Luger Barrel Lenghts vrs Useage~~

[alanint]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

Eric, I can't speak of the finer points, but generally the longer-barreled guns were issued in circumstances where a carbine would be handy. Of course, the definition of a carbine is a long gun that shoots pistol ammo. The longer models would have been more effective at longer ranges than a standard shorty, and the detachable butt-stock increased its versatility--assembled, for longer distance shots, and removed--just the pistol--for close quarters. I hope others can fill in for you how they were issued, to whom, and the reasoning behind it.

Just a slight nit, but a Carbine is not a long gun that shoots pistol ammo, it is a rifle in the same caliber as the full sized Battle Rifle but with a shorter overall length. Witness the Sharps "Carbine" or the venerable 98K Mauser. The "K" stands for "Karabine", because this model was shorter than the original Mauser Battle Rifles. The M16 "Carbine", (Vietnam vets will remember it as a CAR), is another contemporary example. The M1 "Carbine" just happened to have a propriatery round, (not pistol), but it was designated a Carbine due to its overall length, not its caliber.

There really is no set overall length at which point a rifle becomes a Carbine. The designation is usually derived because the firearm so named is a shorter version of an existing design.