2013 Spring Firearms and Gunsmithing Courses

Firearms Safety Training & Safe Gun Handling  (1 week; 2 sessions)

McGregor Rhodes

Gain the knowledge, skills and attitude to safely handle and shoot pistols.  Four hours of evening class will be followed by 1½-2 hours of live firing the following Saturday morning/early afternoon.  This course satisfies the safety requirement if you choose to apply for a Montana concealed weapon permit.  Must be 18 years of age or older.  Handle and shoot a variety of pistols or bring your own.  You are responsible for paying a small range fee ($10-$15) and will need to bring or buy your own ammunition to the range.  NO LOADED AMMUNITION ALLOWED IN THE CLASSROOM!     

Thursday        Apr 18                 5:30-9:30 p.m.     $95

& Saturday                  Apr 20                 Morning/early afternoon

HPER 1181A, B, C                                                                 TBA

 

AR-15/AR-10 Armorer /Customization Course  (1week; 5 days)

Brandon Miller

Become familiar with the AR-15/AR-10 firearm format.  Instruction will include functioning, disassembly of main and sub groups and reassembly, troubleshooting and function testing tips, tool use and the installation of many aftermarket custom parts.  Also covered will be some different cartridge offerings in the AR-15 format.  The .308 AR and the different manufacturers and the compatibility between them will be discussed.  Bring your own firearm as a whole firearm or in various stages of assembly for completion during the class as firearms will not be provided. This course is POST Certified.

Mon-Fri                Apr 1-Apr 5                  8 a.m.-5 p.m.        $300

GS 3000A                                                                      OT Bldg. Rm 111

2013 Summer Gunsmithing Course Schedule

Registration will begin February 1.

 

July 15 -19

1911 Handguns
Instructor: Brandon Miller

Learn how to disassemble, assemble, and make basic modifications to the 1911 series pistol.  Follow a simple outline to service and perform basic modifications to your 1911 pistol.

Designing Wildcat Cartridges
Instructor: Fred Zeglin

Prerequisite: Working knowledge of machine shop.  The process of designing and testing a wildcat cartridge will be covered in detail as well as tool design, simple tools for experimenting and testing new cartridge designs.  Specialized tooling and reloading dies will be constructed in class.  Design a cartridge, fabricate tools, form and trim dies, and form brass for the cartridge in class.

Checkering
Instructor: Lee Helgeland

Learn from an American Custom Gunmakers Guild member the art of gunstock checkering.  Tools, layout and patterns will be discussed in depth as you actually checker your own gunstock.  The tips and tricks discussed can shave years off the learning curve of this artistic and functional part of stockmaking.

 

July 22-26

Basic Lathe
Instructor: Brandon Miller

This course will cover the basic use of the  lathe.  Topics to be covered include: use of precision measuring tools; engine lathe parts and accessories; lathe safety and set up; free-hand grinding of common lathe cutting tools; speeds and feed rate; and machining procedures; threading operations and polishing techniques.  Develop basic lathe skills through the manufacture of some common gunsmithing tools.

Glass Bedding Course
Instructor: Fred Zeglin

This five day course will highlight stress-free bedding processes while focusing on pillar bedding.  You will have the opportunity to bed at least one rifle in the method you choose.  Methods for different actions and reasoning behind the different processes will be discussed in detail. Stock pillars will be made in class.

Knifemaking
Instructor: Roddy “Mort” Hill

Practice making one fixed blade knife.  Full tang and hidden tang knives will be built using various hand tools, grinders and buffers.  Topics to be covered include: safety, grinding, blade and handle design, heat treating, fitting, soldering, polishing, and sharpening.

 

July 29 – August 2

AR-15/AR-10 Armorer /Customization Course
Instructor: Brandon Miller

Become familiar with the AR-15/AR-10 firearm format.  Instruction will include functioning, disassembly of main and sub groups and reassembly, troubleshooting and function testing tips, tool use and the installation of many aftermarket custom parts.  Also covered will be some different cartridge offerings in the AR-15 format.  The .308 AR and the different manufacturers and the compatibility between them will be discussed.  Bring your own firearm as a whole firearm or in various stages of assembly for completion during the class as firearms will not be provided. This course is POST Certified.

Barrel Relining

Learn the techniques of barrel relining. This class will help the firearm owner and hobbyist determine whether barrel relining is appropriate for the firearm. Instruction will include proper techniques and tools used to prepare the gun barrel, options for fixing various liners in the drilled barrel, refitting extractors and test firing the assembled gun. You will need to bring a serviceable firearm with pitted or damaged bore in black powder cartridge or rimfire caliber. This class meets on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday until noon.

Alternative Finishes

Become familiar with various alternative finishes other than hot caustic bluing.  Instruction and demonstration includes hot water bluing treatments such as Brownells Classic Rust Blue and Dicropan IM, as well as Nitre Blue.  Explore the use of Zinc/Manganese Parkerizing, as well as the setup and application of various spray-on finishes such as Aluma-Hyde II, Baking Lacquer, Teflon/Moly, GunKote and the all new Cerakote.  You will have the opportunity to apply Parkerizing or one of the spray-on finishes to at least one firearm and possibly a second one if time allows.