Vietnam clone...”The Shillelagh“

[old tanker]

Dave, apologies for words in mouth, but did you intend to say "couldn't hit someone in a closet"?

I also have what I refer to as the "Swcharzkopf" model, i.e., same gun but registered SBR with a M1A1 M1 carbine repro stock attached.

They are definitely close in sticks. I find I do ok with them, but they are on the wild side. Not a precision weapon at all. A 25 yard weapon, maybe 50 yards if I aim true and squeeze gently. :-)

Dave, would you say they (the chopped carbine versions) were prevalent among U.S. Forces, or just kind of an oddity? Was that a stop-gap weapon prior to the XM177E1's coming to the troops? Was it the impetus for the XM-177E1's ?? I don't think anybody was doing this to carbines during WWII?

Carbines were plentiful in Viet Nam and most of the ones I saw were M2 carbines. Most of the troopers who had them obtained them through unofficial sources. Since you were not "signed" for it, chopping them was usually undertaken by whoever first acquired it. Some of the barrels I saw were crudely hack saw cut, far from square and uncrowned. Dispersion for "area fire" was built in.

I suspect their apparent popularity with helicopter pilots stemmed from a lack of confidence in the volume of fire they could obtain from the .38 special revolver and the pipsqueak M41 cartridge they were issued.