DUMBEST things overheard at the gun store.

[SilverBullet432]

My favorite quote. "It's not it's scratched or nothing, the paint just came off."

Had me from: "flat side goes up"

[BoringGuy45]

All sorts of win in that video. Everybody's an expert AR gunsmith these days...

That's the thought in a lot of people's minds. I've known people who called themselves "gunsmiths", though their training is simply screwing around with their guns until they seem to work properly. I had one guy who went on frequent rants about how gunsmith and armorer training is stupid and you need experience and only experience. I will agree, in any field of work, experience is a much better teacher than any formal education can bring you, but if you don't have a base of formal training, you often won't know what you actually learned in your course of experience. If I have an AR that's malfunctioning and I can't fix it, I'm bringing to the guy who knows what's wrong, how to fix it, the names and functions of all the parts and how they work together, and how exactly the fix will make it work again. I'm not trusting the guy whose "gunsmithing" kit is a hammer and a few punches, and his explained fix when he returns my scratched up AR is, "I smacked the hell out of that thingamajig and bent that little doohickey and it seems to be working okay now."

I've heard the argument that "Kalashnikov, Stoner, and Glock never went to any gunsmithing schools." Yes, but Kalashnikov was a mechanic, Stoner was an aerospace engineer, and Glock was an engineer with experience in advanced polymers. They had a pretty good base and understanding of how machines worked and knew how to design complex mechanics. The "gunsmiths" who claim they don't need any smithing school are usually guys with barely a high school education who think that owning 200 cheap guns makes them an expert.

[bluejackets92fs]

That's the thought in a lot of people's minds. I've known people who called themselves "gunsmiths", though their training is simply screwing around with their guns until they seem to work properly. I had one guy who went on frequent rants about how gunsmith and armorer training is stupid and you need experience and only experience. I will agree, in any field of work, experience is a much better teacher than any formal education can bring you, but if you don't have a base of formal training, you often won't know what you actually learned in your course of experience. If I have an AR that's malfunctioning and I can't fix it, I'm bringing to the guy who knows what's wrong, how to fix it, the names and functions of all the parts and how they work together, and how exactly the fix will make it work again. I'm not trusting the guy whose "gunsmithing" kit is a hammer and a few punches, and his explained fix when he returns my scratched up AR is, "I smacked the hell out of that thingamajig and bent that little doohickey and it seems to be working okay now."

I've heard the argument that "Kalashnikov, Stoner, and Glock never went to any gunsmithing schools." Yes, but Kalashnikov was a mechanic, Stoner was an aerospace engineer, and Glock was an engineer with experience in advanced polymers. They had a pretty good base and understanding of how machines worked and knew how to design complex mechanics. The "gunsmiths" who claim they don't need any smithing school are usually guys with barely a high school education who think that owning 200 cheap guns makes them an expert.

The truth in this post.

I've been an armorer for Glock and M&P pistols for 4 years now and I honestly don't think I could proficiently tackle a detail strip on a M&P today. I don't try either. Glock is a simple enough design that I could come back to one 10 years from now and still know my way around it but the M&P has a lot more going on in there. I don't understand how people give themselves the title of "gunsmith" when their teacher was other Youtube "gunsmiths". Technology has allowed the dumb to spread like wild fire and we see it more and more each day.

[wildcard600]

The truth in this post.

I've been an armorer for Glock and M&P pistols for 4 years now and I honestly don't think I could proficiently tackle a detail strip on a M&P today. I don't try either. Glock is a simple enough design that I could come back to one 10 years from now and still know my way around it but the M&P has a lot more going on in there. I don't understand how people give themselves the title of "gunsmith" when their teacher was other Youtube "gunsmiths". Technology has allowed the dumb to spread like wild fire and we see it more and more each day.

well... ther are plenty of schooled "experts" out there in all fields that dont know dick either.

[BoringGuy45]

well... ther are plenty of schooled "experts" out there in all fields that dont know dick either.

I think an expert is someone with vast experience and knowledge who never believes that he has enough experience and knowledge.

[wildcard600]

I think an expert is someone with vast experience and knowledge who never believes that he has enough experience and knowledge.

that would be a very good definition. unfortunately the world at large has a very different one.

