# Gunsmithing school



## rawolfee (Nov 19, 2020)

Wanted to ask folks on GON if they have any experience with or opinions about this school. https://www.sdi.edu/  My son is wanting to sign up for the associate in firearm technology program.  I don't mind paying for the school for him, but don't want it to be a waste of money either.  We live close to Daniel Defense and I think he is hopeful this will help him get a job there.  Looking at the information online, the school seems pretty legit.


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## hayseed_theology (Nov 19, 2020)

Google "Sonoran Desert Institute- Why you shouldn't pay your money to go there"  There is a good Reddit on it, but I can't link here due to some language.

I tinker around as a hobby gunsmith and looked into some of the online schools as a way of maybe setting me up to open a side business.  The disappointing thing that I found was that none of the online programs were actually that helpful - AGI, Penn Foster, SDI...  They make big claims, but the consensus is that they do not prepare someone to work in the firearms industry.  

I would start by reaching out to Daniel Defense and asking them what they would recommend if that's where he would like to end up.  There are a few on campus gunsmithing schools, but they are not local.  The next best thing would probably be a tech school degree in CNC/Machining.


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## rawolfee (Nov 19, 2020)

Thanks for posting that.  I saw mixed reviews in other places, but that thread tells me all I need to know.  It's a shame that veterans get preyed upon like that.  We have a local tech school that has some CNC classes, i am going to encourage him to take that route if he really wants a job at Daniel Defense that bad.


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## Clemson (Nov 19, 2020)

I teach in the Gunsmithing program at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, SC.  www.ptc.edu
We get a fair number of students from Georgia and Florida because of no schools in either state teaching gunsmithing.  This is a full-time two year program.  There is a VA office on campus.  Right now there are only a very few programs offering face-to-face instruction, but Gunsmithing is one of them.  You just cannot properly learn the craft without being able to run the lathe or carve the stock.
Check out https://www.ptc.edu/academics/schools-programs/industrial-technology/gunsmithing

Bill Jacobs


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## rawolfee (Nov 19, 2020)

Unfortunately, he's married and has a kid.  Wouldn't be able to go to school in Greenwood.  Neither of the tech schools (Savannah Tech and Ogeechee Tech) close by offer any gunsmithing, so as hayseed suggested, I think machining is the way to go to get a start.  It's also not a bad field to get into anyway.  Machinists can make a lot of money if they are good.


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## Yotedawg (Nov 20, 2020)

Clemson said:


> I teach in the Gunsmithing program at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, SC.  www.ptc.edu
> We get a fair number of students from Georgia and Florida because of no schools in either state teaching gunsmithing.  This is a full-time two year program.  There is a VA office on campus.  Right now there are only a very few programs offering face-to-face instruction, but Gunsmithing is one of them.  You just cannot properly learn the craft without being able to run the lathe or carve the stock.
> Check out https://www.ptc.edu/academics/schools-programs/industrial-technology/gunsmithing
> 
> Bill Jacobs


My brother went through the Taxidermy program at Piedmont in Roxboro North Carolina back in the early 90's. It was the real deal. At least back then it was.


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