The word is a shortened form of " Karabinerhaken ", German for " spring hook for a carbine ".

A carbine ( or ), from French carabine, is a longarm similar to — but shorter than — a rifle or musket.

One bastion of the carbine which is unlikely to be unseated is the special forces of the world which need to perform fast, decisive operations.

In both civilian use and among the military's lighter armored soldiers, it is common to use a carbine.

Stacked against this is mainly the amount of urban warfare that is required, which favors lighter carbine weapons.

One of the more unusual classes of carbine is the pistol caliber carbine.

Another example is the DeLisle carbine, a suppressed special operations carbine that was chambered for. 45 ACP.

The Hi-Point 995 carbine is a cheaper alternative to other pistol caliber carbines in the United States and shares magazines with the Hi-Point C-9 pistol ( although many owners report that early Hi-Point C-9 magazines are too short to function in the Model 995 Carbine ).

Another class of carbine is a semi-automatic version of a submachine gun, with an extended barrel, usually just over 406 mm ( 16 inches ) long, which will escape ban by some " assault weapon " legislation.

In this last role, they often compete with the carbine, a short, light rifle, which is also usually issued to airborne infantry because of its small size.

A carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle in form and intended usage, but generally shorter or smaller than the typical " full-size " hunting or battle rifle of similar time period, and sometimes using a smaller or less-powerful cartridge.

Conversely, rifle bullets can pierce light armor and are easier to shoot accurately, but even a carbine such as the Colt M4 is larger and / or longer than a submachine gun, making it harder to maneuver in close quarters.

The solution many firearms manufacturers have presented is a weapon resembling a submachine gun in size and general configuration, but which fires a higher-powered armor-penetrating round ( often specially designed for the weapon ), thus combining the advantages of a carbine and submachine gun.

A smaller version of the M16A2, the M4 carbine, is widely used by U. S. and NATO tank and vehicle crews, airbornes, support staff, and in other scenarios where space is limited.

In 2010, the M16 began to be phased out in the U. S. Army and is being replaced by the M4 carbine, which is itself a shortened derivative of the M16A2.

In the U. S. Army the M16A2 rifle is being supplemented with two rifle models, the M16A4 and the M4 carbine as the standard issue assault rifle.

The M16A2 is currently being supplemented by the M16A4, which incorporates the flattop receiver unit developed for the M4 carbine, and Picatinny rail system.

The reason to build a new M4 is to produce a new more reliable carbine for US troops in a few years.

A submachine gun ( SMG ) is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges.

Small antelope were generally grassed with one shot, and the Magnum carbine also bagged reedbuck, kob and wart hog with deadly efficiency ; ;

The semi-automatic only version of the Sterling submachine gun was also officially called a " carbine ".

This weapon, designated M16A2E2, also featured a " guide " of sorts as part of a special handguard developed by the U. S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory designed to assist in snap-shooting, and a carbine style stock very similar to the recent stock developed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division.

The footlocker also held a 6mm bolt-action hunting rifle, a. 35 caliber pump rifle, a. 30 caliber carbine, a 9mm Luger pistol, a Galesi-Brescia. 25-caliber pistol and a Smith & Wesson M19. 357 Magnum revolver and over 700 rounds of ammunition.

They are also introduced to their standard-issue weapon, the M16A4 rifle or M4 carbine.

Phase II ( also known as " White Phase ") is where soldiers begin actually firing weapons, starting with the rifle or carbine ( M4A1 ).

These are also often called carbine versions.

Following the adoption of the M16, carbine variants were also adopted for close quarters operations.

Variants of the carbine built by different manufacturers are also in service with many other foreign special forces units, such as the Australian Special Air Service Regiment ( SASR ).

Civilian-legal M4geries are also popular with police as a patrol carbine, partly because the M4 is subject to more restriction.

The Canadian North-West Mounted Police used the ' 76 in. 45-75 as a standard long arm for many years with 750 rifles purchased for the force in 1883 ; the Mountie-model ' 76 carbine was also issued to the Texas Rangers.

Companies such as the Gibbs Rifle Company and Navy Arms in the U. S. have produced and sold completely re-built Enfields of all descriptions, most notably their recent "# 7 Jungle Carbine " ( made from Ishapore 2A1 rifles ) and the " Bulldog " or " Tanker " carbine rifles, which are also fashioned original SMLE and No. 4 rifles.

Cartridges in. 32 ACP are also sometimes used in caliber conversion sleeves, also known as supplemental chambers, for providing an alternative pistol caliber carbine function in. 30-caliber hunting rifles.

There was also an 1877 carbine version with variations that included a Garrison Artillery Carbine, an Artillery Carbine ( Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III ), and smaller versions designed as training rifles for military cadets.

Some 0. 303 calibre blackpowder carbine versions were also produced, known as the Martini-Metford, and even 0. 303 calibre cordite carbines, called Martini-Enfields ( as opposed to Enfield-Martinis ).

During the remainder of World War 2, the De Lisle carbine was mainly used by the Commandos, although they also saw some use by the Special Operations Executive.

It is also utilized by some backpackers and campers, supplanting the now-discontinued wooden-stocked nonfolding Marlin Camp Carbine as a utilitarian pistol-caliber carbine.

There is also a carbine version, the L22A2, in service.

The C8 carbine is chambered to fire the standard 5. 56 × 45mm NATO C77 cartridge, The C8 is used by the Pathfinder platoon of the Parachute Regiment and United Kingdom special forces, it has also been reported to have been used by the special forces support group ( SFSG ).

A Carabinier ( also sometimes spelled Carabineer or Carbineer ) ( Carabinero in Spanish, Carabiniere in Italian ) was originally a cavalry soldier armed with a carbine ( a short version of a musket ).

Colt also licensed Elisco Tools to produce the M16A1 carbine in the Philippines, who became a major user of the type, as the Model 653P.

About 7, 000 short carbines with the Swedish designation " karbin m / 1870 " were also made, and in addition to that about 9, 600 " gevär m / 1864-68 " were shortened to carbine length in 1886-87 and given the designation " karbin m / 1864-68-85 ".