Classes Fading Away (Susanville and Trinidad) ?

I noticed today that Susanville via the NRA summer programs has no engraving classes on offer this year. Their case color hardening class is also gone. I worry this is part of a disturbing trend. Trinidad dropped what were popular double gun and barrel browning courses as well.
Seems like everything in the "gun world" is drifting toward "black guns".

Jeremy

Maybe they dropped the courses this year because they had no qualified instructors to teach them. Also, classes are dropped because they don't fill for several years.

DKanger said:

Maybe they dropped the courses this year because they had no qualified instructors to teach them. Also, classes are dropped because they don't fill for several years.

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I don't know about Susanville other than they only just filled it last year so it might be a student load issue.
Trinidad is definitely another story though; they had highly qualified instructors and informed them they were changing the courses on offer in response to student surveys. What's odd is the courses were full (oversubscribed as I understand it) each year and popular.

Jeremy

Many moons ago I taught a class at Trinidad and even then the organization was a comedy. The actual instructor folks were very nice but all of the administration and clerical stuff was a mess and nobody really knew who was doing what. Nice place, nice students and instructors but the administration seems to kill it.

fegarex said:

The actual instructor folks were very nice but all of the administration and clerical stuff was a mess and nobody really knew who was doing what.

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Thanks for the inside information on that. It confirms what I deduced from one of the Trinidad instructors involved.
Jeremy

I suggest you contact Brian Marshall by PM he offers classes and he is near you as are the 2 schools you mentioned. He is a terrific instructor and in a 1X1 learning experience you will advance in 2 days as much or more in a class of 20-25.

Ummm... Roger, Jeremy has been here - but for engraving.

I'm not a gunsmith and I know next to nothing about finishing them. Just enough to "hide" mistakes.


I also taught Lassen. One year they canceled the class one week before it was to happen. Those students had planned a year ahead. So had I...

The reason they gave was that one of the administrators had embezzled a rather large sum of money?

I resolved it by inviting the 18 students to come to my place for the same 2 week class. I offered to do it for half price and 8 of them came. Otherwise those 2 weeks were going to be a total loss for me as well...


There was another thing that they constantly did - overbooking. There were 10 or 12 bench positions and they would book 20 or 22 students. No way would they fit, and some gave up in a day or two from sheer frustration.

The following year they wanted me back and I insisted on a contract that would cover me if they suddenly decided to cancel again. They refused, and so I decided not to risk setting aside the time.


But we did have some really really good classes held there over the years. John Barraclough, Sam Welch and Eric Gold come to mind...


Brian