No comments about Small arms and ammunition in the United States service 1776-1865 (Smithsonian miscellaneous collections ; v. 129, whole vol).

No comments about Arms Makers of Virginia and West Virginia (Mellen Studies in History).

No comments about The gun collector's fact book / Louis William Steinwedel.

2 comments about Police Rifles: Selecting The Right Rifle For Street Patrol And Special Tactical Situations.

1. Most in the know who see the byline of W.E. Fairbairn think of the former British Commando and Shanghai Police Chief who was instrumental in saving the lives of uncounted SAS and OSS operatives with the hand-to-hand combat training he delivered in their training camps. Richard Dunlop said of Fairbairn:
   
   "All of us who were taught by Major Fairbairn soon realized that he had an honest dislike for anything that smacked of decency in fighting."
   
   The idea was to win a fight and win it quickly.
   
   This book (if you look closely at the cover) was written by one Richard Fairburn (who I do not know) and neither he nor Fairbairn's memory are well-served by the mistake that this book has been attributed to Fairbairn. This book was published in 1994. Fiarbairn died in 1960 and it's unlikely his estate would have waited this long to offer up any previously unpublished works.



2. Dick knows his stuff and has been around long enough to give sage advice. This book covers all versions of the police rifle whereas so many other books concentrate on one aspect of LE usage of longarms be it a "patrol rifle" snipers rifle or SMG.

   Fairburn's book gets down into the 'been there bent that' of using long arms in the field, a lot of lessons learned went into the book. He also touches on ancillary equipment, bags, bipods, scopes, binos etc. He includes the generic ballistics tables that are becoming so common in manuals of this type as well as a light discussion of cartridges. None of the material is covered in an overly technical manner and it is obviously written from the perspective of a po' officer working for a po' agency. An unfortunate, but all too common, event these days. As such, he gives tips on using the cheap new breed of "unassault" rifles (levers and bolts) as well as little used models such as Marlin Camp series.

   He touches on all aspects of police rifle use, patrol, sniper, etc., and gives enough information to get a newbie started in the right direction. If your background and training only consists of pistols this book should be on your shelf. An added nice touch is the extensive and well done targets included in the last pages. Many will never use them but for that unfortunate po' officer (or lawful citizen) they do make for inexpensive training.

No comments about Gunmakers of London 1350-1850.

No comments about Hand cannon to automatic: A pictorial parade of hand arms.

No comments about Del Falcon Al Bowie.

No comments about Gun collector's digest.

No comments about The International Blade Collectors Association Price Guide to Commemorative Knives 1960-1990.

1 comments about Frontier Pistols and Revolvers (The World of Arms).

1. I purchased this book primarily for the beautiful photography. The text is very brief. Unfortunately, it is also filled with much erroneous information.