Carbine

A carbine is a type of long gun that has a shorter barrel than a regular rifle. This makes it lighter and easier to handle, which is helpful in many situations. Most modern carbines are compact versions of longer rifles or are designed to use less powerful cartridges.

Because of their smaller size, carbines are often given to soldiers who need to move quickly, such as special operations soldiers and paratroopers. They are also used by soldiers who ride horses, work with artillery, or have other jobs that don’t require carrying a full-sized rifle. However, more and more front-line soldiers are now using carbines because the extra gear they carry is very heavy.

One well-known example is the M4 carbine, which is the standard carbine used by the United States Armed Forces. Its shorter barrel and lighter weight make it a practical choice for many different roles in the military.

Etymology

The word "carbine" comes from the first people who used these guns — cavalry soldiers known as "carabiniers". The term started from the French word carabine, which came from an older French word carabin. Exactly where this word came from is not clear. Some ideas suggest it might be linked to an old war tool called a calabre, others think it may relate to a Medieval Latin word Calabrinus meaning "Calabrian". There is also a less likely idea that it could come from escarrabin, a word for a gravedigger, which is connected to the scarab beetle.

History

Carbine arquebus and musket

Carabines were first made for people on horses. In the 16th century, soldiers started using guns, so horse soldiers wanted guns too. But it was hard to reload guns while riding. Some horse soldiers used short guns called carbines, but they were still hard to use on horses. Soldiers who got off their horses often used regular guns, but sometimes they liked shorter guns that were easier to carry.

Carabines were smaller and lighter than regular guns, but they weren’t as accurate or powerful. During wars like the Napoleonic Wars, soldiers on horses with carbines mostly switched to using swords or became foot soldiers. Carbines were useful for support troops or artillery workers who needed a gun but didn’t want to carry a big one all the time.

Carbine rifle

When newer guns replaced old-style guns in the mid-1800s, shorter versions called carbines were made too. These were often different from regular rifles and sometimes used different bullets, which caused problems.

A famous carbine from the American Civil War was the Spencer carbine. It was one of the first guns that could fire many times without reloading. It had a tube on the back that held extra bullets.

In the late 1800s, many countries made shorter versions of their long rifles. A well-known example is the Winchester carbine, which was popular with cowboys and explorers in the American West because it used the same bullets as a revolver.

The Lee–Enfield cavalry carbine, a shorter version of the British Army’s regular rifle, was introduced in 1896 but didn’t become the main gun for horse soldiers until 1903.

World Wars

In late 1918, France made a special short gun called the Chauchat-Ribeyrolles for people in tanks. It had a short barrel and a pistol-like grip.

After World War I, many armies started using shorter rifles instead of long ones because long rifles were hard to carry in trenches and didn’t help much. Examples include the Russian Model 1891 rifle, which was shortened several times, and the German Gewehr 98 rifle, which became the Kar98k carbine.

During World War II, the U.S. made the M1 carbine, which was much shorter and lighter than the M1 Garand rifle. It was meant for troops who didn’t need a big rifle but needed something stronger than a pistol. The M1 carbine was a different design and used smaller bullets, not the same as the M1 Garand.

The United Kingdom made a “jungle carbine” version of their Lee–Enfield rifle during World War II. It had a shorter barrel and was made to be lighter. It was used after the war in places like the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Post World War II

After World War II, shorter guns became more useful because soldiers often fought in tight spaces like cities and forests. Most fights happened at short distances, so soldiers didn’t need very powerful rifles. Shorter guns were easier to carry, lighter, and could fire more shots quickly.

Germany created a new type of gun called the Sturmgewehr 44, which was the world’s first assault rifle. It used a smaller bullet and could fire many shots in a row. After the war, the Soviet Union made the AK-47, which became very popular around the world.

The United States later switched to the M16 rifle, which used an even smaller bullet. This made the rifle lighter and easier to carry. Many countries followed suit and started using similar guns.

In the 1970s, the Soviet Union introduced the AK-74, which used a tiny bullet. China also made new bullets to keep up with these changes.

Today, many soldiers carry lighter, shorter guns for fighting up close. Some soldiers still use longer guns for better accuracy, but most carry smaller weapons that are easier to handle in tight spaces and when moving in vehicles.

Modern history

Contemporary military forces

The Steyr AUG carbine has a shorter barrel than the regular Steyr AUG rifle. In 1994, the U.S. adopted the M4 carbine, which is a lighter and shorter version of the M16 rifle. It fires the same 5.56mm cartridge but is easier to carry.

However, some armies are moving away from giving all soldiers carbines. They are giving some soldiers, like marksmen, more powerful rifles instead. This is because the shorter barrel of a carbine can reduce the bullet's speed and effectiveness. To address this, the U.S. Army adopted the M7 rifle in 2023, which uses a more powerful cartridge that works well from both short and long barrels. The U.S. Marine Corps kept their longer M16A4 rifles for many years but later approved the M4 carbine for front-line Marines in 2015. Carbines are used by Marines who need more mobility, like vehicle operators or squad leaders.

