David Walker, associate professor of military history, recently received a grant from the National Rifle Association to purchase $3,796 of ammunition for his HIST 494 course, History of Firearms and Tactics.
The grant has helped fund ammunition purchases for the course to support its experiential learning component. Students visit a shooting range staffed by volunteers at seven stations, each dedicated to firearms from different historical periods in American history. Students experience using weapons from the Revolutionary War — like the “Brown Bess” flintlock Musket — all the way to the Cold War — featuring weapons like the AK-47 and M-60 machine gun.
Walker’s course familiarizes students with the development of firearms and infantry tactics. “The infantry weapons and the infantry tactics must be thought of together to have a real understanding of tactical warfare,” Walker writes in the course syllabus.