Been looking at fn five seven pistols. I want to use this as a self defense gun. A few questions
















 

It isn't the best for an all around SHTF pistol, mostly due to the limited amount of parts, accessories and relative scarcity of ammo.  

There are two scenarios it makes some sense: you already have the carbine and plenty of ammo, or you are recoil sensitive or otherwise manually impaired.

I know its rather uncommon and parts are hard to come by. I just love how it's like a little 223 concept in a pistol. However if it isn't tough and reliable i won't buy one.







 

I personally wouldn't trust it with my life based on the ballistics I've seen. It's a cool weapon indeed and it's primary purpose is to defeat body armor and the AP rounds do that very well. Of course us civilians can't get the AP rounds.... So it's pretty much a range toy to me. I feel much more confident with a 9mm or .45acp caliber semi-auto pistol. Those calibers have been around for a very long time and they have proven they work well for self defense.

The caliber sucks.

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It would make a great rabbit gun.

I'm taking a slightly different tack with mine. I've got an 80% lower Ares Armory polymer lower and am getting the AR57 upper with the 12" barrel for a pistol build.
Undecided at this point on if I'm going to put the Sig Arm Brace on this pistol. The increase in barrel length from 4.8" to 12" will increase the ballistics some; but, still not starting off with a 5.56x45mm.



Figured one 50 round magazine up to bat and two on deck in the BOB should get me through 'the Badlands' which are between the hospital where I work and home.

Only if your targets are wearing soft body armor and you can't make headshots.

I'm no expert, though I have one, from what i've read they have a similarly sized temporary wound cavity to a .45, they also have some speed (which I believe contributes to the last point), they don't recoil so you can literally place follow up after follow up from that 20 rounder on target accurately, they bark like crazy and i've never had a malfunction. Plenty of security orgs have used them, granted i've never shot anyone with one, but i wouldn't feel bad having mine in a bad situation. just my opinion.

Only for those whose choice of  a self defense rifle is .22 Winchester Magnum because that's basically the equivelant of that pistol with the exception of its improved performance against soft body armor.

This is what I've heard.  With civilian ammo, it is basically an exotic .22mag.

While I'm no big fan of the thing, the .22 Mag comparison comes up in every discussion of the 5.7.

To be fair about it, the 5.7 fired from a pistol matches the velocity of a .22 mag fired from a rifle.

A .22 mag fired from a pistol is not as fast as the 5.7, so we should compare apples to apples here.

And of course you have to understand that there are no reliable 22 mag autoloading pistols out there that I know of, that Kel Tec toy is junk.
Reliability is one thing the FN pistol has, regardless of the argument over it's caliber.


All that said, my every day home defense pistol is a 9mm Walther P99 loaded with 147gr. HSTs.

For what it's worth.

If you want to poke little quarter inch holes, then yes.

I was fair about 5.7 by comparing it to .22 magnum fired from a rifle.

If .22 magnum fired from a rifle is deemed by someone to be the preferred choice for a self defense gun, than for that individual 5.7 is an acceptable choice in a handgun.

It's really apples to apples when comparing the performance of the two rounds when speaking about using either for self defense.

There are some SS198 boxes available in the market these days - Cope's had them about a week ago.

Is there any significant difference when going with the longer 12" barrel? I haven't found any tables on that configuration.

The FiveSeven is reliable, I will say that.  It's somewhat hard to say exactly how durable it is, since it hasn't been around a very long time.  One things is for sure, it would make a terrible SHTF pistol since spares parts will be as-near-as-makes-no-difference impossible to find and the same goes for the ammo.

For those who say it sucks as a round, look at the Ft Hood shooting.  A dozen dead and another 31 wounded.  About the same lethality as any other pistol round.

I wonder how quiet an FN 5.7 is with a Sparrow attached to it's end ?

Still loud. The sonic boom is loud as fuck, and requires ear pro. Ask me how I know.

With over 200 rounds expended. A coward shooting fleeing and unarmed people in the back isn't exactly what is base my selection on. Show me one single load that passes the FBI standards and I'll care.

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I have shot one a fair number of times. I think there are much better guns out there for SD applications, but if I was given one to defend myself with I would feel safe. @0 rounds mad with a 30 round extended mag as a reload and you have 50 rounds in a gunfight in a package that shoots like a laser with barely any recoil and hits pretty hard to boot.

If you wanna try a neat 22 bottleneck look at the 22 TCM they make from armscor they make a gun that shoots it and 9 mm with a barrel and recoil sprint swap.

The problem with the 5-7 is the safety location. And I believe the trigger is too light to leave it off so kind of DOA as a CCW. In terms of a night stand gun, G2G

But yeah, not my first choice

It's not like a "little .223".

It's more like a big .22Magnum

What is attracting you to this gun?

People who are fans of this gun are rabid fans.  To them, it's the solution for everything.   A magic pistol.  They do not accept ANY criticism and limit empirical data to what suits their cause.

The truth is that no military has adopted the FiveSeveN.  Limited LE purchases have not been repeated and most abandoned.   No other mainline handgun manufacturer has built a handgun to add this round to their lineup.   Those are three MAJOR clues that should get your attention.

Personally, I think it's a geeky POS that solves ZERO modern handgun issues.  The available ammo is pretty limited compared to the naughty ammo (which has limitations as well), and the geeky boutique ammo from Elite Ammo is very difficult to come by, and has blown up a few dozen of these guns.  You would think that between the ATF raids and their own production issues, they would figure out a way to not blow up the guns, but that is really how close these cartridges are to their limit.   EA ammo is absolutely useless unicorn horn dust unless I can reliably buy it in bulk from online retailers or in brick and mortar retail stores like any other defense ammo.

