Target Shooting

Quick reference

One scannable page for safe, legal target shooting in Missouri. Skim it before you go: where you can shoot, where you can't, the rules that never change, and the commands you'll hear on a range. It's a summary, not legal advice — when in doubt, use a staffed MDC range.

Target shooting is popular, but the first question is always where can you legally and safely do it — and the good, legal places are fewer than people think. The simplest safe-and-legal choice for most people is a Conservation Department range.

The honest landscape

Where can you legally shoot?

Most people overestimate where target shooting is allowed. Find where you're thinking of going in the left column — and when in doubt, a staffed MDC range is the simple, safe answer.

Where	Can you shoot?	What to check
A staffed MDC range	Yes — the best default. Open year-round with range officers, booths, and safety gear.	Hours, fees, and last check-in (30 minutes before close) on the range page.
An unstaffed MDC range	Yes — it's a posted public range. No fee and no staff, so you follow the posted rules.	Open about a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset.
A conservation area, away from a designated range	No — on conservation areas, target shooting is allowed only on a designated range (3 CSR 10-11.150).	Use the area's range, or pick a different legal spot.
Rural private land you own or have permission for	Maybe — legal if you do it safely and lawfully (a real backstop, away from roads/buildings/people, not in city limits, county rules OK, never intoxicated).	Your city and county ordinances — check both before you shoot.
Inside city limits	Assume no — most cities ban discharge unless you're at a lawful range or the local code clearly allows it.	Your city code.
Mark Twain National Forest	Maybe — informal target shooting is allowed in most places under strict federal rules.	The 150-yard / road / water rules, fire restrictions, and the current forest order.
A Corps of Engineers lake or project	Usually no — generally prohibited unless it's an authorized range, you have written permission, or it's lawful hunting (36 CFR 327.13).	The specific lake or project office.
A Missouri state park	No — state parks don't allow discharging firearms.	You may lawfully carry, but you can't target shoot.
NPS land, including Ozark National Scenic Riverways	Usually no — using or discharging a firearm is prohibited unless authorized (possession is a separate rule).	The park's rules.
A private or commercial range	Yes — follow that range's rules.	Hours, fees, and what's allowed, from the range.

These never change

The four rules of firearm safety

Treat every firearm as if it's loaded. Check it yourself, every time — don't take anyone's word for it.
Never point the muzzle at anything you're not willing to destroy. Control where the barrel points, always — even when you're sure it's empty.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. Rest it along the frame until your sights are on the target and you've decided to fire.
Be sure of your target and what's beyond it. You own every bullet until it stops — know what's behind and around what you're shooting at.

At a range, MDC adds three more: keep the action open and the firearm unloaded until you're ready to shoot, keep the safety on until you're ready, and follow the range officer. Treat the safety as a backup only — it's a mechanical device that can fail, so it's the four rules (muzzle and trigger discipline) that keep you safe, not the safety lever.

Wear eye and ear protection every time.
Carry firearms to and from the line cased and empty, with actions open.
Check the barrel for obstructions, and use the correct ammunition for your firearm.
If a round doesn't fire, keep the muzzle pointed downrange and your finger off the trigger, wait at least 30 seconds (a hangfire can still go off), then carefully unload — never turn the gun toward yourself or look down the barrel.
Never shoot at a flat, hard surface or at water — bullets ricochet.
Never handle a firearm after alcohol or drugs.
No horseplay on the line.
Store firearms and ammunition separately and locked, away from children.
Keep an adult right beside any young or new shooter — at MDC ranges, anyone 15 and under must be supervised.

The cheat sheet

Everything on one screen

The one-liner version of every rule on this hub. Red cards are safety and the law — get those exactly right. Blue cards are the practical how-to. When two rules seem to conflict, follow the stricter one.

The four rules — always

Treat every firearm as if it's loaded.
Never point the muzzle at anything you're not willing to destroy.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
Be sure of your target and what's beyond it.

You own every bullet until it stops

You own every bullet until it stops. That's why 'where' is a safety question — a bullet doesn't stop at your property line. Get the backstop and 'what's beyond my target' right, and most of the danger and most of the legal risk disappear.
Use a solid earthen backstop and know what's beyond your target.
Never shoot at a flat or hard surface, or at water — bullets ricochet.

Gear & sobriety

Wear eye and ear protection every time.
No alcohol or drugs around firearms, ever.

Easiest legal spot: an MDC range

Staffed range: about $5 per hour for a rifle/pistol booth; Last check-in is 30 minutes before closing.
Unstaffed range: no fee, about a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset.
When in doubt, use a staffed MDC range — staffed, posted, and built for this.

