FN Five-seveN question

[Cpl_Peters]

I have been thinking about picking one up. I had 2 questions.

I hear people at the gun shows or gun dealers saying how they are going to be banned in CA soon and all that mumbo jumbo. I was wondering whether there is any validity to this. Is there any talk from DOJ about this? Should I try to get one ASAP or is this something that can wait.

The second question is it worth me picking up. I like the idea of a rifle type high velocity round in a handgun, and it looks cool to. Does anyone who has one have any pros and cons about it?

Thanks

[luvtolean]

Some argue it's a poor self defense cartridge.

We don't get standard capacity mags for them which is a real drag.

Ammo cost is high.

Very light plasticky feel, this is a + and a - IMO.

Otherwise, the ergonomics are great.

Shoots like a laser and not much recoil.

I want one, but it's a few down the list.

[Aluisious]

It's meant to penetrate soft armor. So of course it's not that great for "stopping power." If you're just going to shoot paper it hardly matters.

[uzigalil]

I have one and its fun to shoot.

the gun is well built and function is very good

Ammo now runs 16 to 18 dollars per 50 and there are two ammo choices.

ammoman and cmmg stock it...

Get it and have fun......

[Rumpled]

The gun is expensive, the ammo is expensive; but coming down.
About 2 years ago, the libs made a big deal about it and the "cop killer" bullets. Didn't really go anywhre; but you know they'll bring it up again.

I got one just because they might try and ban it. It's really light, no recoil that's noticed. Really needs regular cap mags. With shorter 10 rd mag, they could really make a light, small sub compact that would be perfect for CCW.
I really think they should do that.

The round was not designed to stop in the normal sense, it was designed to penetrate soft armor. So, it doesn't have the classical stopping power. It should be sufficient, though.

One negative is the sights are integrated into the plastic top cover over the slide. Night sights are so far a difficult and expensive proposition.

Just a bit of info to add.

[VeryCoolCat]

They probably WON'T ban it. The gun has been neutered pretty badly that its no better than a 22 mag. I'll explain with some pros and cons.

The 5.7x28 was basically designed to act like a low recoil close quarters .223. The bullet still has very similar dynamics to a rifle bullet, but with less power from cartridge size. The bullet would "TUMBLE" upon impact.

Think of "7.62x54r to 7.62x39" is to "5.56 to 5.7x28"


Since 5.7x28 FMJ/tumbler bullets are considered AP we can't get them. I don't believe there have been extensive testing on the HP bullets. Basically it would be like shooting 22 magnum HP.

So its up to you.

ATM I can't see any reason to get it other than longer range accuracy and low recoil.


Pro: 5.7x28 is very low recoil.
Con: Its a small round

Pro: 5.7 FMJ is basically AP
Con: We can't legally own 5.7 fmj and have to get hollow points.

Pro: 5.7 is a quite accurate.
Con: Its Expensive.

Pro: 5.7 has a 20 round standard mag that doesn't go farther past the grip.
Con: Not like we can even get a 20 round mag.

[Cpl_Peters]

yea, not being able to have the 20 round mags ticks me off too. I read some where that this is the handgun the Belgian police and military use.

[VeryCoolCat]

yea, not being able to have the 20 round mags ticks me off too. I read some where that this is the handgun the Belgian police and military use.

Correct... the belgians also use P90s and the military uses the F2000... they are trying to replace the FNC with the F2000.

[rips31]

Since 5.7x28 FMJ/tumbler bullets are considered AP we can't get them. I don't believe there have been extensive testing on the HP bullets. Basically it would be like shooting 22 magnum HP.

the hp's tumble, too. the varmint rounds are frangible. actually, the hollow point round isn't much different that the fmj. they drilled a hole in the middle, but it's the same round (just 4grains lighter). the hp round will also penetrate level2 armour, which doesn't say much, as most other bullets will, too.

shooting the pistol is akin to a 22mag, in terms of recoil, etc, but the bullets are far different.

Pro: 5.7x28 is very low recoil.
Con: Its a small round

like yoda said, "size matters not."

Pro: 5.7 FMJ is basically AP
Con: We can't legally own 5.7 fmj and have to get hollow points.

see above.

Pro: 5.7 is a quite accurate.
Con: Its Expensive.

the pistol runs for ~800 (altho i've seen it run for sub-700), nib. about what you would pay for a nib sig or hk. wouldn't say it's all that expensive.

Pro: 5.7 has a 20 round standard mag that doesn't go farther past the grip.
Con: Not like we can even get a 20 round mag.

whether it holds 12, 15, 18, or 20 rounds, unless you're leo, we can't get any new mag > 10rd, so that argument is moot...soory.

[leelaw]

Meh, I don't understand the guys complaining about "stopping power" (IMHO a silly term in and of itself)

The 5-7 has light recoil, a nice, crisp SA trigger, and penetrates well. With those three things in mind, and my belief that shot placment is more important than supposed "stopping power" I think this is a pretty neat little gun, and really enjoy mine. It also allows fast, accurate follow-up shots.

My biggest gripe is the magazine restrictions we have, and that the IOM isn't made anymore.

[Ryan HBC]

[grammaton76]

I believe there's nothing that statutorily places FMJ 5.7mm ammo as AP. Restricting the ammo, I believe, is just FN trying to be nice and avoid classification as AP just due to performance. This is totally not the case when you're talking about true AP with penetrators, though.

You could probably load standard FMJs, considering that it's physically just a standard 223 projectile (light version of it, but same diameter and such).

[ivanimal]

I doubt it will be banned, that was just a lot of noise coming from the police union. I dont blame them for being concerned but the piercing ammo was never available as far as I know. If it was you cant get it now. I have the USG and I love it, little recoil, extremely accurate, flawless function, light for its size, Mag loads like a rifle instead of a handgun pushing the rounds straight down and not down and back. Mine disassembles easily and stays pretty clean even after 20 people and 6 boxes of ammo go through it. (oooh can I try that ) The only people I hear complain about them are the ones that dont own one.