Obtaining Armorers license/SFX

[Newbitor]

My brother and I are interested in getting our armorers license so we can legally supply weapons on movie sets. we have quite an arsenal of rifles, shotguns, pistols. I was wondering if anybody knows the process to obtain a license to be able to bring the weapons on set and supply the blanks and what not. Is there classes or courses you have to go through? does anybody know of any info/web links with info to help direct us in the right direction?

 

[Kim Welch]

I apologize for the delay in responding, and thank you for posting. Firearms on set are serious business, and wanting to do it legally and properly is exactly the right approach.

Rules vary a lot by country and state. In the United States, armorers often hold federal firearms licenses, and many states and productions require specific training and safety certification. The best first step is to talk with experienced film armorers and the local film commission, and look into recognized safety training. Today many productions avoid live-fire blanks altogether and use non-firing replicas with muzzle flashes added in post. Safety always comes first.