FN 5.7 Pistol Club

[The Keymaster]

For anyone that has never fired one of these, I can tell you that it is a whole lot of fun. There is virtually no recoil, and with practice, it can be VERY effective at surprisingly long range. My wife loves shooting it.

The firearm itself is somewhat controversial. I can tell you that about 10% of what the media has to say about it is true. Virtually nothing that have to say about body armor is true...we have done tests.

My only gripe is factory ammo. The latest and greatest is not what it should be. We have chrono'd it, and it's pretty lame, and inconsistent. This causes accuracy issues especially when moving between different varieties of ammo. SS197 has an entirely different trajectory than SS192. It takes some getting used to.

Overall, it will be one of my go to weapons in case of SHTF. I have the PS90 to go with it, and have spent a lot of time working up different loads for both. I love the fact that I can have one ammo source for both weapons.

 

[DownByTheTracks]

The firearm itself is somewhat controversial. I can tell you that about 10% of what the media has to say about it is true. Virtually nothing that have to say about body armor is true...we have done tests.

I've also seen the 5.7 penetrate Class IIIA vest. Any small caliber, high velocity bullet (read: 22 Mag, 17 HMR, 5.7) will zip right through police soft body armor. 17 HMR out of a 2" Taurus revolver will penetrate a windshield with no deflection. This is why trauma plates are so important...

Overall, it will be one of my go to weapons in case of SHTF. I have the PS90 to go with it, and have spent a lot of time working up different loads for both. I love the fact that I can have one ammo source for both weapons.

What bullets have you played with? Powders and charges? I've talked to some who have messed with the loads a bit, but they're still just "experimenting" and can't really provide any guidance. Even a general direction of bullets and powder would be helpful! Thanks!

 

[The Keymaster]

The absolute best bullet is the one that is pulled from the SS195 round. It is a proprietary 28 gr. bullet, and is not available in the aftermarket. It has unique ballistics. Barnes varmint grenades, and TSX are good choices. I stay below 52 gr. to maximize stability. As far as powder goes, the best loads that I have used were done with Hodgdon HS7, which unfortunately was discontinued several years ago. I happened upon 2 pounds at a shoe about a year ago, and gobbled them up. I kept 1 in escrow, and loaded up several different loads with the other. Other powders that are acceptable are True Blue, Accurate #5, and Accurate #7. I have been doing some preliminary experimentation with Vihta Vuori 3N37. I think it is going to work really well, but it has been too hot to drag the chronograph to the range.

 

[brad81]

i gave 700 for a real nice used one fun to shoot

 

[Bendrx]

I've wanted one for a while now, I can almost taste it, but then the guy a Gander Mountain told me to stop licking thier display case.

 

[planedriver]

Also have one and they are a hoot to shoot! Yes the factory ammo is dismal... I pulled a factory loaded case in half and thought I had destroyed the gun!

 

[The Keymaster]

Unfortunately, the cases do sometimes separate at the neck. That is why I keep really close tabs on how many times I reload my brass. I am especially careful when I am loading at or near max charge. I will usually discard the brass after loading and shooting the really hot ones. I have been fortunate enough when it comes to finding once fired brass that I can justify dumping some bras after 1 reload. If I am loading for target practice, i can generally reload those 4-5 times with no worries. I have only had a couple of factory loaded cases separate, and those came out of the firearm with no issues. I shoot vary little SS197 these days. I would rather pull it down, use the bullets in once fired brass with my own charge behind it, and save the factory new brass for a decent load.

 

[indykid]

For those who don't hate factory ammo:
FN SS197SR Ammunition 5.7x28mm FN 40 Grain Hornady V-Max Case of 2000 (40 Boxes of 50) - MidwayUSA

And for someone in the market right now:

FN Five Seven 5.7x28 : Semi-auto at GunBroker.com

 

[fnpfan]

i bought mine new for 999.00 have lots of fnh pistols, the fnp .40 is still my favorite, but this 5.7 is a very smooth shooter

 

[shadow6492]

bought one a couple years ago and its one of my favorite guns I own. Low recoil and fun to shoot. I normally shoot ss197r, ss195lf and ss192 went I can find it instock.

 

[thompbarn]

I have the Five Seven also. I'm not sure I would rely on it if the SHTF, especially because the ammo choices are so limited. My favorite is the FNP 45. 15 rounds of 45 ACP, and dead on accurate. The 45 is a proven round. FN makes good stuff. I have the FNAR, and FNP 45 Tactical and the FNP 9.

 

[84VETTE]

I know that the guy who runs Cabin Fever in Scottsburg carries one, he has several in stock along with a PS90. I think he said he keeps about 20k rounds of 5.7x28 in stock.