I want to make guns, Help Me Start a Career.

[nrakid88]

HOW CAN I DESIGN GUNS ELECTRONICALLY, AND ON PAPER? WHAT SKILLS ARE NEEDED? I CAN READ AND UNDERSTAND COMPLEX BOOKS, JUST NEED A DIRECTION PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Hey there,

So I am fresh out of college, with what seems to be a nearly worthless Political Science degree. I really want to be the next John Moses Browning, but math scared me off of my engineering path in college. Damn you Tin Ta for not speaking English well (my college Algebra professor).

So far I have a KICK *** idea for a CCW gun, and a few ideas for cheap blasters. I know that I will need a CNC mill some day, but I have been figuring I could do a computer program to make the guns, then mock them up in plastic, and then make a few steel prototypes on a cheap mill. If that works, then i could think about investing in a expensive CNC machine and plastic injection molds...

Does this very loose plan have any relation to reality? And if it does, what computer programs, and mathematical skills should I start learning?


And my back up plan is just to try and work in the gun industry. I have put out about 20 or so applications, with nothing in return yet. Do you guys think that four or so years in the Air Force would help me get a job with any gun manufacturer?


Thanks for any advice.

[TCB Firearms]

Working for a gun manuf for what i think you would want go back and get that engineering degree, From a BATFE standpoint you can make your own gun(s) all you want, just cannot sell it. Patent the design, if applicable, and license colt to make it. Sounds easy huh. You can also get a Class 7 SOT and build/sell whatever you want. CA laws would still regulate your designs and prototypes. Hard road but go for it

[nrakid88]

I have been telling myself that I WILL LEAVE CALIFORNIA, ever since I started my college career. California will no longer tell me I CANT have an SBR, I CANT have a SUPPRESSOR, I CANT have a CCW, I CANT have a MG. **** this place.

I really don't want to go back to school, but maybe I would consider picking up a few engineering books, or doing a engineering online degree program.

Any route, I would rather work for myself, at which point I need no degree and ONLY skills.

[SamsDX]

Without an engineering degree, I'm not sure you'd get very far in finding employment in R&D, manufacturing, or any other professional technical field.

Having said that, have you built any guns of your own? I understand it's not the same as designing one from the ground up, but in order to improve upon a design, I think it would require knowledge of what's been done before to understand what's worked, and what hasn't. Also, by building one, you'll gain some in-depth knowledge on the fundamental mechanisms of firearms, and an appreciation for various fabrication and manufacturing techniques. If not, a basic AK might be a good place to start, followed by a study/80% receiver build of a 1911. There are many projects that you could pursue; why don't you join us over in the gunsmithing forum?

I should also add that in any engineering field you can't avoid math, plain and simple. Engineering is simply applied math, after all.

[nrakid88]

Math really is not that hard for me. It is just my first lecture, I could not understand whether my proffessor was talking about air planes, plants, or mathematical planes. Honestly, it was horrible, that guy was fresh out of Korea. I have watched history channel and seen stories of self made Engineers. I am figuring I could be one. I just don't want to go back to school, when I read my books, I learned more than I did from the teacher. I just barely ever read my books. Still got all A's and B's because all the other students are always High and Drunk.


I have completely stripped EVERY gun I have ever owned. 1911, Mosin, Enfield, Swiss K-31, Glock, 870, Garand, M1 Carbine, Marlin 60, in addition to building two ar-15's starting at stripped receivers and building an AK-47 at a Build party. In addition I have been watching the Military Channel since age 10, and have three books on guns that I have read.

Needless to say, I feel like I know more about guns than any other 22 year old on the planet. Hell I would love to meet someone my age who knows more on guns than me. Or anyone of any age. I LOVE learning about guns, and I can pick up an engineering book and learn what I need from it. I got 780 on my Physics SAT, so I have a mechanical mind.

I just want to help give the average gunny, and the Spec Ops GI, the best gear that this world can afford to help them come home to loved ones.

[PyroFox79]

Needless to say, I feel like I know more about guns than any other 22 year old on the planet. Hell I would love to meet someone my age who knows more on guns than me. Or anyone of any age. I LOVE learning about guns, and I can pick up an engineering book and learn what I need from it. I got 780 on my Physics SAT, so I have a mechanical mind.

I doubt the knowing all about guns. Hell I was an Armorer in the Marine Corps and I got out at 22. I still dont think I know everything about guns. I made my own parts for people when I was in with the Milling machine we had. None of my friend have ad problems with the parts I made them. Think of it like a doctor, you have a practice but not a mastery. I say this because there is always something new that one could learn.

[SamsDX]

I certainly admire your passion for guns, and I think it'll take you far in realizing your dreams. If you keep that end goal in mind, it might make the other, less enjoyable things you have to do besides working on guns more tolerable. I understand that there are many self-taught engineers or those who simply apprenticed under an experienced engineers throughout history. Times have changed, and while there may be some who are beginning their careers in that way today, the reality is that a degree is likely a pre-requisite to even get your foot in the door for an interview.

