You can obtain a gunsmith certificate from an online certification program, such as Penn Foster. Penn Foster's certification programs in gunsmithing train students by teaching them the basics of gun assembly, disassembly, repair and alteration. The purpose of the Penn Foster Gunsmithing Certificate program is to prepare students for careers as firearm salesmen, law enforcement armorers, corrections officers, sporting goods store owners and other gunsmith-related careers.
Yavapai College offers a certificate in gunsmithing, which is completed in a classroom. The certificate program prepares students for entry-level gunsmith jobs by teaching them the basics of firearm assembly, disassembly, repair and alteration. Students learn about different types of firearms and the various machinery and tools that are used to construct, repair and alter firearms.
Yavapai College also offers an associate's degree in general gunsmithing. Like the certificate program, the degree program introduces students to the basics of firearm assembly, disassembly, repair and alteration. The associate degree program varies from the gunsmithing certificate program since it requires that students spend most of their instruction in the school's machine shop. In Yavapai's associate degree program, students complete a 31-hour program in four semesters. Students are trained to stock, refinish metals and rebarrel rifles, shotguns and handguns.
The Pennsylvania Gunsmith School (PGS) offers a master gunsmithing program in which students train for 16 months in order to prepare for careers in the industry. Students in the program learn to file, gauge, hack saw, make springs and metallurgy and design stocks. Students are also trained in the reassembly, disassembly and polishing of firearms, as well as in the custom alteration of shotguns, rifles and handguns.