Fact is the carbine is always compared to the M1 Rifle and then found wanting. If we had test subjects , I think we'd find the carbine was exactly what it was intended to be ...replacement for a 1911 pistol. So, in a perfect world , line up a squad of North Vietnamese soldiers (see I told you in a perfect world..my perfect world for test subjects), shoot some at 10 yards and some at 50 yds with a carbine and same test with 1911, one would find the carbine did as good or better than the 1911 and % of hits with carbine far better because in the military, we never trained to shoot the 1911 very well. In Special Forces we always did but in normal Infantry Divisions, they trained poorly with 1911 and qualification was not too hard to do.

Now I have no combat experience with the M1 Carbine but my wife as a teenager helped defend her house during Tet 68 with a M1 Carbine . She has no complaints with how things shook out ! She has a carbine under her side of the bed to this very day. She's deadly with it.