Order online, pick up at a licensed dealer in Boone County. Columbia is the Boone County seat and the home of the University of Missouri, a college city of tree-lined brick streets sitting halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City on I-70. Rock Bridge Memorial State Park and its sinkholes and caves start just south of the built-up edge.
Pick an FFL dealer near you that accepts shipped transfers and name it at checkout. We confirm their license and ship the firearm to them. Ammunition, optics and parts ship straight to your door where Missouri law allows.
Missouri has no permit to purchase, no firearm registration and no state waiting period. The old permit to acquire a concealable firearm, issued by the sheriff since 1921, was repealed with Section 571.090 RSMo by Senate Bills 62 and 41 in 2007. At a licensed dealer you show photo ID, complete ATF Form 4473 and the dealer runs a federal NICS background check; if it comes back as proceed you can take the firearm home the same day. Federal law sets the dealer minimum at 18 for rifles and shotguns and 21 for handguns. Private sales between residents need no state check.
Dealers in these communities all work for Columbia-area buyers:
Missouri has allowed carry without a permit since January 1, 2017. If you are 19 or older, or 18 and serving in or honorably discharged from the armed forces, and nothing bars you from having a firearm, you may carry concealed. The Boone County sheriff still issues the concealed carry permit under Section 571.101 RSMo: eight hours of training with a live-fire qualification, fingerprints, a fee of up to $100 and five years of validity, with extended and lifetime permits under Section 571.205. Many people still hold one for reciprocity in other states. Section 571.107 lists the places that stay off-limits.
Missouri runs one statewide firearms deer season rather than numbered units. For 2026-27 the November portion runs November 14-24, 2026, with early youth October 24-25, late youth November 27-29, early antlerless October 9-11 and late antlerless December 5-13 in open counties, and alternative methods December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027. Centerfire rifles, handguns and shotgun slugs with expanding bullets are legal, along with muzzleloaders of .40 caliber or larger and archery gear; buckshot and self-loading firearms holding more than 11 cartridges are not. Mandatory chronic wasting disease sampling covers 28 counties on opening weekend.
Boone County runs from the Missouri River bluffs at Rocheport to the prairie edge north of town, and it holds plenty of deer and turkey. Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area six miles north of Columbia has unstaffed rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges open Wednesday through Sunday.
The Katy Trail runs the Missouri River bottoms at McBaine and Rocheport below the bluffs, and Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on the river draws waterfowl hunters and birders all winter.
Missouri's public shooting ranges are run by the Department of Conservation: five staffed shooting range and outdoor education centers with a small per-hour fee, plus roughly 69 unstaffed ranges on conservation areas that are free and open from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. The Conservation Commission gave initial approval in May 2026 to requiring a small game permit at unstaffed ranges from February 28, 2027, so check the current rules before you drive out.
Source: Missouri Department of Conservation shooting range and conservation area pages, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.
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Yes. Order here, name a licensed FFL dealer in Ashland, Hallsville, Centralia, Columbia or anywhere in Boone County, and we ship the firearm to them. You fill out ATF Form 4473 at their counter and they run the background check.
No. Missouri repealed its permit to acquire in 2007 and has no registration. You show ID, complete Form 4473 and pass a NICS check at the licensed dealer near Columbia that receives your order.
No. Missouri has no state waiting period. Once the dealer's NICS check returns a proceed, the transfer can be finished the same day.
The Boone County sheriff issues the permit under Section 571.101 RSMo after eight hours of training with a live-fire qualification, fingerprints and a fee of up to $100. Inside the City of St. Louis the city sheriff handles it.
We ship every firearm to a licensed dealer near Columbia that you choose at checkout. The dealer runs the background check and hands the gun over; ammunition, optics and most parts ship to your door.
Yes, if you are 19 or older and not barred from having a firearm. Missouri has allowed permitless concealed carry since 2017, though some cities, including St. Louis, restrict open carry by people without a permit.
The Department of Conservation runs five staffed ranges, including Jay Henges in St. Louis County, August A. Busch in St. Charles County, Lake City in Jackson County and Andy Dalton in Greene County, plus free unstaffed ranges on conservation areas. Target shooting is only allowed on the marked range.
Each dealer sets its own fee, commonly $20 to $75. Call before you order to confirm the price and that they accept firearms shipped from an online store.
General information, not legal advice. Rules current as of September 2026. See our Missouri gun law overview and check with Boone County Sheriff (the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis inside the city) or a local attorney about your own situation.
