I've killed deer with both in my younger days. The only positive I can say about the 30 caliber carbine is that a M1 carbine is very light to carry. End of list. Shooting deer with it was like poking holes in them with a 30 caliber sharpened stick. They died,..... eventually. 30 cal hole going in and virtually the same size going out. Very little, if any, expantion.

Lets be honest. The M1 carbine was originally concieved as a weapon to be issued to truck drivers and other rear echelon military personel. I guess they figured why waste a M1 Garand on a guy that wasn't going to be in frontline combat. But on the other hand they needed "something" a little more accurate than a handgun in case they had an encounter with the enemy. And that's about all it is too. A little more accurate than a handgun. With the standard military ball ammo they were using knock down power must have been feeble. Take my advice if you every get charged by anything large and dangerous (be it human or animal) and all you have in your hands is a 30 caliber caribine; aim for the head. It's your only hope.