Carbine

A carbine is actually a specific type of rifle. Compared to a standard rifle, a carbine is generally shorter and easier to handle. If the carbine is a shorter version of an existing rifle, it will often have the same caliber.

Today, AR-15 refers to a vast family of semi-automatic rifles and carbines based on the original ArmaLite rifle or the Colt commercial AR-15 variant of the 1970s and 1980s. However, there is no longer a standard AR-15 barrel length, buttstock configuration, handguard, or optic/rail/iron sight setup.

A carbine (/ˈkɑːrbiːn/ KAR-been or /ˈkɑːrbaɪn/ KAR-byn) 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. An M4 carbine, a common AR-15–style carbine.

Select-fire Amogh carbines are not assault rifles; their effective range is only 200 yards. Select-fire rifles such as the FN FAL are not assault rifles; they are battle rifles and fire full-powered rifle cartridges.

The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.