about us

Since it was launched in 2008, Talon has trained more than 100,000 people in firearms safety and personal safety. Our mission is to provide a safe and professional environment to train civilians and law enforcement officers with the best possible curriculum for personal and professional protection.

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.

Since that date, Talon has continued growing, improving and enhancing people’s training and shooting experiences. There are more than 2,500 members a year and more than 1 million people have visited since it opened.

JD Johnson & Charlie Strickland

Charlie Strickland

CEO & Co-owner

Charlie is the CEO and co-owner of Talon Training, Talon Range and Talon Holsters. He has 25 years of law enforcement experience and most recently served as Night Shift Watch Commander at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office before his retirement in September 2015. He served in and supervised a number of units, including the Robbery Task Force, Violent Crimes Unit, Patrol, Field Training and Special Operations and the SWAT team. He also served as the agency armorer. His law enforcement experience gives him a strong foundation for teaching responses to violent encounters.

Charlie currently holds certifications as a law enforcement firearms 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.

During his law enforcement career, Charlie attended schools in the prevention of suicide bombers; improvised explosive devices; tactical entry; and Carlos Hathcock’s White Feather Sniper School, among others. He also coordinated training for the Leon County Sheriff’s SWAT, where he served eight years as a sniper. Charlie currently leads training on responses to active shooter scenarios as well as other classes. He and JD author or approve all of Talon’s training curriculum and most of the material for Talon’s videos. He is also a certified archery and hunter safety instructor.

Charlie holds a B.S. and an MBA from Florida State University. He is a graduate of Leadership Tallahassee, Class 29 and serves on the board for the Capital City Challenge, a non-profit organization he founded nearly a decade ago.

John David (JD) Johnson

Co-owner

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.

JD is the lead reactive steel instructor at Talon and is well versed in the Bill Rogers Schools methodology. He co-authored much of Talon’s training material with Charlie Strickland and others. An avid hunter for a wide array of game, JD has many skills related to this sport. He’s a certified archery and hunter safety instructor and is responsible for the range’s sporting clays, skeet, trap and archery. He also has an expansive knowledge of firearms, especially older and military-type firearms.

JOHN RASMUSSEN

Co-owner

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.

An avid competitive shooter for more than 18 years, John has amassed numerous class and division wins across the country competing in the U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA). He won the Florida State USPSA Championship in 2010 and placed 16th in the nation that same year.

John competes regularly at the national level in both USPSA and 3-Gun using handguns, rifles and shotguns, and he strives to incorporate what he learns from competitive shooting into teaching self defense and tactics at Talon. He teaches Talon’s USPSA introductory classes and many of the advanced classes. He is instrumental in developing curriculum and is a well spoken and patient instructor. 

John is a co-owner of Talon Range.

Avery Tubbs

Training Coordinator

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

Instructor

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.

David is a CJSTC and NRA certified firearms instructor and is also a taser, impact weapon and chemical agent instructor. He holds certifications in multiple disciplines as an armorer and has been assigned as the Agency Armorer for both LCSO and FWC. He is an avid waterfowl and upland bird hunter and has been active with the Boy Scouts of America since his youth.

David holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and teaches basic recruit and advanced courses at the Florida Public Safety Institute.

TOMMY GORE

Instructor

Tommy is currently a Sergeant with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and has served in local law enforcement for over 25 years. He is an active member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office training staff and is certified in firearms, defensive tactics and driving. He is also an agency armorer.

Tommy has worked in Patrol, Vice/Narcotics, Robbery, Violent Crimes and Homeland Security. He is currently the LCSO Bomb Squad Commander and Coordinator for the Big Bend Regional Bomb Squad. He also serves as the regional coordinator for the Radiological/Nuclear Detection Program. Tommy currently serves on the Regional Domestic Security Task Force and represents the region on the Domestic Security Coordinating Group, Specialty Teams Focus Group.

Tommy has received training in Suicide Bombing Prevention, Advanced Explosives Demolition, Homemade Explosives, Unexploded Ordnance Technician, Post blast Investigations, Explosive Breaching and HazMat Technician.

 

FRED SMELT

Instructor

Fred Smelt is a Sergeant and the Training Coordinator at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. He serves as the SWAT Team Leader and is the team’s training coordinator. He retired as a Sergeant Major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and has deployed overseas numerous times.

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. 

FRANK DOOLAN

Instructor

Frank retired from the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) in 2012 after 31 years in law enforcement. During his time with TPD and the Florida Marine Patrol, Frank trained hundreds of officers from various agencies on how to pass qualification tests with their firearms. He was TPD’s lead firearms instructor, lead driving instructor, lead defensive tactics instructor, field training officer, patrol officer, forgery investigator and investigator for fraud and stolen vehicles.

Frank served on and trained the original TPD field force using the experience he had gained with the Florida Marine Patrol’s early SWAT team during the riots in Miami in the early 1980s. With the Marine Patrol in Miami, Frank intercepted drug runners and firearms smugglers, in addition to responding to boating emergencies and enforcing wildlife regulations

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.

Mark Rominger
Instructor

Mark comes to Talon with over 40 years of state and local law enforcement; he is currently a part time law enforcement officer and an adjunct instructor at the Florida Public Safety Institute.

He is a CJST certified firearms instructor and has been NRA certified in handgun, shotgun, and rifles for over 30 years. Mark formerly served as a Special Agent, a SWAT sniper, and as an Anti-Terrorist team operator. Any weapon from flintlocks to automatics is Mark’s specialty.

MICHAEL BARINEAU

Asst. Manager

Michael is the the Range Manager, providing customer service and handling day to day activities in the Pro Shop and on the range.  Michael also works with the Training staff to schedule classes and private instruction.  

As a Corpsman for the United States Naval Hospital Corps, Michael spent time in Guam, at the US Naval Hospital Guam.  He worked in a variety of fields ranging from Preventive Medicine to Family practice and ultimately became an Emergency Department team leader.  While stationed with 2D Marine Division in North Carolina he worked as a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman for Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Infantry Regiment.  After his return from Afghanistan he moved to Head Quarters Company, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion to finish his time remaining in his beloved Corps. 

Ryan Wilkinson

Range Staff 

Jaden Keup

Range Staff

Jelicia Windross

Range Staff

Brady Jackson 

Range Staff 

 

Bandit Mock 

Range Staff

Bandit Mock is one of the longest serving employees on staff and the only employee that lives on the property that we are aware of. She went from being a homeless vagrant living behind the dumpster to a Vermin Elimination Specialist in just a few short years. During the day you can find her lounging around on the porch. Say hello but be mindful that she is normally up all night working, so if she is sleeping please let her be.