You asked what kind of math you'd need to learn - I'd say calculus (differential, integral, multi-variable), linear algebra, and differential equations.

I'm not saying this to be mean, but detail stripping firearms, building ARs from a stripped receiver, and building an AK at a build party is just a baseline; I think you'll find that many of the veteran members here on Calguns can do those things. I would further submit that having three gun books wouldn't carry much weight - I imagine there are many members here that have three gun books on their coffee table. I apologize if this comes across as a bit harsh, and I'm not writing this to be a d*ck, but because you're aspiring to be a firearms professional, and so as an amateur, I would hold you to a higher standard, especially without a background (academic or otherwise) in engineering.

[jumbopanda]

Heh, you sound a lot like me. I've been building AKs since I was 18, and tinkering with some minor mill and lathe work. As many AK enthusiasts may know, I came up with an AK bullet button during that time as well.

I've always wanted to work in the gun industry, but like you, I also ended up with a somewhat useless degree (economics). So honestly it's probably not likely I'll be of much use to a serious firearms manufacturer. I've got some experience working with shop tools and whatnot, but that's not a particularly rare skill.

There's a big difference between building guns and designing them. You could always learn to be a CNC machine operator if you don't want to deal with the engineering.

Best of luck with whatever you choose, maybe if you end up making it in the industry you can give me a job.

[nrakid88]

It just seems that working for someone else will be a bunch of PITA and doing this just because.
I think I will start putting my excess income towards my ideas.

I really think the Corporate Idea is killing American innovation as well as American Individualism. But hell, I will be lucky to escape the cycle.

[nrakid88]

SamsDX, I feel like had I got my degree in engineering, I would be selling my Ideas to a corporation for them to rape the fruit of my mind to reward me with a measly living. I honestly feel like inventive minds would benefit best on their own. But hey, I just graduated from college and have almost ZERO bearing on what real life is like.

[nrakid88]

Jumbopanda, as the man who allowed me to build my first AK, I would be honored to hold a business which could afford to hire you, although that business would proudly be in a freestate, should you accept the offer.

Dude, sorry your AK lock was over shadowed by others. Have you had any more Gun ideas since then?

I honestly feel like I have had about three good gun ideas... and thats it... maybe more will come... maybe not... but at least I have those three.


****, if people could make good guns in the day of pencil and paper, I am sure I can make amazing guns in the day of electricity and chips. Too bad I don't have a solid grounding in computer design of guns, or paper design of guns....

So I guess this is what this thread is about,

HOW CAN I DESIGN GUNS ELECTRONICALLY, AND ON PAPER? WHAT SKILLS ARE NEEDED? I CAN READ AND UNDERSTAND, JUST NEED A DIRECTION PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gunhead]

I'll tell you what Tobias Obermeit (Designer of the Kel-Tec PMR30) told me when I asked him this question:

Start designing and drawing up your designs. pen and paper is good, and I always start there. I still keep a notebook with different design ideas that I sketch up as I have them (not all firearm ideas). But when you can get access to some 3D design software, perhaps in an art class or a design class, start drawing stuff up in 3D. Doesn't have to be guns, any mechanical designs help you get experience in how to draw in 3D and how things work together. Pay attention in physics, chemistry, math, and reading/writing classes. You might not think reading and writing is that important but you have to be able to communicate your ideas and designs with others.

[jumbopanda]

Jumbopanda, as the man who allowed me to build my first AK, I would be honored to hold a business which could afford to hire you, although that business would proudly be in a freestate, should you accept the offer.

Dude, sorry your AK lock was over shadowed by others. Have you had any more Gun ideas since then?

I honestly feel like I have had about three good gun ideas... and thats it... maybe more will come... maybe not... but at least I have those three.

I've had some minor ones, although nothing really worth pursuing. The AK lock was designed out of pure necessity, but at the moment I don't have any great ideas.

Here's something you should keep in mind: it's good to think big, but there's nothing wrong with thinking small either. You don't have to design something terribly complex like a brand new gun. My AK lock was as simple as it gets, and yet it was successful. Think about Magpul for a second. I first heard the word "Magpul" back in my airsoft days, and back then a Magpul was a little rubber loop that you attach to an AR magazine. Fast forward to today, and chances are that if you own an AR, you own some kind of Magpul product. In a world full of rails, rails, and more rails, they designed a new drop-in plastic handguard set, which has become quite popular. Think about the B.A.D. lever; a L-shaped piece of aluminum that allows you to manipulate the bolt catch with your trigger finger. Why hasn't anyone thought of that before? Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ones, so don't be afraid to think small.

[AJAX22]

You don't need a degree to design firearms 99% of the guns currently in production are not designed by engineers. (they may be refined by engineers down the road, but thats a different story)

Just start playing with your 3D models.

and pick up a book on metalurgy

The hardest part of what you want to do is the buisness end of it.... its going to take a lot of money to go from zero into production.

[Backcountry]

In this day and age, to design guns that work, that are safe, and that people will buy, you need to be fluent in math, physics, and engineering. You are a polysci major... either toughen up and learn a real science or give up your dream.