why do carbines exist?

[LAK]

Thunderstick,

200 at the outside. But it depends on the sights, the mechanical accuracy of the gun - and of course the shooter. There are pistols that will group well out as far as 100 yards or so; but again the sights and the shooter are the limiting factor. Not that a police agency would choose such weapons for those distances, it is just a matter of what some are capable of in the right hands.

 

[zeke]

Carbines-obviously were invented for us with them short arms Am much better off hand shot with a short barreled rifle (100 yards or less), when compared to full length hunting rifle and scope. Course this may also say something abouyt my competence with a rifle

 

[Tamara]

Pistol-caliber carbines fall into two categories:

1) Lever-action rifles or purpose-built civilian semiauto guns. These are generally designed to be economical to use, as they can be purchased in the same chambering as one's pistol. With modern semiauto versions, they can even utilize the same magazines. The modern ones are fun plinkers, generally cheap to shoot, can be shot at indoor pistol ranges, and generally make good all-'round little guns.

2) Military submachineguns/machine pistols: These were originally chambered in pistol calibers for a very simple reason, which is that the service rifle calibers of the time rendered the idea of a light, compact, automatic weapon in a service rifle caliber patently ludicrous. With the advent of modern, smaller service rifle cartridges, like the 5.56, as well as modern muzzle brakes, the pistol-caliber shoulder arm has been rendered largely superfluous and appears to be dying out except in certain highly-specialized niches...