Book Review: Tactical Urban Rifle by Michael T. Rayburn

Whether you’re a firearms instructor, a boss contemplating issuing patrol rifles to your troops, or are already carrying a patrol rifle in your squad, this book is critical reading

October 25, 2012 06:21 AM •

There’s no denying that patrol rifles have become a staple of domestic law enforcement.

A quick peek in most police cruisers might see a dual long gun rack holding a Colt AR-15 right next to a Remington 870.

I taught a class two years ago on patrol rifles to a group of central Florida officers. Being an NRA Police Patrol Rifle instructor, I had my usual list of references — most notably, “Police Rifles” by fellow Police1 columnist Dick Fairburn along with some other resources — but I wish I could have moved that class to 2012 because a new training text on patrol rifles has just been released.

I first met Mike Rayburn many years ago when I was teaching the Street Survival Seminars for Calibre Press. Mike was a Saratoga Springs PD firearms instructor from my home state of New York, and a military veteran so we hit it off well.

Mike has retired from active police work and is now the purveyor of Rayburn Law Enforcement Training, LLC, a company that specializes in the skills of combat gunfighting.

He’s a prolific writer with four best-selling texts under his belt and is also a Police1 contributor. In the interest of complete disclosure, I authored the foreword for Mike’s first book from 2001, “Advanced Vehicle Stop Tactics.” His latest training text is titled “Tactical Urban Rifle.”

This 85-page, 14-chapter book has more than 50 photographs, which help depict the positions and techniques Mike describes.

It’s an easy read and an excellent reference tool.

Whether you’re a firearms instructor, a boss contemplating issuing patrol rifles to your troops, or are already carrying a patrol rifle/carbine in your squad, this book is critical reading.

If you really care about becoming more proficient with your weapon — especially in this new age of the active shooter where you can’t just hunker down and wait for SWAT — this book is for you.

The foreword for “Tactical Urban Rifle” was written by famed NYPD/ESU Commander Lt. Al Baker, who calls it a “must read.”

I couldn’t agree more.

For you trainers out there, if you’ve got Dick Fairburn’s 1994 book “Police Rifles” in your reference library, you’ve got to put “Tactical Urban Rifle” right next to it.

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Contact:
Rayburn Law Enforcement Training, LLC
P.O. Box 5101
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 879-9544 or CombatGunFighting.com

Dave Grossi

Dave Grossi is a retired police lieutenant from upstate New York now residing in southwest Florida. A graduate of the State University of New York, Dave has served as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics investigator, detective, sergeant, and lieutenant. For 12 years, Dave was the lead instructor for the Calibre Press Street Survival Seminar. He has instructor credentials in virtually every force discipline and has testified both in the United States and abroad as an expert witness in use of force cases. He is a combat veteran of Vietnam, and a member of the Force Science Research Center.