[wildcard600]

I think an expert is someone with vast experience and knowledge who never believes that he has enough experience and knowledge.

that would be a very good definition. unfortunately the world at large has a very different one.

just like "professional". i know alot of clowns who do things for a living yet still suck at them.

[JBecker 72]

Got mine surgically repaired and I'd say without question the best choice I've ever made. Only cost about $800. Still getting tattoos all the time though.

Yeah I'm still kicking around the idea.

Holy shit! You can get it done for only about 300-400

An ear.

[VIP3R 237]

I was in Vegas last week and stopped by one of the bigger ranges off the strip. They had a pretty good selection of black rifles including a ARX-100. I asked to see it and I checked the top rail to see if it had the wobble issue that some have had and sure enough it did. I pointed it out to the salesman and he said that's not an issue because this rifle is only good to 200 yards anyways.

That's the thought in a lot of people's minds. I've known people who called themselves "gunsmiths", though their training is simply screwing around with their guns until they seem to work properly. I had one guy who went on frequent rants about how gunsmith and armorer training is stupid and you need experience and only experience. I will agree, in any field of work, experience is a much better teacher than any formal education can bring you, but if you don't have a base of formal training, you often won't know what you actually learned in your course of experience. If I have an AR that's malfunctioning and I can't fix it, I'm bringing to the guy who knows what's wrong, how to fix it, the names and functions of all the parts and how they work together, and how exactly the fix will make it work again. I'm not trusting the guy whose "gunsmithing" kit is a hammer and a few punches, and his explained fix when he returns my scratched up AR is, "I smacked the hell out of that thingamajig and bent that little doohickey and it seems to be working okay now."

I've heard the argument that "Kalashnikov, Stoner, and Glock never went to any gunsmithing schools." Yes, but Kalashnikov was a mechanic, Stoner was an aerospace engineer, and Glock was an engineer with experience in advanced polymers. They had a pretty good base and understanding of how machines worked and knew how to design complex mechanics. The "gunsmiths" who claim they don't need any smithing school are usually guys with barely a high school education who think that owning 200 cheap guns makes them an expert.

Those are the kind of gunsmiths that keep real ones in business.

[MountainRaven]

That's the thought in a lot of people's minds. I've known people who called themselves "gunsmiths", though their training is simply screwing around with their guns until they seem to work properly. I had one guy who went on frequent rants about how gunsmith and armorer training is stupid and you need experience and only experience. I will agree, in any field of work, experience is a much better teacher than any formal education can bring you, but if you don't have a base of formal training, you often won't know what you actually learned in your course of experience. If I have an AR that's malfunctioning and I can't fix it, I'm bringing to the guy who knows what's wrong, how to fix it, the names and functions of all the parts and how they work together, and how exactly the fix will make it work again. I'm not trusting the guy whose "gunsmithing" kit is a hammer and a few punches, and his explained fix when he returns my scratched up AR is, "I smacked the hell out of that thingamajig and bent that little doohickey and it seems to be working okay now."

I've heard the argument that "Kalashnikov, Stoner, and Glock never went to any gunsmithing schools." Yes, but Kalashnikov was a mechanic, Stoner was an aerospace engineer, and Glock was an engineer with experience in advanced polymers. They had a pretty good base and understanding of how machines worked and knew how to design complex mechanics. The "gunsmiths" who claim they don't need any smithing school are usually guys with barely a high school education who think that owning 200 cheap guns makes them an expert.

Kalashnikov wasn't just a mechanic. He had a team of mechanics and engineers and formally trained gunsmiths on hand, plus access to one of the most brilliant gun-brains since Browning contained in Hugo Schmeisser's head.

Stoner was an aerospace engineer... on a team of engineers, mechanics, and formally trained gunsmiths, and had previously designed and helped design successful firearms.

And Glock, again, wasn't just an engineer... he had a team of engineers and mechanics (and probably formally trained gunsmiths) working for him.

The influence of Kalashnikov, Stoner, and Glock in the firearms that made them famous is probably pretty negligible, anyway, compared to those who worked with, for, or under them.

The only gunsmith who could do everything by himself without a team was John Moses Browning. And even he needed a team to transcribe his creations into schematics so they could actually be produced. And his father was a gunsmith by trade.

Mentioning that whoever wasn't a trained gunsmith is like mentioning that Jobs and Gates and Einstein dropped out of school. That's great, except you're not Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Albert Einstein!