Brian:
My reference was to the 30cal M1 Carbine which weighs in at a little over 5lbs not the shortened M1 Garand which is much heavier.
The question asked above was related to close quarters combat and IMO that's where a sub machine or a compact carbine like the M1 really shines. Keep in mind that the Thompson was originally developed as a "trench Broom" ala WWI for clearing out trenches at very close range.
Assault rifles are a compromise between sub machine guns and full size battle rifles like the M1 or G43. The are NOT better choices than either in the role for which the original two were developed.
Intermediate and long range accuracy are not an issue at under 100 yards when your defending yourself against what I have to assume would be multiple charging attackers. In this day and age if caught in this type of situation I'd personally opt for a H&K MP5 or one of the other newer and more compact choices available.

I was going to leave the P90 out of this discussion because I suspect most of the members here are not familiar with it. However it in IMO state-of-the-art for a close combat scenario and apparently several other organizations including our own Secret Service agree. I have had some experience with these at my club and the amount of accurate and rapid gunfire they can lay down is truly impressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_P90

N.B: I just realized I left this information out. There is a civilian semi-automatic version of this weapon called the PS90.

Last edited by italiansxs; 04/03/14 10:37 AM.
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