Opinions of FN's Five-seven

[Bhriindan82]

Anyone had a chance to try out FN's Five-Seven yet Five-seveN ODG

If so, what do you think?

 

[Crystalship1]

I've eyed (and pawed) one at a 1500 a few years back. It's an interesting piece to be sure. And the whole 20 round. mag is pretty impressive. It will certainly ****-off the anti-gunners that's for sure!!!

 

[Scutter01]

Link fixed.

 

[Bhriindan82]

Link fixed.

Thanks Scutter! I'm a bit of a forum newbie, sorry for the hassle!

 

[Lars]

Plastic Fantastic....... Should be it's name. not Five Seven.....

Here's what I know.... The magazine is pretty big because of the case length of the 5.7x28 cartridge.

The entire gun, save a few springs, and the barrel appear to be made of plastic.

It does not feel fantastic in my hand.

I really REALLY want to shoot one.
And I want it's big brother the PS90 even more.... Plus an NFA stamp allowing me to put the P90 10" barrel on it.... with a second NFA stamp for a suppressor

 

[Scutter01]

And I want it's big brother the PS90 even more.... Plus an NFA stamp allowing me to put the P90 10" barrel on it.... with a second NFA stamp for a suppressor

We know you just want to run around your backyard playing SG-1. I left some money by the front door for when the ice cream truck goes by.

 

[Disposable Heart]

The ones I fired are neat, very accurate. However, the muzzle report on them is relatively severe. I would not want to fire even one round without hearing protection. The other thing is "percieved" longevity. Yes, its a poly frame but it feels like plastic, literally plastic, not the softer touch of poly. Handloading warnings have popped up because the gun can fire out of battery with not exactly to spec shells, and with a high pressure catridge like the 5.7, it frags the gun immediantly. Then you will have to explain to FN that your gun exploded with something that will void the warantee (I would guess ).

Accurate, its neat, but very expensive and relatively exotic. Its not a "proven" design like some (including the round, but the jury is out on that, I will not say its ineffective or the greatest thing known to man). It feels cheap but the metal parts it has are well composed and milled. The trigger is plasticy (I fondled a FN FS2000 and the trigger felt like a NERF gun trigger, same snap and creep literally) but on the 5.7 its smooth and nice.

If you have the money to spend on ammo and mags, not to mention the gun, its okay. Given the feel of the gun, it doesnt "feel" like a gun with a lot of round count capability, but this can be brutally wrong, the jury is still out on that. One plus side I can see is that your rounds are the same for practice and defense. Shoot half the box, save the other half for protection.

Retard Vern's Review: Accurate! Buy it for the exotic value and accuracy. Round: Seems somewhat ineffective (jury still out) and VERY VERY LOUD/HIGH FLASH! Range toy with some potential if a PD or military org adopts it (someone other than the Saudis ). If you got the money and want to spend it on this: youre going to spend it on something exotic (why else are you looking at the 5.7) so you might as well.

 

[Fenway]

I'm not interested in a pistol that requires exotic ammo. But that's just me.

 

[MilitaryArms]

Having owned one and spent some time with it, I can honestly say I wasn't impressed. It's a neat gun, but a complete novelty.

Ballistically it's a 20 shot .22 Mag. Heck, a .22 Mag rifle is more powerful than commercial 5.7mm loadings out of the FiveseveN.

It has the recoil of a .22 handgun, but a horrendous muzzle flash. I wasn't all that impressed with the ergonomics. It was "ok" to shoot, but nothing to get excited about.

In the end I traded it for something I wanted more. I bought it as the companion to my PS90 (which I love) but I'm better served by a .45 ACP or 9mm. If I want to carry 20 rounds in a magazine, I'll take a G17 with a +2 floor plate. 9mm is quite a bit more powerful than the 5.7mm too.

If I ever reach a point in my collection where I want another safe queen to break out for coffee table discussion I might buy another one.

 

[SilentWarrior1]

Better money would be spent on a Glock 19, ammo, and holster for the cost of the mere gun. Just my

 

[WHITE_WOLFE]

They have a purpose with the correct ammo.

 

[MilitaryArms]

They have a purpose with the correct ammo.

They do have a very defined purpose, one which doesn't fit most civilian applications. I'm not able to able to purchase SS190 ammo, are you?

Even if I were able to purchase SS190 ammo, I don't plan on being attacked my Russian Spetsnaz wearing body armor nor do I plan on shooting at police. I highly doubt a thug clad in body armor is going to hold me up at the gas station or bust in my door at 2am to steal my DVD player.

Since body armor wearing thugs are kind of low on my threat list, I'll opt for something more potent than a .22 mag for personal protection.

 

[Bhriindan82]

They do have a very defined purpose, one which doesn't fit most civilian applications. I'm not able to able to purchase SS190 ammo, are you?

