Greetings gents,

I read all the reviews I could find on line, but I'm looking to have some dialogue about them.

Back story is that I have tried just about every handgun. I shot the g19 and cz75 well, but never felt completely comfortable with them. I played with a 5.7 the other morning, and really enjoyed it. I understand it is a hopped up .22, but with the red box FN ammo, is it a suitable cartridge for carry/two legged targets? Any carry concerns, problems you have experienced? Lack of holsters, etc?

Thanks in advance everyone.

I have the newest variant called the MK 2 that came out in 2013.  It has front slide serrations, and a one piece slide, and some other updates.    Very nice shooting pistol and 100% reliable.  

I use the 197SR ammo for it and it is incredibly accurate.  

The MK 2 will fit some holsters of the older model, but you may have to loosen up the kydex tightness screw a half a turn or so.

I have a PS90 and AR57 as well so I share the ammo with those.

The ammo doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as I previously imagined. The blue tip VMAX from PSA is relatively inexpensive. It seems like a hoot to fire, and I'm relatively bored with handgun shooting. The MK II appears to have adjustable sights, which is a neat addition.

I thought I'd love it, but I don't. Not at all. Sorry. Honest opinion.
I'm a lefty and frequently the mag would eject during recoil.
It felt like a toy made of ABS plastic.
Control placement was horrible.
It was not ergonomic at all.

It may be a very excellent weapon for some, but not for me.

You're opening up quite the can of worms WRT 5.7 effectiveness, and for whatever reason people fee very heated about it either direction. I'll say this, all handgun rounds are a compromise in effectiveness over a rifle, and in that regard the 5.7 is no different. Now insert some argument about shot placement trumping all, and mag capacity/lack of recoil, etc. All of which are true, but I'm not going to repeat these same tired arguments ad nauseum.

The concensus is that 197 may be ok out of a longer barrel, but the pistol really doesn't give it enough velocity to work as designed which leads to somewhat anemic results. If I were to carry my five-seven (and I do intend to, but haven't gotten around to ordering a holster), I'd be using SS198LF. A lot carry 198 and practice w/ 197 due to price differences. If you do this, know the two have a significantly different POI that you'll want to adjust between range/carry.

As an aside, here are some observations from my limited use of my Mk II. It fits my hand funny due to the long grip, probably owing to my schmedium hand size. You'll want to practice using the safety, as it's certainly different than any other mainstream designs. It is easy to shoot well, my groups are nice and tight slow-fire, and the recoil is very light which brings it back to target quickly.

I am sure this is well known, but I figured I would mention it.  All the FN rounds for the 5.7X28 that end in LF stand for Lead Free primers.  Lead free primers have been debated for a decade on lifespan.   I have read dozens of write ups by ammunition companies, industry professionals, and even called FN a few times to get a few opinions.  The lead free primers do not bode well for long term storage as they degrade in performance unlike leaded primers.  

So while the SS197SR ammo isn't as good as some of the HP variants made by FN, they do not have the lead free primers and will outlast our lifetime if properly stored.

At the cost of the 195 and 198 variants, it isn't worth it to me to buy a case of them as I won't shoot a case of defensive ammo, nor  be able to replace it easily as it is harder to find.

i carry a fiveseven using 198lf.  practice with 40grain vmax.  my sights are zeroed for the 198.  the vmax hits a bit low but as long as the vmax is hitting directly under my poa at practice i really dont care.    i only use fn brand ammo.    i dont shoot it a lot, just enough for familiarization.   the safety is in the exact position my trigger finger falls when im not pressing the trigger.  

i find the gun very ergonomic for my shooting style but its harder for me to get super tight groups than i can with my p226 or xdm.  i think its due to the super skinny and long grip.  i have to work a bit harder.  i can get faster hits on 18x18inch targets than i can other guns at any range.  it just doesnt lend itself to target shooting.  

the lightweight makes it a fabulous edc if your able to owb or oc.

i use the new blackhawk serpa cqc holster for owb carry.

with the increase in badguys and peaceful muslims out murdering honest folks while wearing vests,  i feel better armed with the fiveseven that has a far better ability to stop a threat.

just my personal opinion.

yes im aware of that.   ive heard of issues with non fn marked ammo.  im not interested in testing it myself.  my 57 is never going to see a lot of ammo through it compared to what i normally shoot for handguns.  i doubt i will ever fire off all 500 of the ss198 i do have.   i bought it for carry reasons not as a everyday type shooter so finding a large ammount of ammo is not a priority.

Well keep in mind the ss198 is lead free and doesn't have the shelf life of traditional ammo. Also that whatever year you bought it doesn't necessarily mean it was manufactured that year, check the head stamps.

 

OP i am one of the biggest supporters of 5.7x28 on this board. But if you want a daily carry SD pistol go look somewhere else.

the five seven is about the same size as a fullsize 1911. while it is a ton of fun to shoot and 200 yard CM hits on a USDPA target are easy. the five seven is varmint or pinking pistol.  the 30 round mag is about 1/2 as long as a 30 rnd for a beretta 92 or glockand an xdm 9m folds 20 rounds of 9mm.  so if capacity is your driver you can do it in 9mm.

but if you want a fun gun pistol to rock out to 200 meters at the range with get a five seven.  

In fla you can hunt turkey with a rifle. I'll tell you a ps90 loaded with blue tips is one amazing turkey gun.

Not true at all. Lot of people on the interweb posting pics/stories/videos of hunting and killing hogs and deer using the five seven and PS90. The cartridge does what FNH spent millions on designing it to do...it kills man weight/size animals and does it well.

True story. I don't recall where exactly, but I saw an AAR on some hunting forum. Guy was using a PS90 with SS197 for whitetail. It made a horrible pulpy mess in the chest cavity, akin to the damage I've seen my Scar 17 do. I was as impressed as I was surprised. Keep in mind the 197 round, however, was tremendously aided by the 16" barrel length.

Novelty gun.

Sold mine without regret.

Excellent gun...

We use them all the time...

Just no

Here's why

I agree with you, handguns suck at stopping people. I you go back and listen to that entire series that is stated multiple times. Also if you listen to more than a few minuets facts were presented on why handguns suck including 5.7. The panelist "Gary" AKA DocGKR is fairly well know to be an SME on the subject of terminal performance, when he says something is ineffective I tend to listen. The Ft. Hood shooting was discussed at around the 8 min mark if your interested. It is addressed by the the guy I'm assuming you think sounds high, he usually drinks during these recordings and many times its 3 or 4 in the morning when he is on so I'm no surprised his speech is slurred.

Exactly...

Best tool for our job in the mountains...  They're constantly within reach or worn...

With the same as backups...