The school I am attending has been very fulfilling for me. The first semester is almost all had work with mostly files and hacksaws to shape what the machinists among us would have considered very simple projects - things like choke tube wrenches. This part can feel very tedious but is necessary for certain skills later. We also polished and blued a barrel. The second half of the semester has been dedicated to an exercise called cycle of operations. Looking at the 8 major action types, you describe every mechanical motion in dis-engaging the safety, firing a round, extraction and ejection, loading a new round, re-locking the firearm, and re-engaging the safety. All of this is done with simple mechanical motions such as "Trigger rotates clockwise on trigger pin/ trigger spring compresses/ sear rotates clockwise on sear pin" etc. Simpler action types may require 60 or 70 steps while a double action revolver may require 200. I have learned more during this section about firearms than I have in a long time.
We also have weekly lecture courses on topics such as calculating bolt thrust and pressure, firearm locking mechanism development, drilling and tapping different Mauser actions for scopes, etc. along with a weekly business class.
Next semester is machining and welding where we will eventually chamber and crown our .30-06 project rifle barrels and thread them to match our receivers, as well as cutting 1911 dovetails and other projects.
3rd semester is stockwork where we will cut and finish our stocks for our project rifles, practice checkering, and do other stockwork.
4th semester is design and function, where you will perform services on a number of firearms (I believe 30) that can be anything from a complete cleaning to a match grade polish and blue job to repair work. At the end of 4th semester (your last) you will have a number of hours (somewhere between 60 and 100) to work on a "specs" project which is anything you want to pursue that is firearm related, safe and legal. Some people build another gun, some checker a stock, some build jigs for their own shop, one past student even welded his own gun safe using his welding background.
It's been very fulfilling for me and I'm always excited to progress. My next semester is machining. I don't necessarily plan on opening a gunsmithing/repair shop as a lot of people do, but I've learned a lot about firearms and had access to a lot of great resources. They have also helped me figure out where I'm going working on my CETME and my next project will be a Vetterli centerfire conversion and restoration which they will help with. I have access to things I wouldn't otherwise, including hot caustic bluing, color case hardening, parkerizing, and a full range of machine tools.
Your machinist background will help you greatly.
If you are willing and have the resources (time, money, support of the family members who will be involved) going to a school for it will introduce you to a wide knowledge bank, tools and processes you may not have on your own, and situations you may not put yourself in. There were lots of guns I was never interested in (black powder, revolvers, lever action rifles, to name a few) that I have gained a great interest in and respect for after simply having a chance to work with them. I have not worked with a gun that I did not end up finding something interesting about.
I don't know what your situation is, but it certainly isn't impossible to learn some skills in gunsmithing without going to school for it. So I guess it depends on what you're willing to give for it and how much you want to get out of it, even separate from the idea of you running your own business. We have at least two class members who are officially "retired" and are their to move on to a new part of their life or just to learn about something they're passionate about to do now that they don't work the way they used to. Most of us are young guys looking to start what is a first career for many of us, but not everybody fits that role.