Oh yeah, The sights are all screwy with one type of pistol only shooting true for one type of ammo and vice-versa.  The safety is located in the wrong place, and the plastic slide cover is chintzy crap.  The trigger leaves a lot to be desired, and the gun is actually TOO light for it's trigger.  Parts are mostly castings or polymer, and it's a blowback design.  Essentially, a fancy Hi Point, but unlike Hi Point, FN customer service is near nonexistent except for trying to blame YOU for breaking it.  (probably true with all the ammo hacks blowing them up)

5.7x28mm works a lot better for stitching up a bad guy at close range with a 6-10 round burst out of a 10" barrel out of a P90 with the MIL/LE only ammo.  And even that is questionable.  Single rounds fired out of a 5" barrel using the gay civilian ammo is SUPER questionable.


Just get an Hk P30L if you want to be different and spend a ton of money on some geeky euro-gun.

EA = Unicorn horn tipped

When I can buy decent ammo at the local gun store or Bass Pro, you'll have my ear.

It's an exotic .22mag even with cool guy ammo

Not sure I understand your point.
Hassan was shooting fish in a bowl.
A ruger charger with a few BX-25 mags of .22LR stingers would had done the same.
So would had a Glock 19 with 33rd stick mags.

Go get a Glock 19. Easy ammo to "buy cheap and stack deep" , very lie maintenance with a crap ton of industry support. Plus it's a lot cheaper

I have always been fascinated by bottle-necked pistol cartridges and have fooled around with 5.7x28 in an AR "pistol" platform with a 12" barrel. It is an intriguing round and certainly not the worst choice for a close-quarters defensive caliber BUT there are so many BETTER choices that are more readily available and at cheaper prices (which encourages you to practice more). I like my set-up as a fun and novel range toy but I see no compelling reason to include it in my CC/SD/HD/SHTF line-up.

Is the 5.7 a good gun?  Yes.  It is an awesome gun.





Is the 5.7 round a good SD round?  No, IMHO it sucks.

40 grain going at 1700FPS.

Hmmm.

Id pass for SD

The caliber sucks and it is an oddball gun.

Buy it for fun if you want but if you want a defense gun get something that is in a commonly used self defense caliber in a standard, boring, ordinary, proven pistol.  Glock, M&P, Beretta, Sig, or a good quality made 1911.

I havent looked in awhile but that gun is about $1200 give or take?

At that pricing you could get 2 police trade G22s and a PCC upper from Mec Tech Systems. While the .40 isnt the most desirable to most and doesnt out perform the 9 or 45 I can find it anywhere and cheap

But how do you really feel about it, Matt?...

I like shooting guns in general, so I like shooting the Five seveN. But for me, it would just be a range toy. The gun is way too expensive to be a range toy. If it was the only gun/caliber I had, of course I would use it for defense, but there are better options. That is my opinion and it is one shared by the overwhelming majority of shooters and manufacturers.

5.7 is a great round it is more than a 22 mag despite internet lore.

american eagle makes FMJ ammo for the public

the varmit ammo (blue tip) will fragment instantly that is what varmit ammo does.- it is not good for SD IMO

the hp ammo is a great compromise.  I have not shot anything of size with my ps90 but a few big white turkeys and 3 coyotes have fallen to it the hp ammo is the best way to go IMO

the advantages  is rapid double & triple taps, high capacity and small size

the disadvantages big front sight - night sights are hard to find if they exsist.  the safety is very odd and takes alot of time to get comfy with.

The civilian ammo sucks
Caliber has a niche appliation

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I'm not 100% sure it even has that niche anymore, with the growing popularity of rifle-grade armor the 5.7 is losing its only claim to fame.

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You will not make faster or more accurate  doubles or triples with a FSN than I will with a 1911 or a full size Glock 9mm.

Not happening


The American eagle ammo is rebranded FN.  Or rather, the FN ammo is actually rebranded America Eagle

This


What "niche" does it fill?

I'll wait for an answer

A freind of mine was very disappointed when he bought a soft armor panel and shot it with his FiveseveN

I'd go 22TCM over 5.7.  At least the fireball is entertaining.

The one it was designed for. Big surprise there.



 

It seems like a small niche now, but at the time it felt like a big niche.  The FiveseveN is the best pistol I could fire when I hurt my hand a few years ago.  It was reliable, accurate, lots of cartridges, and it didn't hurt my hand to fire it.

That time only lasted about 3 weeks, but it felt like 3 years.  Yes, I some times work trying to improve my left hand shooting ability, and I did use that for part of those 3 weeks.  When my hand started to improve, I moved up to a .38 Super.

Even Jeff Cooper recommended small caliber pistols for those who were recoil averse.  Yes, your marksmanship has to be perfect, but they will work if used properly.  I would much rather have a FiveseveN for that purpose than any .22 magnum, or .32 I have seen.

Now that my hand has healed, (mostly), I usually carry either a .45, .38 Super or 9x23mm, but the FiveseveN is great for those times when it is not fully functional.  

Rather have FNS 9mm for SD.

I wouldn't mind having a 5.7 to play around with.

P30L geeky
Man I wish I had one myself

For the first time ever, me and Matt are in agreement.

Fish in a bowl, or fish shooting back, doesn't matter.  The point is that any handgun round is not super lethal, some are big and slow, this one is tiny and fast.  If the guy wants it for a SD round, aside from the parts and ammo availability things already pointed out, I don't think he's doing any better or any worse.

Disappointed in the caliber, the ammo, or the panel?

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50rnds in a short, thin, FA, armor piercing package

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