carbine

thumb|An M4 carbine, a common AR-15–style carbine. The M4 is the shorter, lighter carbine variant of the [[M16 rifle.]]

AI overview

A carbine is a shorter, lighter version of a rifle, designed to be easier to handle and carry. The M4 carbine, shown here as an example, is a compact variant of the longer M16 rifle and is commonly used by military forces.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~30 min read

Encyclopedic overview

18 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Carbine arquebus and musket
Carbine rifle
World Wars
Post World War II
Modern history
Contemporary military forces
Special forces
Usage
Pistol-caliber carbines
Land defence pistol
Shoulder-stocked handgun
Legal issues
United States
See also
References
Further reading

thumb|An M4 carbine, a common AR-15–style carbine. The M4 is the shorter, lighter carbine variant of the [[M16 rifle.]]

A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “carbine” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.