Gunsmith
They may make alterations to adapt sporting guns to better fit the individual shooter that may require extensive modifications to the firearm's stocks and metal parts.
Gunsmiths may be employed in: To pursue the entirety of this trade, a gunsmith must possess skills as a parts fabricator, a metalworker or blacksmith, a woodworker and an artisan; be knowledgeable in shop mathematics, ballistics, chemistry, and materials engineering; be knowledgeable in the use and application of a variety of hand, power, and machinists tools and measuring devices.
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 specific brands or models).
Gunsmiths use their in-depth knowledge of firearms and manufacturer's gun schematics to guide inspections: repairing deficiencies, notifying customers of unsafe conditions, or preventing catastrophic failures.
[1] (listed in approximate, but not exact, order of increasing difficulty) Top-end custom gunmaking: A good example of a firearm type requiring the skills of a Master Gunsmith is a Combination Gun, commonly referred to as a "Drilling".
The most popular arrangement is a Side-by-Side shotgun with a high-power rifle barrel underneath with various firing mechanisms housed in a common breech.
These firearms overall are time intensive in their execution and demand the highest quality workmanship as the customers purchasing these arms are invariably highly knowledgeable and communicate within their select group.
But the majority of roughing, fitting, and finishing is done completely by hand using files, scrapers, abrasive paper and cloth, woodcarving chisels and rasps.
While some gunsmiths are general practitioners in this trade, some of the more important specializations are: Builds guns to customer's specification, from raw materials and shelf parts.
They may work in partnership with engravers and other specialized artists to produce unique finishes and decorations not possible on regular mass-produced firearms.
Applies various chemical processes (browning, bluing, Parkerization, among others) to the metal parts of guns to develop corrosion resistant surface layers on the steel.
Antique firearms for sale frequently note the specific percentage of the factory original case coloring remaining on the receiver and lockplates.
(This specialization is frequently combined with that of the Stockmaker) Uses checkering tools to create an ornate pattern of small raised diamonds in the wood surfaces which are to be gripped.
The checkering tools are in effect tiny saws, designed to leave a v-shaped groove (of approximately 60 to 90 degrees) in the surface of the wooden gunstock.
A more advanced job a pistolsmith may called on to perform is to construct a completely hand fitted target arm using a serial numbered frame as the base (as required by law) with the rest of the parts supplied with excess metal in certain areas by specialist manufacturers so the pistolsmith can fit these parts together to exacting tolerances.
News of the most highly skilled and talented gunsmiths typically spreads by word of mouth, based on the quality of their work.
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.
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.
[citation needed] One of Germany's more distinctive firearm developments is the drilling, a multi-barrel gun that may incorporate a double-barreled shotgun above with a high-powered single-shot barrel below.
Italy also has a rich history of gunmaking and gunsmithing going back several hundred years with the production of matchlock, flintlock, and caplock rifles and pistols.
The city of Brescia, Italy and specifically its suburb of Gardone Val Trompia is historical home to a number of firearm manufacturers and gunsmiths.
The city of Gardone is the home of several manufacturing firms that sell their products worldwide, with Pietro Beretta (founded in 1526) being the largest and best known.
The Brescia area has several training facilities for the education of apprentices gunsmiths for the crafting of high grade shotguns and rifles.
[citation needed] During the Tokugawa period in Japan, starting in the 17th century, the government imposed very restrictive controls on the small number of gunsmiths in the nation, thereby ensuring the almost total prohibition of firearms.
[8] In recent times, there been moves to recruit more legally licensed and trained hunters to help control feral pigs.
They may also be members of Guilds which set up apprentice programmes (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.
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 ATF is granted the power by the U.S. government to initiate the prosecution in U.S. 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.
Other common parts such as grips, barrels, triggers, sights, magazines, recoil springs, and stocks can be manufactured freely, but all receiver development work does require licensing.
