In my family's case, I got the Texas CHL first, and I keep up to date with the laws. When the rest of the family wanted to get licensed, there happened to be a friend who recommended the Utah CHL... Now I personally had an little issue with that, since I like my state enough that I would rather do it here, but there were a few good points such as a few more states that had reciprocity, it was cheaper, etc... The range I think would've been good for a couple of them, but it's not like the Texas range is THAT hard to do, or even that relevant in a real bad situation. I keep them as up to date on the Texas laws as I can, and they can shoot as much as they like at the range, anyway...I have no issue with your service time allowing a pass on the shooting qual but it still does not help you know Texas law, neither does holding a Fla license.
R