Colorado School of Trades

06/03/2026

Dennis Nunez using his checkering files to recut the grip for a classic Browning Superposed.

06/02/2026

The picture says it all, one spot left in July! Apply by June 12th, 2026 for a chance to lock in your spot.

Navigate to our website, schooloftrades.edu and hit, "Apply" to fill out the quick application.

05/29/2026

Take a step back into CST's history-

Since 1947, CST has been educating Gunsmiths entirely in person. Although some components have changed, one aspect remains constant - our student Gunsmiths customize, service and repair customer fi****ms. Students earn grades in the 3rd and 4th quarter including: muzzle threading, stock repairs/refinishes, Cerakote application, rebluing, cylinder timing, rebarreling and all kinds of general repairs.

Each Gunsmith will determine presence and mechanical function of safeties along with special checks, headspace and a safe test-fire, all completed here in our facility.

This approach mandates real world, industry practice meant to bring skills directly into the jobs our graduates land.

05/26/2026

Industry partners like make our project rifle possible. The Defiance actions give CST students a premier opportunity to thread, fit and chamber their project rifles in the cartridge they choose.

Combined with industry support from Hawkins Precision, TriggerTech, Shilen Barrels and Cerakote, students at CST will machine, inlet, bed and finish their rifles in our facility.

05/25/2026

05/20/2026

Apply today! Summer slots and fall are filling up quickly! LINK BELOW👇

https://schooloftrades.edu/quick-application/

05/11/2026

These four gunsmiths enter the industry today trained and ready!

Best wishes to James, Brandon, Paul and Joseph on their next journey.

05/04/2026

Max Mathews took on the task of repairing and refinishing this customer supplied Re*****on 700 stock.

It consisted of reattaching the forend, removing the existing high gloss finish and getting the stock ready to apply finish. Here, he's applying Tru-Oil to get a solid base coat and will continue to add thin layers until complete.

04/27/2026

One of the rare times we get to use our barrel straightener! A customer dropped off a rifle with a slight bend in the last quarter of the bore towards the muzzle.

Andrew, pictured here is utilizing our in-house barrel straightener to assist in bringing this barrel back. Using V-blocks and a wheel Andrew is gently removing the bend. Although a very classic, old-school method, this process assists in bringing successive accuracy.

04/20/2026

🔙 To the Basics!

Our Basics squad is getting after it during their first quarter of school, learning to make tools and fixtures by hand, installing recoil pads and learning the Cycle of Operations.