Taran Butler
Taran Butler is a competitive shooter and world champion. He was born in California where his mother encouraged him and his brother to learn shooting.
Butler began his shooting career in 1994, after winning a Bowling pin match at a local indoor range in the Los Angeles Valley. He competed with a Glock-24 he borrowed from stuntman Bruce Barber, who encouraged him to shoot at the Southwest Pistol League.
In January 1995, Butler went to the Southwest Pistol League in Piru, California, with a Glock-21, and finished #7 overall, out of 118 shooters. He continued to practice and became a USPSA Grand Master in 14 months. He was also the first Glock Grand Master shooter in the history of the sport.
During his shooting career, Butler has accomplished the following:
- 15x Southwest Pistol League Champion
- 10x California State Three-Gun Overall winner
- 4x USPSA Multi-Gun National Tactical Champ
- 3x Rocky Mountain World Champ
- 4x Fort Benning Multi-Gun winner
Butler currently runs a shooting facility in Simi Valley that is used by the Los Angeles Police Department for practice. Butler occasionally shoots with wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin and film director James Cameron.
Recently, Butler gave a free Handgun skills class to ACTIVE duty soldiers at the Annual Shoot for the Troops Charity event.
In 2011, Butler appeared as a trainer in the second and third season of History Channel's marksmen competition show, Top Shot. Butler has also served as a technical adviser on films like Michael Mann's Public Enemies.