About PTS Barricade

Our story

It Started With a Cardboard Box.

I didn't set out to start a company. I just wanted a better way to train.

That need became the Portable Tactical Simulated Barricade—PTS Barricade, or PTSB—a portable system for simulated cover-and-concealment practice.

Where It Began

The actual cardboard barricade that started PTS Barricade, with its original tape, cut-out and wooden stand — **The First Cardboard Barricade**The actual cardboard prototype that started PTS Barricade.

Early painted PTS Barricade prototype with its original openings and center guide, built during the patent application process — **From Idea to Working Prototype**A refined prototype I built during the patent application process.

The Need

While living in Jamaica, I realized conventional range practice wasn't giving me all the skills I wanted to develop. As a licensed firearm owner and concealed carrier in Jamaica and New York City, I wanted to practice different shooting positions and working around obstacles—beyond shooting from a bench or standing still on a square range.

I needed something portable enough to bring to the range myself, so access to this kind of practice could come with me. Back in New York, I made a barrier from a cardboard box and attached it to a makeshift stand.

The First Range Test

I took my homemade barrier to Nassau Rifle & Pistol Range on Long Island. At the booth, I began practicing around its edges and cutouts while engaging a target downrange.

A range officer had been watching. As I was leaving, he stopped me.

“You know, you could rent that thing. I like the drills you were doing.”

I laughed. I thought he was joking. But his reaction stayed with me.

Franz Johnson with Alfredo Ruiz of Nassau Rifle and Pistol Range — With Alfredo Ruiz of Nassau Rifle & Pistol Range, one of the first ranges to welcome our early testing and photographs.

A Conversation at Home

When I got home, my middle son saw the barrier tucked under my arm. I explained what I'd made, and he said, “Dad, that's very smart.”

Until then, I hadn't thought of it as a business. I began looking for an existing product like mine, but I didn't even know that “shooting barricade” was the name of a category. My research—including a search of the USPTO—eventually led me to develop the idea further.

What began as a personal solution became PTS Barricade.

Before PTS, There Was PTR

The first name was PTR Barricade—Portable Tactical Range Barricade. I eventually settled on PTS Barricade: Portable Tactical Simulated Barricade. “Simulated” better captures its purpose: making simulated cover-and-concealment practice easier to access, wherever you train.

Early PTR Barricade label, before the invention was named PTS Barricade — The early PTR Barricade label—a name from the invention’s beginnings.

Father and son during the early PTS Barricade journey — Family has been part of the journey from the beginning.

More Than a Product

Over time, the cardboard experiment evolved into a portable barricade system used in competition, recreational practice, and professional training environments—including by customers in military and law-enforcement communities.

The original PTS Barricade design is protected by U.S. Patent No. 10,825,349 B2. Its two-part sliding design, independent countertop base, and folding stand serve one purpose: make simulated cover-and-concealment practice more accessible at indoor and outdoor ranges.

A Range Day Together

A glimpse of the people and purpose behind PTS Barricade.

What We Believe

Traditional range practice builds essential fundamentals. Preparation also means practicing beyond a fixed standing position. PTS Barricade complements traditional range equipment by making simulated cover-and-concealment practice easier to access. Its portability lets you bring that opportunity to the range you already use.

Train Beyond the Bench.