, despite a highly restrictive ownership environment. But, as the Gunsmith's patrons are usually well able to afford the high ownership fees and stringent storage requirements, the price of the arm is only secondary. Decoration of these arms, typically double-barreled shotguns, is on par with the plates used to mint currency and is priced about the same. Several of the other European countries follow this pattern, as in Italy, where the art of the Gunsmith has also reached a high level of sophistication. These craftsmen may specialize as in the case of the Gun Engraver and Stockmaker. Generally, these craftsmen-artists serve long apprenticeships under Master Gunmakers. They may also be members of Guilds which sets up apprentice programs (often sponsored by the Governments in these countries as highly-crafted firearms are important items in the export trade), supervise training, and conduct exams where the Journeyman-level Gunsmiths submit sample firearms of their own work in order to be admitted the Guild membership. Many of these artists can only be regarded as "Gunmakers" instead of Gunsmiths, and do repairs only on the very highest grade firearms. Many are able to make substantial livelihood. Many women also participate in these firms, with some of the most exquisite engraving decoration originating as their work.
United States of America
In the United States of America, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is the primary federal agency overseeing all legitimate businesses that deal with firearms. The ATF is in charge of the licensing of all legitimate firearms dealers and Gunsmiths in the US that engage in business with the public. The issuance of a Federal Firearms License (FFL) involves a thorough background investigation and an inspection of the Gunsmith's premises by an Agent of the ATF. The fee for a FFL is currently $200.00 (for 3 years). The ATF requires all gunsmiths to record all repairs, noting the serial numbers, type of firearm, caliber or gauge, and full particulars of the owner, with an accepted form of Identification ID to be presented and recorded in the records. Gunsmiths are required to maintain these records in a permanent, non-alterable form. The ATF inspects the premises of all licensed gunsmiths, with unannounced visits at periodic intervals. The ATF is granted the power by the US Government to initiate the prosecution in US Federal Court of gunsmiths that wilfully omit or violate these provisions. Punishment can range from losing their FFL (and therefore the privilege to engage in any firearms-related business), to fines and in severe cases, such as conspiring to supply the criminal element with black market weaponry, imprisonment in a Federal prison.
Generally, gunsmiths cannot undertake the repair of a firearm they believe is illegally held by a person not permitted to own a firearm (a convicted felon, for instance) or one that otherwise violates the laws in which the owner resides. The ownership of firearms in the US is governed by local laws. These laws and regulations vary greatly from state to state, county to county, city to city, and potentially across all jurisdictional lines.
These laws may also vary by:
- firearm type (handgun? longarm? rifle? shotgun?)
- firearm model (semi-automatic? full automatic? caliber?)
- intended modification (minimum barrel length? magazine size? fully-automatic?)
- customer or recipient (legal owner? felon? background check?)
- quantity of firearms (how many per week? per month?)
Responsibilities
The primary technical responsibility of gunsmiths is to ensure that the weapons they work on function safely.
They accomplish this firstly by always properly observing gun safety handling procedures: both in their own actions, and in the actions of their customers and the people around them.
They accomplish this secondly by inspecting firearms to ensure safe mechanical operation. Gunsmiths use their in-depth knowledge of firearms to guide these inspections: either repairing deficiencies; or notifying customers of unsafe conditions and taking steps to prevent catastrophic failures.
Some of the ways that even properly handled firearms can fail and endanger their users and those around them are:
- Improper Assembly
- Missing Parts
- Cracks: all cracked parts are cause for concern, but especially so in the chamber-area, bolt, bolt-lugs, or buttstock.
- Bore Obstructions: being either dented or bent barrels, or foreign material in barrels.
- Improper Headspace: dimensions concerning the relative locations of the chamber and the bolt are not within specified tolerances.
- Improper Timing: (applies to fully automatic firearms and revolvers).
- Safety-Mechanism Malfunctions: potentially allowing a firearm with the safety mechanism supposedly engaged to unexpectedly fire.
- Worn Sear Edges: potentially allowing a firearm to unexpectedly fire when the safety mechanism is disengaged.
- Firing-Pin Tips Deformed: leading to the possibility of primer-rupture.
This list is not comprehensive. Many failure modes are dependent on the particular model of firearm.
Common Tasks
(listed in approximate, but not exact, order of increasing difficulty)
- Keep records of all customers, firearms, and transactions to satisfy ATF requirements, though this doesn't apply to pre-1800 gunsmiths.
- Disassemble, clean, inspect, lubricate & reassemble.
- Remove corrosion and touch-up finish.
- Repair burred or damaged parts with files & stones.
- Replace de
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