I will tell you the same thing that we tell all Armorers in our courses, is that seek out as much information, manuals, and training courses as you can, as they are all good sources of information, and having information is always a good thing so you have as much knowledge as possible when it comes to diagnosing problems and making needed repairs or wanted alterations on firearms.  Every course can teach you something.  
 
IMHO the best way to learn is hands on.  As an instructor, what we see is that most people learn and retain information by going hands on, especially when it comes to working on weapons systems.  By going hands on, you get to look, touch and feel all the parts, this gives you a hands on experience with working with the resistance of parts, springs, etc.  When it comes to working on different firearms, a lot of the battle is trying to figure out how to hold onto parts and assemblies as you work on them, getting the correct alignment to remove and install parts, and the resistance you get when working on different firearms and parts.

When it comes to manuals and videos, there is a lot of information that can be obtained from them, but hands on is better.  When we teach Armorer courses on different weapons systems, we provide each student with a manual on the weapons systems they are learning on.  The Armorer manuals we provide to students are ones that we have written in house by our staff.  We have written manuals on 34 different weapons systems, and are continually always updating our manuals as many of these firearms are upgraded with newer designs and changes of parts and accessories, and updates and tooling and fixtures.  The information in these manuals is based upon our own experience of not only working on the guns for installation and removal of parts, and also includes lots of information and pics of lifespan of parts, inspection for debris and erosion, maintenance and lubrication issues and considerations, gauging, specialty tooling, and lifespan of parts.  We also cover lifespan, inspections and replacement of parts.

A lot of armorer courses provide a Military tech manual.  These are good manuals when it comes down to Military issued weapons systems, but don't always have information on other variations and accessories.  Military teach manuals often times use strictly Military nomenclature, which doesn't always coincide with obtaining replacement parts in the commercial side of firearms parts.

The other thing about tech manuals, is often times it will tell you that if you firearm is not working correctly, to replace a specific part, and if that doesn't fix it then to tag the firearm and ship it off to Depot Maintenance.  Taking a firearm out of service, tagging it and then shipping it off to Depot Maintenance is often times a good option, but outside the Military establishment, who do you ship the rifle too if you don't have a Depot Maintenance?  This is why in our Armorer courses we teach you everything the Depot Maintenance knows and more, so you should be able to diagnose and deal with any needed repairs and/or replacement of parts that cross your path.

A large amount of our student base and courses are generally Law Enforcement and Military.  We do occasionally get to offer an "Open Enrollment" course that is open to all.  There is no difference in our "Open Enrollment", and Restricted to Law Enforcement and Military courses.  What it comes down to is the hosting location, and hosting coordinators wishes.  A lot of these courses are held at Law Enforcement and Military facilities, which some of these are in places where there is sensitive or classified information that are not public information (warrants, wanted people, sensitive investigations information, etc).  And several times a year we are able to offer "Open Enrollment" courses that can be held in places where everyone is welcome to attend.

We have an "Open Enrollment" course coming on at 88 Tactical in Omaha NE on April 30 - May 1.  This course is already have full, so if you wish to attend then I would suggest getting registered to make sure you get a spot.  

Here is a link to reviews of courses on this forums, and we post many reviews of our courses so you can get a good idea of some of what we cover.

Here is a course description of one of our courses:  

SLR15 AR15 / M16 / M4 / AR308 Armorer Course
   
SLR15 Grail in the SPEER GOLD DOT RIFLE AMMO AD

   


SLR15 Rifles has been featured in SWAT Magazine, Guns & Ammo Magazine Tactical Guns & Gear Annual, Shooting Times, Gun Digest, Guns & Weapons For Law Enforcement Magazine, and Precision Rifle Magazine. Our Armoring Course has been taught for a decade all over the country, and was reviewed in SWAT Magazine. This course covers all variants of the AR15 / M16 / M4 / AR308 weapons system with 2-days of hands on training which goes far beyond basic disassembly & reassembly.

Here is a brief overview of what is covered:
History of the Weapon
Cycles of Function
General Disassembly & Assembly
Identification of Common Problems and Parts
Nomenclature
Identification of Group Components
Semi, Burst, and Full Auto Parts and Conversions
Complete Armoring Disassembly / Assembly
Barrel Replacement
Cleaning and Maintenance
Sight and Distance Considerations
Ballistic Issues
Gas Impingement & Piston Systems
Parts Interchangeability, including Brands
Headspace
Firing Pin Protrusion
Trigger Systems
Chamber Inspection and Issues
Troubleshooting, diagnosis & repair
Gauging, Inspections, Stress & Interval Issues
Accessories and Customizing
Tool Options and Selection
Iron Sights
SOP/MOD Accessories and Additions
Etc


If anyone would like this course in their area, please contact us to make arrangements about getting it coordinated, all we need is a suitable classroom for a course and we will be there, the host gets a minimum of 2 complimentary spots.

Other Armorer Courses we offer:
M14/M1 Rifle Armorer
Bolt Action Sniper Rifle Armorer
Law Enforcement Shotgun Armorer
1911 Pistol Armorer
AR15 / M16 / M4 / AR308 Advanced Armorer



CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
SLR15 Rifles
DefensiveEdge.com
(763) 712-0123