BRTC’s gunsmithing program receives national designation

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has selected Black River Technical College (BRTC) to be one of four affiliated colleges in the United States to offer “short-term gunsmithing courses to aspiring gunsmiths.” The other three colleges are located in Colorado, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. BRTC houses Arkansas’ only gunsmithing program.

Arkansas’ firearms and ammunition industry has an economic impact of about $2.3 billion and employs more than 8,400 Arkansans.

To become an approved NRA gunsmithing school, colleges must have “an existing gunsmithing program, minimum three years, with full-time students currently enrolled in classes, knowledgeable and experienced instructors, and proper facilities to host potential students.”

One college, Trinidad State in Colorado, has been an NRA school for 49 years. Murray State College in Oklahoma has been affiliated for 32 years and Montgomery Community College in North Carolina has been NRA-affiliated for 10 years. Lassen Community College, who operated the nation’s oldest gunsmithing school for 80 years and was affiliated with the NRA for 42 years, vacated their slot when their Board of Trustees discontinued their gunsmithing program, providing the opportunity for BRTC to apply for affiliation.

Leaders from the three NRA-affiliated colleges performed a site visit at BRTC March during which they interviewed program staff and students, examined the gunsmithing classroom and its machine tool lab, and evaluated the safety and comprehensiveness of the program’s criteria.

“The faculty and administration of Black River Tech have done an excellent job of establishing a gunsmithing curriculum program. This is a difficult task, and one that that is compounded by the lack of local existing programs to collaborate with,” said Mark Dye, director of the Gunsmithing Department at Montgomery Community College. “During my visit, I was surprised by their progress and dedication their future success.”

“The success of BRTC’s gunsmithing program over the last six years has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Dean of Business and Technology Phillip Dickson. “Achieving NRA approval is a testament to our team’s dedication to a vision we established back in 2020. We look forward to the continued expansion of this program, remaining steadfast in our mission to provide the firearms industry and our state with the highest caliber of skilled professionals.”

BRTC’s program offers three certificates of proficiency in gunsmithing technology – riflesmithing, shotgunsmithing, and pistolsmithing. It also offers a technical certificate in gunsmithing technology with a rifle emphasis and an associate of applied science in gunsmithing technology. The program has awarded 125 credentials since beginning in 2020 with several students coming from out-of-state.