Buying a gun in St. Louis City and St. Louis County

St. Louis is the one place in Missouri where a buyer has to think about more than state law, and even here the extra layer is thinner than people assume. The city is independent of any county, it has its own sheriff and its own municipal code, and it has used the single opening that state preemption leaves. None of that changes how you buy a firearm. This guide walks through ordering online to a dealer in the metro, the local rules that do apply, and where to shoot once you have the gun.

Ordering online to a St. Louis dealer

Every firearm on this site ships to a federally licensed dealer you choose at checkout. You pick a shop near home, we ship the gun to their license, and you finish the transfer at their counter with a photo ID, ATF Form 4473 and a federal NICS check. There is no state permit to purchase in Missouri and no waiting period, so if the check returns a proceed you can leave with the gun the same day. Most dealers in the metro charge between $25 and $50 for a transfer; ask when you call to confirm they will receive a shipment for you. Ammunition, optics, holsters, magazines and most parts ship directly to your door anywhere in the city or the county.

A St. Louis address is a normal shipping address for everything except the firearm itself. There is no city ordinance requiring registration, no local permit to own, and no local tax on the transfer, because Section 21.750 RSMo reserves all of that to the state.

The one local rule that matters

Section 21.750 RSMo allows a city to prohibit open carry by someone who does not hold a valid concealed carry permit. The City of St. Louis used that opening in Ordinance 71717, effective July 24, 2023, which makes it an offense to openly carry or display a firearm readily capable of lethal use within the city unless you hold a valid concealed carry permit or endorsement. A follow-on ordinance, 71750, took effect in January 2024. The penalty is a municipal fine and possible jail, not a felony, but it is easily avoided: carry concealed, or carry the permit.

St. Louis County and several municipalities inside it have their own versions of the open carry rule, and it is worth checking the code of the specific municipality you live or work in. Nothing in any of them touches buying, owning, transporting or storing a firearm.

Getting the permit in the city and the county

Missouri permits are issued by sheriffs. Because the City of St. Louis is not inside any county, city residents apply to the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis rather than to a county office. Residents of St. Louis County apply to the county sheriff, and residents of Jefferson, Franklin, St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties apply to their own. The requirements are identical everywhere: eight hours of certified training with a live-fire qualification, fingerprints, a fee of up to $100, and a permit valid five years, with extended and lifetime options available. Our Missouri concealed carry guide has the full detail, including the twenty-round qualification course.

Places in the metro where carry is barred

The statewide list in Section 571.107 RSMo does a lot of work in a city this size. The Civil Courts Building and the federal courthouse downtown, the city justice center, the Metro transit system's secure areas and Lambert airport past the checkpoint, Busch Stadium and Enterprise Center as arenas seating over 5,000, hospitals open to the public, the casinos on the riverfront, and any bar without the owner's consent are all closed to concealed carry. Schools and universities from Saint Louis University to the county's community college campuses are closed without the governing body's consent. Posted private property, which includes most large retailers in the county, controls as well.

Where to shoot near St. Louis

The closest public range is the Jay Henges Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center, run by the Department of Conservation off Antire Road at I-44 exit 269 in southwest St. Louis County. It has a 100-yard baffled rifle and pistol line with twenty covered stations, three trap fields, a shotgun patterning range and a static archery range, at a small hourly fee, and it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Across the Missouri River, the August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center on Highway D near Defiance in St. Charles County has a 100-yard line with twenty stations, a 50-yard line with fifteen, five trap and skeet overlay fields, two patterning ranges and an archery range with an elevated tower. It sits inside the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area, which is worth a day on its own.

For a free option, the unstaffed rifle, pistol and shotgun range at Little Indian Creek Conservation Area, about eight miles south of St. Clair off Route A, is roughly an hour from downtown. Only paper targets on the provided holders may be used, and the range closes Mondays for maintenance. The Department of Conservation gave initial approval in May 2026 to requiring a small game permit at unstaffed ranges from February 28, 2027, so confirm the current rule before you go.

Hunting out of the metro

Deer hunters here drive west into Franklin and Warren counties, north into Lincoln County, or south into Jefferson County and the Mark Twain National Forest beyond it. St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties are all on the 2026 mandatory chronic wasting disease sampling list for the November 14-15 opening weekend. Our deer season guide covers the dates and legal firearms, and the turkey and waterfowl guide covers the Middle Zone duck season that runs the Mississippi and Missouri bottoms on both sides of the city.

Start here

If you know what you want, go straight to the catalog and pick a dealer at checkout. If you are buying your first gun, read the Missouri gun laws guide first, then look at the pages for St. Louis, Chesterfield, St. Charles and Arnold for what is nearby.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.