TALON RANGE LLC
MIDWAY, FLORIDA

. Our mission is to provide a safe and professional environment to train civilians and law enforcement officers with the Company History Talon Training was launched in 2008 by JD Johnson and Charlie Strickland, both experienced law enforcement officers. They had been training cops for decades, and their colleagues began asking them about training for family members, concealed carry classes and additional law enforcement training. The two men decided to start a company that would focus on teaching civilians. After Talon Training launched in 2008, Charlie and JD struggled to find holsters that fit the needs of their clients. Talon Holsters was started in 2010. Then, as the businesses grew, the most frequent question asked was where people could go shoot. There wasn’t a well-managed, safe public range that offered people a place to train and shoot. Construction on Talon Range began in 2012 and the facility opened in July 2013. Charlie is the CEO and co-owner of Talon Training, Talon Range Charlie currently holds certifications as a law enforcement firearms instructor and a defensive tactics instructor with Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission (CJSTC). He was formerly a Florida Firearms “K” Instructor and driving instructor as well as a Motorcycle Instructor from the Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM). He has served as a taser instructor for Taser International and is currently certified as an NRA patrol carbine instructor. JD is the COO and a co-owner of Talon Training, Talon Range and Talon Holsters. He retired from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office after more than 25 years of law enforcement experience. He previously served as a Field Training Officer and an agency armorer. JD holds instructor certificates from Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission (CJSTC) in firearms and defensive tactics, and he is a certified Taser International taser instructor. He attended Miami-Dade’s Officer Survival School and several advanced firearms instructor schools and has instructed Firearms Instructor Train the Trainer Schools at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy. John is the director of competitive shooting at Talon Training and is a certified firearms instructor with Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission (CJSTC). He has more than 13 years of experience in law enforcement and has been an instructor for more than 11 years. John is a helicopter pilot and transferred from SWAT to the Aviation Unit at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, but continues to function as the agency’s lead instructor. John is a co-owner of Talon Range. Avery has more than 24 years of combined military and law enforcement experience and is Talon’s Training Coordinator. He began his career in the Army where he served as a physical security specialist, turret gunner, team leader and unit armorer. He was stationed at locations around the world and deployed twice to the Balkans. In 1999, Avery began his career with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission where he served as a member of the Special Operations Group, K-9 handler, Field Training Officer and Training Lieutenant; he currently serves the agency as a Captain. As a certified handgun, shotgun and carbine instructor, Avery has hosted numerous classes focusing on the basic, intermediate or advanced needs of his students. Avery has been a Talon instructor since 2012. David Pate started his career in law enforcement with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office in 1987. He served in Uniform Patrol, as a School Resource Deputy, Criminal Investigations, and after 09/11, as a Domestic Security Task Force Agent. He is currently a Captain with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission, having served in Internal Affairs, Advanced Training and now as the head of the Office of Professional Standards. Mitch spent 37 years in law enforcement, beginning as a member of the Army’s military police force and serving as the non-commissioned officer in charge at Ft. Leavenworth. He was decorated for his service in the Army before starting his civilian career as a deputy Sheriff, first in Kansas and then in Florida. Mitch retired in 2014 but not before earning his commercial helicopter license and serving first as his agency’s first full-time observer for the Aviation Unit and then as Captain over the Aviation Bureau. Mitch has been a firearms instructor for over 29 years. He is a NRA-trained instructor for handguns and patrol rifle and he carries high liability certificates as an instructor in the Florida Criminal Justice Training Commission curriculum. Mitch has been instrumental in leading classes in active shooter response and critical incident training in the region for over a decade. Fred is a certified CJSTC firearms, defensive tactics and driving instructor. He is a Master Taser Instructor and has helped formulate a wide variety of training curriculum for many law enforcement agencies in the capital city region. He has an extensive background in writing and teaching agency policies. He is also an expert witness in matters pertaining to use of force issues related to law enforcement and policy. He has testified extensively in grand jury proceedings locally. His background and experience in both civilian and military tactics and leadership add outstanding value to the training courses at Talon. Bruce owns First Calibur Security Training which operates out of Talon Range. He is responsible for the G License training at Talon and trains many of the state-certified security guards in the area. Frank is certified by the National Rifle Association as both a shotgun and handgun instructor and is a certified SCUBA diver. He has a small firearms business with his wife, Kirsten and is a proud father to four sons. Frank is a graduate of Leon High School, Tallahassee Community College and Florida State University. Greg is the operations manager at Talon Range. He is responsible for all outdoor maintenance which includes the upkeep of target systems and frames as well as the skeet trap and sporting clay facilities. He is also involved in the range’s construction projects.