shotgunner87 said:
To argue the other side. Ever successful gun maker started somewhere. I'm still kicking myself for letting people talk me out of starting my own business. Don't know if I would have made it work but now I'll never know. There will always be a reason to not take a risk and plenty of people around to tell you you can't. I say if that's what you want go for it. Talk to people that have done it or are still doing it. My advice give Allen Martin a call he started before he was 30 and he is making a living just building flintlocks. He loves talking to people and will probably atleast point you in the right direction.
Actually, my suggestion/argument comes from most every successful businessman I have known in the gun business all over the country since the 1970's and that includes both ML and Modern gunsmiths. The only exceptions to this were either people who were raised in the business by family and took over the family business, OR those who got full gunsmith training, worked at a gun factory to make a living and got their tools and equipment gathered over a few years while they established their reputation - before they went out on their own. That way, they got customers who could afford to pay them a somewhat decent wage to do the work.
The interesting thing, at least to me, is that things really have not changed all that much in the gun business from the 18th century to today, though the apprenticeships were longer back then and they got almost no money in hand while the apprenticeship went on. (The idea was their work paid the Master of the Shop for training the Apprentice.)
Once the Apprentice became a Journeyman, he could stay and work at his Master's Shop or go out his own. Those who did go out on their own often went to the frontier, BUT their ledger account books show they made their "bread and butter money" by doing repairs and quite a lot of work like blacksmithing, rather than gun building.
The Journeymen who stayed at their Master's Shop often did so for many years before they gathered the tools and money to go out on their own. Sometimes they took over the business when their Master died, or at least ran the shop for their Master's Widow. A rather large percentage of Journeymen remained so for most of their career, until the death of their Master forced them to go elsewhere for employment.
Though some exceptionally gifted Artisans back in the day made VERY good money building guns, most gunsmiths supplanted their income by farming and other work. There were also those who made their real money in either government contractor work or by making large quantities of very basic rifles/guns like Leman and Deringer.
Gus
:shocked2: 
