S&W Armory School

[geddylee10002000]

So how does one get into the revolver school offered by S&W? I am a non LEO Military. Do you have to have a endorsement? I am a master tool/die maker so the skill level is a non issue. Looking at retirement in about 5-6 years and want to keep busy.

 

[chief38]

As a Master Tool & Die Maker you should have NO PROBLEMS at all getting into Smithing. I started 35 years ago with no instructions, no videos, just a good mechanical aptitude and some basic hand tools - kind of the learn as you go method. Smithing on S&W revolvers is actually not all that difficult and once you get them apart and study them, I think you will find the actual smithing part fun and rewarding.

There is a good book available - kind of the standard among us hobbyists by Jerry Kuhnhausen and it will give you 90% of what you need to know and the rest should come naturally.

A good gun to start with is something like a M10, M15 or similar. Just get the book, and start doing - you will be amazed at how fast you will learn. What isn't common sense should be able to be found in Jerry's book. After you've mastered one type and style, move on to the next. In 6 years when you are retired, you should be pretty good at it.

 

[Hapworth]

OP: Your best bet is to contact S&W directly; I'm not aware of individuals being able to take the official armorer's courses as a simple sign-up.

Alternately, check with your local law enforcement agency, gun store or certified S&W gunsmith, explain your situation, and see if they might be willing to sponsor you either on good faith or perhaps in return for part time/odd job work.

Let us know what if anything works -- I'm sure many here are curious.

 

[geddylee10002000]

I do have the Jerry Kuhnhausen book. I will contact S&W directly. I have been mulling this over for a bit of time. I also have thought about going to local law enforcement and see what they say about sponsorship. I like old school S&W revolvers. There is not many people around that work on them. Heck there isn't many that shoot them!

Steve

 

[cbvanb]

Another option is to find a factory trained armorer that would be willing to teach you. As a kid just out of high school I met an armorer for a police department that had been to the S&W factory school. Over several years he taught me competitive shooting, and then everything he knew about Smith & Wessons. When I was hired by my first agency I became the department armorer, and a number of years later when I joined a much larger department I was also assigned to the arsenal, maintaining over 1450 Smith revolvers for a time. All that without ever having set foot inside the S&W factory. The S&W is a marvelous piece of engineering, and relatively simple to troubleshoot and repair, if you have access to parts. Good luck with your quest.