Special forces

Special forces need weapons that are powerful and easy to carry during fast operations. While pistols are light, they don’t have enough power or range. Submachine guns have selective fire but aren’t accurate or powerful enough at longer distances. Carbines are popular with special forces because they are lightweight, hold many bullets, can fire selectively, and have better range and penetration than submachine guns. This makes them ideal for the quick, decisive operations that special forces perform.

Usage

The smaller size and lighter weight of carbines make them easier to handle in tight spaces, such as in cities, inside vehicles, or where there isn't much room. However, carbines are not as accurate as regular rifles over long distances and do not shoot as far.

Compared to submachine guns, carbines can shoot farther and can go through helmets and body armor when using special bullets. But submachine guns are still used by special military and police teams for very close fighting because they are easier to control and less likely to hit things behind the target. Carbines are also easier to use because they use the same bullets as standard rifles or pistols.

Today, carbines are usually lighter rifles with barrels up to 20 inches long. Rifles with barrels longer than 20 inches are not usually called carbines, unless they have a special name. Some rifles, like the AK series, have barrels shorter than 20 inches but are still called rifles because they were designed that way from the start. Modern carbines can use bullets from small pistol rounds to powerful rifle rounds, except for very strong high-velocity magnum cartridges. With stronger rounds, the short barrel of a carbine can cause problems with speed and pressure when the bullet leaves the barrel, creating a loud blast. Flash suppressors are sometimes used to help with this, but they also make the barrel longer, which defeats the purpose of having a short barrel in the first place.

Pistol-caliber carbines

The typical carbine is the pistol-caliber carbine. These first appeared soon after metallic cartridges became common. They were developed to work with popular revolvers, firing the same bullet but allowing more speed and accuracy than the revolver. These were carried by cowboys, lawmen, and others in the Old West. The classic combination would be a Winchester lever-action carbine and a Colt Single Action Army revolver in .44-40 or .38–40. During the 20th century, this trend continued with more modern and powerful cartridges, in the form of Winchester and Marlin lever action carbines chambered in .38 Special/.357 Magnum and .44 Special/.44 Magnum.

Modern examples include the Ruger PC carbine, which uses the same magazine as the Ruger pistols of the same caliber, and the (discontinued) Marlin Camp carbine, which, in .45 ACP, used M1911 magazines. The Ruger Model 44 and Ruger Deerfield carbine were both carbines chambered in .44 Magnum. The Beretta Cx4 Storm shares magazines with many Beretta pistols and is designed to be complementary to the Beretta Px4 Storm pistol. The Hi-Point 995TS are popular, economical and reliable alternatives to other pistol caliber carbines in the United States, and their magazines can be used in the Hi-Point C-9 pistol. Another example is the Kel-Tec SUB-2000 series chambered in either 9mm Parabellum or .40 S&W, which can be configured to accept Glock, Beretta, S&W, or SIG pistol magazines. The SUB-2000 also has the somewhat unusual (although not unique) ability to fold in half.

The main advantage of a carbine over a pistol using the same ammunition is controllability. Firing from the shoulder, along with a longer sight radius and three points of contact, makes it easier to aim and shoot accurately. Many carbines can also have optics, lights and lasers attached, which help with seeing and hitting targets.

The longer barrel can give the bullet more speed and range because the gunpowder has more time to burn. However, some speed can be lost if the gunpowder burns before the bullet leaves the barrel. As longer guns, pistol-caliber carbines may have fewer legal restrictions than handguns in some places. Compared to carbines with more powerful rifle cartridges, pistol-caliber carbines do not gain as much extra performance from the longer barrel. The downside is that they lose the main advantage of a handgun, which is their small size and easy carrying, resulting in a weapon that is almost as big as a long gun but not much more powerful than a pistol.

Also widely produced are semi-automatic versions of select-fire submachine guns, such as the FN PS90, HK USC, Spectre M4, KRISS Vector, Thompson carbine, CZ Scorpion S1 carbine, and the Uzi carbine. To be sold legally in many countries, the barrel must meet a minimum length (16 inches or 410 mm in the United States). So the original submachine gun is given a longer barrel and made into a semi-automatic firearm, turning it into a carbine.

Legal issues

United States

In the United States, certain short guns have special rules. Under the National Firearms Act, a gun with a barrel shorter than 16 inches or an overall length shorter than 26 inches is called a short-barreled rifle. Owning one of these without registering it can lead to serious legal trouble.

Some guns, like older collector's items, are not covered by these rules. Also, changing a pistol to look more like a rifle can change how it is classified under the law. It's important to know the rules to stay within the law when dealing with these types of guns.