Gunsmith
Before the American Revolutionary War in the American colonies, gunsmithing was a time-consuming process. Gunsmiths were generally gun makers who repaired their own weapons for their customers. These gunmakers came to the American colonies along with other craftsmen from England, and later from Germany and Switzerland. These were countries with long histories of gun making. Gunsmiths learned their trade by becoming an apprentice to an established gunsmith or gun maker. They worked from their adolescence into early adulthood before they could open a shop of their own. Handguns were relatively cheap and were made in large shops in England. So American gunsmiths repaired and modified imported pistols. However, muskets and rifles were not imported as much and local gunsmiths would custom make these for their customers. Their work included carving stocks, engraving metal pieces, and forging gun barrels. It could take as many as 400 hours to create guns by hand. Soon entirely new guns were created such as the Pennsylvania rifle (later called the "Kentucky rifle"). This was the product of German gunsmiths who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. It was lighter, longer and more accurate than European designs. The rifle soon became the favorite of colonial settlers and Frontiersmen.