Ever feel like popping off a few rounds? Send them down range at Missouri Southern’s “live-fire” shooting range in the Mills Anderson Justice Center.

The Criminal Justice Department at Missouri Southern offers a course that takes a look at the proper use and handling of firearms. It’s an elective course for three credit hours and is only held one day a week.

The classroom portion of the course teaches students how to safely handle a firearm as well as other firearm aspects.  

“I start the students off with a .22 caliber first,” said Dr. Stephen Verrill, head of the criminal justice department. “Once I feel like they have showed that they can handle a .22 I let them experiment with higher caliber rounds.”

The course does allow students to bring their own handguns to the firing range but only after the first few classroom lectures. The final is split into a two-part exam: a written exam and a proficiency exam.

“It’s awesome,” said criminal justice major and Southern alum, Avery Huffman.  “Get to shoot guns and get school credit? Yes, please.”