Air Rifle Overhaul Workshops

[Phil Russell]

I am aware that Daystate do, or did, run training courses for dealers so that the said dealer can service Daystate rifles.
Thinking about this I wondered if there is any mileage in courses being run for owners, not dealers.
Would Daystate run any? What about BSA or Air Arms running a pcp workshop and a springer workshop? Maybe even a course for vintage / veteran rifles. If not the manufacturer, is there any mileage in a person or persons very knowledgable in a type of rifle offering a 'maintenance class? Finding a venue might not be so easy but then maybe at a club?
Maybe there is enough cumulative knowledge on here or elsewhere on the web to mean there is no need; especially as I could not expect such courses to be free.
Just thoughts.
Cheers, Phil

[Geezer]

I am aware that Daystate do, or did, run training courses for dealers so that the said dealer can service Daystate rifles.
Thinking about this I wondered if there is any mileage in courses being run for owners, not dealers.
Would Daystate run any? What about BSA or Air Arms running a pcp workshop and a springer workshop? Maybe even a course for vintage / veteran rifles. If not the manufacturer, is there any mileage in a person or persons very knowledgable in a type of rifle offering a 'maintenance class? Finding a venue might not be so easy but then maybe at a club?
Maybe there is enough cumulative knowledge on here or elsewhere on the web to mean there is no need; especially as I could not expect such courses to be free.
Just thoughts.
Cheers, Phil

I’d imagine the legal liability issues (esp with PCPs) would be considerable.

In addition, a proper manufacturer’s armourer course takes a long time and is not cheap.

Of course, the trade have a vested interest in us not knowing how to fix stuff, but honestly, liability aside, how many of us would pay for a properly-certified course telling us how to do things that we can find out on the internet?

[Phil Russell]

I’d imagine the legal liability issues (esp with PCPs) would be considerable.

In addition, a proper manufacturer’s armourer course takes a long time and is not cheap.

Of course, the trade have a vested interest in us not knowing how to fix stuff, but honestly, liability aside, how many of us would pay for a properly-certified course telling us how to do things that we can find out on the internet?

On reflection, I have to agree with you. Do you have any idea what the Daystate course cost a dealer?
Oh well, t'was just an idle idea after the Shiraz.

Cheers, Phil

[TenMetrePeter]

Air Arms did a series of youtube videos but they stopped short of anything that would invalidate the warranty. In particular how to reset their S series trigger to factory settings so I produced a video on YT. Amateurs can help a lot if the video is of sufficient quality.
I did ask AA for a replacement gauge on warranty and they said it was far too dangerous for me to change. When I referred them to their how-to video on the subject they supplied it!

[Geezer]

On reflection, I have to agree with you. Do you have any idea what the Daystate course cost a dealer?
Oh well, t'was just an idle idea after the Shiraz.

Cheers, Phil

I’m afraid I don’t have that info.

But, even in the US (where loads of little police Depts need someone qualified as an armourer, so the market is competitive), the going rate for a day on one weapon (eg Glock 17, SIG226) is around £200+ a head for a day of instruction in a class of 25-30, and the courses themselves barely scratch the surface: basic “how it works”, how to take it apart and put it back together, how to adjust the sights, and how to rectify basic malfunctions by replacing malfunctioning parts (if the extractor is broken, replace it with a new one, that kind of thing). Half of which is in the user manual or on Wikipedia.

Nothing like old-school intensive REME armourer training, covering things like where to hit it with a hammer, what hammer to hit it with, and which swear-words to use while hitting it with said hammer. Or, to be serious, a lot of very detailed expert training by excellent guys allowing the individual to diagnose and fix almost any fault, and, if needed, modify or even make replacement parts to fit.

So, would anyone here pay £200-300 plus travel and accommodation to spend a day learning how to do a basic service?

Good question, though. There might be an opportunity for eg BASC to offer maintenance/service/tuning courses to members, at low cost if done by volunteer members. I’d still though be leery of anything involving pressured vessels, for legal liability reasons. And they’d have to have some way of certifying the instructors as qualified.