Gunning For The Stars with Taran Butler

Published on Apr 10, 2019

When Taran Butler posted the now famous video of Keanu Reeves training for the film John Wick 2 at his range in 2016, he had no idea it would go viral.

Butler recalled watching it rack up 8 million views on Youtube. “It was one of the best moments of my life, because that was the first time anyone ever’s seen an actor do that,” Butler said of Reeves in the video. “It changed the game. Everybody went nuts over Keanu.”

Then, a number of Hollywood entertainment networks interviewed Reeves about training for John Wick 2 and with Butler. While the interview promoted the film, it also put Butler’s company, Taran Tactical Innovations, or TTI, on the map.

Butler has since worked on more than a dozen big budget films and TV shows as a weapons handler and trainer. What he does so successfully is make “gun play” in major motion pictures accurate.

“I get nuts when I see somebody hold a gun all goofy, or cup and saucer. It drives me nuts,” he said. “It drives everyone nuts.”

Butler credits his attention to detail to his decades-long career competing in 3-gun matches, which require expertise in handling handguns, rifles and shotguns. In 20 plus years, he’s become one of the most decorated 3-gun shooters in the world. With his company and range, he now makes a living training others and modifying weapons for high performance shooting.

TTI currently hires nearly a dozen gunsmiths and shooters. The company is a well respected name in the Second Amendment community. Having his weapons featured in major motion pictures is not only a huge achievement for Butler and his team, but also for the 2A community. It shows guns in a safe, responsible and fun manner.

Butler’s career shows no signs of slowing down. “Every other day I get a text like ‘do you want to work on this movie?’ and I’m like holy crap. That’s going to be awesome. I always wanted to work with these people,” Butler said.

Butler’s latest work can be seen on May 17 in John Wick 3.