>Hello!  Thanks to all who responded to my Springfield Model 1873 questions.
>Your responses aided me greatly. I have one more question about this
>rifle.  Can one tell if a gun is a rifle or a carbine by measuring the
>barrel length?  If so, the length of the barrel in question is 20.5
>inches from the front of the chamber to the muzzle.  Does this length
>make it a carbine?  I realize that this is somewhat of a detailed
>question, but it never hurts to try!
>
>Thanks a million,
>Becky Hackman

How about a detailed answer?

Barrel length is one of the criteria for determining that the firearm is a
carbine.  It all relates to the manufacturer's intended use.  Your
Springfield with the 20.5" barrel is a carbine.  I measured one of ours
just to make sure.  Carbines are firearms specifically designed for
horseback use, thus the shorter barrel.  Your springfield is also a
breechloader, for ease of loading while on horseback.   It should have a
ring on the left side, for attaching to a leather sling which goes over the
cavalry trooper's left shoulder.  The carbine is then slung to the right
side of the rider and stored in a saddle holster called a "boot."  It might
be called a rifle because it has a rifled barrel, but due to its overall
design and its intended manufactured use, technically it is a carbine.
Rifles are longarms with rifled barrels which do not qualify as carbines.

Below I have attempted to define some firearm terms to add to the confusion.

A smoothbore longarm is simply called a "gun," as in "shotgun," a gun which
fires shot, primarily.  Even more confusion comes when defining handguns.
A handgun is a firearm which is designed and manufactured to be fired from
one hand.  Smoothbore handguns which do not have revolving cylinders are
called pistols.  In fact any handgun, rifled or smoothbore, which is not a
revolver is a pistol.

Now, when we get into fully automatic firearms, that's another deal.  The
1921 Thompson sub-machine gun (aka "tommy gun") has a short barrel, but it
is not a carbine because it was not made for horseback use.  Machine guns
can technically be called rifles, but are usually not.  Please note that
the M-14 and M-16 are correctly called rifles, even though they are capable
of both semi and full automatic operation.  They come under the
classification of light weapons.  A civillian version of the M-16 is the
SA-16, which is a semi-automatic firearm, and is NOT a machine gun.  It
still is technically a rifle, however.  Those machine guns which are .50
caliber or above are called heavy weapons, according to one of our
students, a Vietnam vet.

Also, during the Korean War, the Army used a weapon called a Recoiless
Rifle, which had a rifled barrel, but was actually considered a heavy
weapon and fired a 37mm projectile.

Another note on handguns.  The model 1911 .45 Colt is called an ACP, which
means "Automatic Colt Pistol," even though it is not an automatic, but a
semi-automatic.  It's ammunition is also called ACP, and was originally
designed specifically for this firearm.

Isn't terminology fun?

Did I answer your question??  ;-)  I probably told you more than you really
wanted to know, but these terms often get unintentionally misused.  If
these definitions are inaccurate I invite those more knowledgeable than I
to correct me.  Then we all can learn something new.

HBC

*****************************************
Henry B. Crawford        Curator of History
[log in to unmask]     Museum of Texas Tech University
806/742-2442           Box 43191
FAX 742-1136             Lubbock, TX  79409-3191
*********All opinions expressed are mine**********