FN Five-Seven

[mattwestm]

Hi, I held an FN Five-Seven for the first time today. I'm not really interested in buying one because of the cost and the cost/availability of ammo, but I would like to hear a little bit about the gun and cartridge if anyone here owns one. I remember reading a year or so ago about the cartridge getting some flack about being armor piercing. What ever happened with the ban on the cartridge? I must say that I like the way the gun feels in the hand and I've heard that recoil is very mild. What advantages does this cartridge have over 9mm/40/45? What other round does it perform closely to?

Thanks

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[OPFOR]

It is somewhat close (and I stress somewhat) to a .22 Magnum. The advantages are very mild recoil and very high capacity. The disadvantages (discounting any financial or availability issues) are smaller diameter bullets, lack of variety in bullet design, and a relatively unproven "track record."

[AZ Husker]

And it's second only to Hi-Point in the "ugly gun contest".

[OldVet]

The "armor-piercing" was a tactic by the Brady Bunch. It does not when subjected to the standardized method of testing, and the ban was rejected. Like Sixto says, high capacity, low recoil. It falls in the same ballistic catagory as .22 Hornet, .22 Jet and the like. Friend of my son has one and says it's wickedly flat-shooting to 100 yds+. Commercial ammo is a bit hard to find and the bullet selection is minimal. Any .224 bullet can be used in reloading. I picked up a couple of empty cases--didn't know what they were at first--and noticed that the primers were crimped military-style, with military headstamps. Hummmm.

[Jason Storm]

It is somewhat close (and I stress somewhat) to a .22 Magnum. The advantages are very mild recoil and very high capacity. The disadvantages (discounting any financial or availability issues) are smaller diameter bullets, lack of variety in bullet design, and a relatively unproven "track record."

Exactly. And that's why I wouldn't even waste my time or money with it. And again, it's just my personal opinion.

[10thmtn]

They are marketing it to women for home defense.

[mattwestm]

I'm assuming the idea was awesome for the original platform, the P90. High rate of fire, great penetration, no recoil. In a semi-auto pistol platform it just doesn't stand up. I have however heard some reports of "tiny entrance hole, golf ball sized exit" on various objects. I think I'll stick with 9mm/.45, although I would like to try out a FiveSeven to see what it's all about. FN makes a quality product, but the idea of getting a FiveSeven has never even crossed my mind.

[Chevy-SS]

....... The disadvantages..... are...... a relatively unproven "track record."

Wasn't this the gun that the Fort Hood scumbag (Major Nidal Malik Hasan) used to kill 13 people? I'd say this horrid incident demonstrates the effectiveness of the cartridge.

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[mattwestm]

Yeah, I think he used a fiveseven and a .357 magnum revolver. I'm sure the 5.7x28 has a loyal following, I don't really see it being any better than a 9mm. The 9mm gets made fun of too, but the VTech scumbag used it and murdered a lot of people.

[GMS]

I've owned the FiveSeven USG version since shortly after it became commercially available, and love it for the niche role that the pistol fills for me. Living on a large farm, I always kept a .22LR carbine to deal with varmints and .357 revolver available to deal with the infrequent, yet aggressive coyotes that decided the horses and sheep look like food. The FiveSeven has replaced both for farm duty with the added bonus of less weight and plenty of capacity.

Since you have held one, you know how large the grip is in diameter. Given this, the ads slanting the gun as a self defense tool for women is confusing especially with the placement of the safety above the trigger. While the round will probably prove to be adequate for defensive purposes; the lack of a proven track record and with the large frame size, I'd have no desire to use this as a CCW pistol. A compact version would be interesting, however the ballistics of the round may suffer too much from an even shorter barrel.

Factory loaded ammunition is not that expensive. As long as you are willing/able to buy in case lots, the price can be found on sale from time to time for around $19-20/ 50 rounds which has been close to the going rate for 380ACP where I live. While factory loads are limited in bullet type, Elite Ammunition solves that problem with loads for just about any imagined needed. Plus there is always reloading to keep costs down. Lee, Lyman, RCBS, and Hornady (I think) all make reloading dies, plus load data is becoming every more prevalent.

[ripley16]

I bought a used 5.7 a few years ago, more just to add to my collection. It's a fun, accurate gun with many nice attrubutes. Ammo has never been hard to find. A local gun shop recently had it for $15.99. It's sold by the case normally for $16 - $18 per box.

This is the gun I would suggest to an elderly person because it is so easy to use and load, the operation requires little effort, it's very accurate and mainly because the recoil is so soft..

[Sig35seven]

Since most here would agree, shot placement is the most important criteria in a self defense weapon. It would seem fair to say that an easy to shoot, low recoil gun would yield the best results especially in follow up shots. The FN 5.7 is exactly that. It is a high velocity round that has also demonstrated it's effectiveness as being lethal. Combined with a very high capacity magazine and you have a very unique weapon. I like the look of it and can't wait to get one.

[sigmanluke]

My only experience with the five-seven is from the PS90 platform. I was impressed at how accurate I was with the gun/cartridge I had never fired before. It seemed to shoot very flat, and had minimal recoil.

[Superhouse 15]

We shot a bunch of different rounds of several calibers at a surplus "flack jacket". A .44mag 240gr JHP stopped in the vest, although it made a huge dent in the back face of the panel. Those 5.7s with the blue tip went through both sides plus the roll of several bath towels in the middle. Sometimes we found a blue plastic tip in the Kevlar. I have no idea what the rating (if any) of the vest was, but it was interesting.