[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1233-E1234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE COLORADO GUNSMITHING ACADEMY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, as the Congressman 
representing the Fourth District of the State of Colorado, I am proud 
to have constituents like Earl and Charlene Bridges who run the 
Colorado Gunsmithing Academy in Lamar, Colorado. These individuals set 
the standard for integrity and craftsmanship for small business in 
America and I am greatful for their contribution to not only the state, 
but the entire nation. I submit the following article detailing the 
success of the Colorado Gunsmithing Academy for the Record.

        Students Say Lamar Academy Gives Them Good Shot at a Job

                           (By Kit Miniclier)

       Lamar--Students at the Colorado Gunsmithing Academy of 
     Lamar start by building their own rifles from scratch.
       The approach enables them to learn patience and development 
     skills in stockmaking, metalsmithing, welding and other 
     disciplines while building their own single-shot rifle.
       It is theirs to take home, and many use them to demonstrate 
     their expertise when applying for their first job in their 
     new profession.
       Only 4\1/2\ years old, the academy is already developing a 
     national and international reputation, attracting students 
     from Connecticut to California and from Norway, Sweden, 
     Australia and Holland.
       It is one of three gunsmithing schools in Colorado. There 
     are only 17 in the nation,

[[Page E1234]]

     said Charlene Bridges, president of the Lamar school. The 
     other Colorado schools are at Trinidad State Junior College 
     and the Colorado School of Trades in Lakewood.
       Bridges' husband, J. Earl Bridges, is director and chief 
     instructor. He has been a gunsmith for 15 years and has been 
     teaching the craft for the past six.
       Since it opened, the academy ``has worked on no less than 
     3,000 firearms, and maybe four have been returned to redo 
     something or because we overlooked something,'' Earl Bridges 
     said.
       In addition to learning how to build their own rifles from 
     stock to trigger assembly to barrel, students are expected to 
     repair or remodel a minimum of 40 firearms during their 
     mandatory 2,240 hours at the academy.
       Roughly one-third of their time must be spent on ``design, 
     function and repair of firearms.'' Only 175 hours are spent 
     on theory. There is no homework, just many hours of 
     painstaking precision work, and students are encouraged to 
     read, said Charlene Bridges.
       A major difference between this school and others is the 
     emphasis on the basics involved in building a gun from raw 
     metal bar stock, said instructor and part owner Michael 
     Syler, who owned a gun shop near Dallas before moving to 
     Lamar.
       Tuition, excluding room and board, is $11,760 for the 
     course, and students pay an additional $5,300 to acquire the 
     tools of their trade.
       ``The quality of the work here is impeccable. Everything 
     approved by (Bridges) must be top notch,'' said student Jay 
     Crowder, 27, of Knoxville, Tenn.
       Although the school doesn't guarantee job placement, ``it 
     seems like anyone who needs a job gets one. Eventually, I 
     want a place of my own,'' Crowder said.
       Student Mike Fricks, 29, of Texarkana, Texas, said he 
     appreciated the opportunity to ``do finer quality work at a 
     higher standard rather than just basic gun repair.''
       Fricks' current project, and his last before graduating, is 
     a double gun, which has two independent triggers and barrels 
     just in case one malfunctions. He already has lined up a job 
     after sending a perspective employer a gun he made.
       Kevin Macluskie, 28, said he finished his rifle in 270 
     hours. The school is open 10 hours a day, four days a week, 
     although students may elect to go only six or eight hours a 
     day and take longer to graduate.
       Several other students, each of whom has his own spacious 
     work bench, spoke positively of the close, careful 
     supervision and the encouragement. Recently, there were 10 
     students in the academy, each working at his own level.
       The academy's system produces fine results, says Taylor 
     Carroll of Caroll's Gun Shop in Wharton, Texas, who hired 
     academy graduate Dave Wright after visiting the school.
       ``I've been in business 38 years,'' said Carroll, who sells 
     guns and has always employed a gunsmith for custom work and 
     repairs. When his veteran gunsmith retired after more than 30 
     years, ``I began searching for a gunsmith.''
       He knew Earl Bridges by reputation, visited the spacious 
     shop south of Lamar twice and talked with the instructors. 
     ``I was happy with what I saw,'' and he is delighted with 
     Wright.
       ``I'm very, very satisfied with everything he has done for 
     me,'' Carroll said.

     

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