This fall, I lost a good friend to lung cancer, who just also happened to be my gunsmith...I'd had him do ANY AND ALL of my gunsmithing since he did his first jobs for me:tightening up a Ballister-Molina "1911" and building the Spanish Mauser 98 custom I had made, he was quite talented in a LOT of different arms, opened my "Vaquerito's" chamber throats and forcing cone-it was built backwards at factory-, installed 10-15scope mounts for me, replaced bbls on sporters, did glass bedding, free floating, custom stocks, engraving, you name it, I had him do it.

After having such a good smith, then losing him, I'm pretty wary to go to anyone else, I always hated sending guns off across the country to "specialized smiths", like I did with my Vaqueros...I'm considering becoming a smith myself, even if I never do work for anyone else (not like I'd need the money), I'd at least like to do most of my own stuff.

Anyone know how to become a smith? I've thought about those TV things that you see all the time, or the stuff in hunting/shooting/guns magazines, but I'm sure those are just cheap "send us your money sucker" scams...I'm a full time college student right now (chemical engineering), and currently have three research jobs during school, summer is a single internship, money's tight none-the-less, if I'd stop ranching, it'd get better I guess.

Anyone know of a school in Kansas that's over the summer or at least something that would fit into my already busy schedule?