Even if I were able to purchase SS190 ammo, I don't plan on being attacked my Russian Spetsnaz wearing body armor nor do I plan on shooting at police. I highly doubt a thug clad in body armor is going to hold me up at the gas station or bust in my door at 2am to steal my DVD player.

Since body armor wearing thugs are kind of low on my threat list, I'll opt for something more potent than a .22 mag for personal protection.

Agreed. I was just wondering if anyone had tried the Five-seven and/or had a positive impression of the gun. I'd like to buy a PS-90 one of these days, and was wondering if there was any real reason to consider getting the only pistol out there that shares FN's weird 5.7 ammo.

 

[MilitaryArms]

If you want to have the matching set, sure... that's good enough reason for me. That's why I bought my FiveseveN. I just didn't keep it because I really saw no purpose in owning it and I wasn't all that excited about shooting it. After having shot it quite a bit I determined it was like shooting a .22 at 100x's the cost. Seriously, it feels just like a .22 pistol. It just wasn't very satisfying, especially for the cost.

 

[rhino]

I already have a .22 pistol. No need for another one that is more expensive to feed and probably less accurate.

 

[Don]

Its a glorified .22 win mag.

 

[hoosiertriangle]

I thought I read somewhere that the ballistics of the round are quite different than a normal .22. For some reason I was thinking that the round when it exited began to tumble end over end. Maybe I made it up because i wanted it to be cooler.

 

[BCMalone]

I own one and use it as my primary carry.

It definitely feels like a .22 when you fire it. That being said, the 5.7 is a different animal when it comes to penetration. You have to remember that this pistol was not designed for stopping power. It was designed for penetration. I don't think that putting the 5.7 against a .22wmr is a fair comparison. The bullet size may be the same, but the velocities and actions of the bullets are somewhat different.

The two civilian factory loads that FN produces are not the greatest rounds for the system. There are other rounds available but FN has its own policy that it will only sell them to LEO/Military personnel. There is also a company called Elite Ammunition that sells 5.7 rounds that are hotter than anything FN produces, but you have to pay a premium for them.

The magazine disconnect is an annoyance.

Someone mentioned the life span of it, which I believe is supposed to be around 35,000 rounds for the main components.

With all hand guns it has its good qualities and its bad ones. I love the fact that even though I am only a 130lb nerd, I can barely feel it when I am CCing it. When shooting it, the recoil is almost unfelt and the muzzle flip is negligible.

And although there are a lot of naysayer out there who think it is just a .22, I believe its a viable handgun. Provided you feed it the correct ammunition. There are a lot of factors that go into using a gun in self defense, and the bullet size is only a small part of that.

And yes, hoosiertriangle, the round keyholes after it penetrates the target.

 

[Crystalship1]

Thanks for the run-down and........

I own one and use it as my primary carry.

It definitely feels like a .22 when you fire it. That being said, the 5.7 is a different animal when it comes to penetration. You have to remember that this pistol was not designed for stopping power. It was designed for penetration. I don't think that putting the 5.7 against a .22wmr is a fair comparison. The bullet size may be the same, but the velocities and actions of the bullets are somewhat different.

The two civilian factory loads that FN produces are not the greatest rounds for the system. There are other rounds available but FN has its own policy that it will only sell them to LEO/Military personnel. There is also a company called Elite Ammunition that sells 5.7 rounds that are hotter than anything FN produces, but you have to pay a premium for them.

The magazine disconnect is an annoyance.

Someone mentioned the life span of it, which I believe is supposed to be around 35,000 rounds for the main components.

With all hand guns it has its good qualities and its bad ones. I love the fact that even though I am only a 130lb nerd, I can barely feel it when I am CCing it. When shooting it, the recoil is almost unfelt and the muzzle flip is negligible.

And although there are a lot of naysayer out there who think it is just a .22, I believe its a viable handgun. Provided you feed it the correct ammunition. There are a lot of factors that go into using a gun in self defense, and the bullet size is only a small part of that.

And yes, hoosiertriangle, the round keyholes after it penetrates the target.

 

[MilitaryArms]

I don't think that putting the 5.7 against a .22wmr is a fair comparison.

You're right, the .22 WMR kicks its butt.

SS195
Muzzle Velocity: Five-seveN (1890 fps)
Muzzle Energy: Five-seveN (222 ft-lbs)

SS196
Muzzle Velocity: Five-seveN (1650 fps)
Muzzle Energy: Five-seveN (242 ft-lbs)

SS190 (Duty Round - you can't legally buy it)
Muzzle Velocity: Five-seveN (2133 fps)
Muzzle Energy: Five-seveN (313 ft-lbs)

.22 Magnum:
40 gr JHP 1,910 ft/s - 324 ft·lbs
30 gr HP 2,200 ft/s - 322 ft·lbs