Thinking about a Five Seven

[Vanguard]

What are your guys' thoughts on this pistol?

Anyone own one that can give me their impressions?

[SJgunguy24]

Kinda cool, but IMO more of a novelty. If you don't reload your really gonna want to start.
I like the lack of recoil so it would be good for a frist time shooter. Mags, not sure how much but there's no way they could be cheap.

Just did a search, 1K for the gun, and mags look to be around 40$ 400-500$ per 1K for ammo.

[Greg-Dawg]

Don't think, go get one.

[WeekendWarrior]

I'm pretty sure Technique owns one. Supposedly the rounds are capable of piercing lower level body armor with their speed. From what I understand there is no clear consensus on the effectiveness of the 5.7x28mm round for stopping ability or lethality. The idea with the round is not expansion, but that it tumbles upon impact because of the way the weight is balanced on the bullet and the speed behind it. This is what supposedly creates a large wound channel.

Oh yeah, and most indoor ranges wont let you shoot them unless they have beefy backstops, so check with your local range if you shoot indoors.

[mike452]

I shot mine last week and it was okay. Ammo was around $21 for 50rds of 197SR. (other bullets are more expensive)
Don't believe the no recoil talk. There was definitely recoil, but not bad.
It’s not as fun as I thought!

[OlderThanDirt]

I had one and liked it. Unfortunately, my wife liked it more, whacked me over the head and took it from me. At least that allowed me to get another 1911.

[SJgunguy24]

197SR, is that the steel core stuff?

[civilsnake]

To me the recoil feels like a light 9mm load. Fun to shoot, but there are others guns to buy first, IMO.

[mike452]

The 197SR has the blue-colored polycarbonate tip. It is most common right now.

[SJgunguy24]

The 197SR has the blue-colored polycarbonate tip. It is most common right now.

Ok, I did a quick price check and that and the LEO only ammo were the least expensive.
My "cool factor" gun is my CZ52. Not quite the velocity that the 5.7 has but man is it loud.
The 5.7 I shot didn't recoil anywhere close to my G17. Thats where I draw my baseline at.

[Unit74]

Kinda cool, but IMO more of a novelty. If you don't reload your really gonna want to start.
I like the lack of recoil so it would be good for a frist time shooter. Mags, not sure how much but there's no way they could be cheap.

Just did a search, 1K for the gun, and mags look to be around 40$ 400-500$ per 1K for ammo.

.38 a round is what I pay..... Cheaper than most handgun ammo deals... not sure where you are buying ammo, but stop. Your getting ripped off.

[rips31]

get one if you can. it's a fun gun. i prefer the older models with the round trigger guard. gun looks like a lasergun (and was used in battlestar galactica tv series and the g.i. joe movie).

recoil is maybe 60% of a 9mm. it's not much louder than other guns, but does produce a nice little fireball. most that i let shoot it like it.

ammo isn't too expensive. ammo used to be $30/50, but dropped as low as $17/50 when i was last in the market for it.

i think fivesevenforum is a great place to get info.

[SJgunguy24]

.38 a round is what I pay..... Cheaper than most handgun ammo deals... not sure where you are buying ammo, but stop. Your getting ripped off.

5.7 isn't in the cards for me. Don't know if i'd get one if I had the money.
I really like building stuff, i'd spend the money for more AK kits or a 1919 build. The 5.7 is about a 9.1 on the coolness factor though.

[leelaw]

197SR, is that the steel core stuff?

No. You can currently buy SS192, 195LF, 196SR, 197SR. All of these are non steel-cored. The 196 and 197 are heavier, slower rounds.

The Five-seveN is a nice little pistol. It shoots flat and fast, there is almost no recoil, the trigger is great, and it's accurate as heck. The design was really cleanly executed, but it's odd using 10rd magazines, since it's designed to hold 20rds normally.

I prefer the IOM over the USG, but sourcing an IOM will be an expensive prospect since they're discontinued.

[Chach]

As others have said, the FiveseveN is a fun little gun and everyone that I've let shoot mine raves about it. Recoil is lighter than a 9mm, however it is "snappier" (IMO YMMV). As far as ammo that's available, the 197SR (40gr blue-tip hornady VMAX bullets) and 192 (hollow-point, forget what weight they are) are both readily available and currently going for about 740 per 2k rds for 197 and $1k per 2k rds for 192. From my experience the 197SR has more of a punch than the 192 and the vmax bullet is supposedly a great performer, however the 192 is more accurate (again, IMO YMMV). As well, Elite Ammunition has some specialty rounds that they produce that are on the higher side dollar wise, but from what I hear its worth it.

Also, there are a variety of sights available for the USG (adjustable, white dot & night sights). Mine came with fixed white sights but I sent it off to Elite Ammunition to have adjustable night sights installed and must say they're excellent.

If you're looking to reload for the 5.7, you can get a custom plate from Hornady for the LNL, but it'll take a few months production time and about $100 or so. Also there's debates as to whether or not you can decap & resize with the LNL. Hornady says there's an issue with the size of the primer hole, and that the case will fall through on decapping. I checked and the case isn't nearly that small so not sure exactly what the issue is there and have gone ahead and ordered the plate. That said Hornady recommends reloading with a single stage press. Plates are available for Dillon presses however if you go that route, and a few companies offer the dies. Just make sure to always full length resize and check the length of the cartridge and trim as needed as the FiveseveN is known to stretch the casing a bit. As for recipes, Lyman lists a few loads in their latest manual and there's a lot of info on FiveseveNForum.com as well.

OK I'll shut up now and go with what Greg-Dawg said, "Don't think, go get one." You won't regret it, I know I don't.