Editor's note: This is part six of a nine-part series.

Only in Montana would the local sheriff hand folks a loaded .45 and a paramilitary-style assault rifle and encourage them to squeeze off a few rounds.

And that is exactly what members of the Citizen's Academy did last Saturday as part of the program, when each person was trained in firearms safety and familiarity, including shooting the .45s and AR-15 rifles utilized by the Sheriff's Office.

The AR-15s have fully automatic capability, but folks only shot in semi-automatic mode. Both the handgun and rifle sessions followed only after attendees were properly trained in most aspects of firearms safety by Sheriff's deputy Mike Carlson.

"I firmly believe in a citizen's right to bear arms," Sheriff Bill Barron said during the training session. "To me, that is a sacred right and I encourage people to exercise that right."

After a safety session at the courthouse, Carlson and other deputies met attendees at the law enforcement shooting range located a few hundred yards down the road from the public range off Kerr Dam Road. There, everyone was allowed to shoot two five-round clips of .45 ammo and five shots from the .223-caliber AR-15s.

Some attendees expressed concern about Montana's open gun-ownership laws, in which you can purchase a gun at a gun show without showing ID, for example, but they said later they learned a lot and overcame some of those reservations in the process.

Barron and Carlson explained that, in their professional law enforcement experience, there's little correlation between gun availability and criminal activity because criminals usually grab the nearest object in the heat of a crime — a bat, a rock, even using a truck to harm someone, the Sheriff said.

"We have a very low rate of crime compared to other places," Barron said.

Barron also said he has no problem signing off on many of the concealed weapon permits that come before him, as long as the owner can demonstrate he or she has been properly trained in gun safety. The Sheriff's office used to offer a gun-safety course for private citizens, and the Sheriff said they are looking to revive that.

"This is the first time I've shot any type of firearm," Polson resident Pat Lundgren said. "Today I feel like I overcame a lot of my fears."

"I liked hearing the Sheriff's perspective on guns, and I agree with what they said about guns don't hurt people — people hurt people," attendee Bob Bushnell of Polson said after the class.

Bushnell said he'd fired a .22 a long time ago, so he welcomed the opportunity to learn more about other firearms.

"It was a good experience," he said.