MDC range rules

Eye and ear protection required.
Paper targets on the provided holders only (clay only on shotgun and shotshell ranges).
No steel-jacketed, steel-core, or armor-piercing bullets, and no tracer or incendiary ammunition.
All calibers up to — but not including — .50 BMG.
No full-auto fire except by special use permit.
No alcohol on the range or in the parking lot.
Anyone 15 and under must have adult supervision.
Groups over 10 need a special use permit.
Follow the range officer; agents may inspect your permit, firearm, and ammunition.

Conservation areas

On an MDC conservation area, target shooting is allowed only on a designated range — not just anywhere on the property (except by special use permit).

Private land

You own the land or have the owner's permission.
You're outside any city discharge restriction.
County rules allow it.
You have a real earthen backstop.
No road or structure is in or near the line of fire.
No livestock or neighbors are beyond the target.
Fire risk is low.
Everyone on site knows the cease-fire signal.

Mark Twain National Forest

Don't target shoot within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation area, or any occupied area — or anywhere a person or property could be hit. Don't shoot across or on a National Forest road, across a body of water next to a road, or into or within a cave (36 CFR 261.10). And as a plain safety rule, never shoot across or at any water — bullets skip right off it.
Exploding targets, tracer and incendiary ammunition, and fireworks are prohibited on National Forest System land under the federal fire rule (36 CFR 261.
Pack out everything — your spent shell casings and your targets included. Trashed-out spots get closed to shooting.

Statewide never — except in self-defense (RSMo 571.030)

On, along, across, or from a public highway — including shooting at a mark, an object, or at random toward a road.
Into a dwelling or an assembly building, or into a train, boat, aircraft, or motor vehicle.
Within 100 yards of an occupied schoolhouse, courthouse, or church.
Into an outbuilding.
At or from a motor vehicle, at another person, or at a building or habitable structure.
While intoxicated and handling a firearm negligently or unlawfully, or discharging it.
Self-defense (RSMo 563.031) is a separate exception — these are target-shooting limits, not limits on lawful self-defense.

Off-limits

Inside cities and towns: Most municipalities ban discharge — assume no unless you're at a lawful range or the code clearly allows it.
Missouri state parks: No hunting or discharging firearms. You may lawfully carry under Missouri law, but you can't target shoot.
Corps of Engineers project land: Loaded firearms and target shooting are generally prohibited unless an exception applies — an authorized range, written District Commander permission, lawful hunting or fishing, or law enforcement (36 CFR 327.13). Check the specific lake.
NPS land, including Ozark National Scenic Riverways: Unless authorized, using or discharging a firearm is prohibited — possession is a separate rule from discharge. It is not target-shooting land.
National wildlife refuges and other public land: Each has its own restrictions — check first.
MDC conservation areas: Target shooting only on a designated range (3 CSR 10-11.150).

Range commands

'Cease fire!' means stop shooting instantly — finger straight off the trigger, stop all movement, keep the muzzle pointed downrange (or safely benched), and do NOT load, unload, or keep handling the firearm until the all-clear is given. Step back and wait. Anyone can and should call it the instant something looks wrong — you never need a reason or permission.
'Cold range' means the line stops and every firearm is made safe FIRST — unloaded, magazine out, action open, chamber empty (use a chamber flag if you have one), and set down pointing downrange. Only after all guns are confirmed clear does anyone step in front of the line to change targets. While the range is cold, no one touches, handles, or stands behind a firearm — not even to case it or adjust a scope.
'Hot range' means shooting is allowed again — everyone behind the firing line.
At a staffed range, a Range Safety Officer (RSO) runs these calls — follow them without argument.

Who can shoot

Most adults who can legally own a firearm may target shoot at a legal place — no license is required to target shoot.
Some people are barred from possessing a firearm at all — and target shooting requires possession, so they can't do it either.
Kids and new shooters: an adult right beside them, every shot.
Carrying is a different topic with different rules — no link here.

When in doubt

Use a staffed MDC range.

It's staffed, posted, and built for this — the simplest way to shoot safely and legally. This page is a summary, not legal advice. Firearm law carries serious penalties and changes by city and county, so check the current rule for where you're standing. Heading out to hunt instead? See the Hunting hub.

Before you shoot

Missouri Porch explains; the law and the landowner decide.

Last checked: 2026-06-18. Firearm law is serious and changes by city and county — and ranges, fees, and fire restrictions change too. Check the current rule for where you're standing, lead with safety, and when in doubt, use a staffed MDC range.

This is a plain-English summary — not legal advice. Firearm law carries serious penalties and varies by city and county. Check your local ordinance and current state law, and when in doubt, use a staffed MDC range. In an emergency, call 911.

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