anybody seen the new FN Five-seveN IOM 5.7mm X 28 pistol. Apparently they come with three 10 round mags with special 20 round LEO mags abvailable. Kind of scary for cops who rely on body armor considering they are legal for civilian use eh?

IIRC the ammo available to civilians or for private purchase by LEOs for these guns is not capable of penetrating most body armor, but knowledgable cops realize that almost any centerfire rifle can punch their armor, not to mention that there are numerous ways a round can get under, over, around or through a vest...or, for that matter, head shots. Not really scary at all, especially since the average street corner dirtbag is very unlikely to be using one.

the whole reason for the 5.7 mm development was in response to the hollywood bank robery some years back when the bad guys were using full auto rifles and body armor. The point was to develop a round capable of punching through most body armor. There is no question in my mind that it would punch right through level III or less with little or no difficulty at less than 50 meters. Keep in mind that the ballistics on that round is approaching the velocities of a .223 remington.

i seriously doubt it is that effective.  the pistol and smg have been around for over 6 years now and they're basically collector's items.  there has to be a reason for that.  

Well, the "reason" for its' development had nothing to do with the Hollywood bank robbery at all, but lots to do with the drive to produce a PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) for military and maybe some PD use. H&K and some others also did some development in this area...three round bursts in a fraction of a second, blah, blah, blah. The pistol was developed after FN decided to produce the SMG if I recall correctly, and was really intended as a companion piece for those using the shoulder weapon.

Yes, it was also developed to punch body armor...with the military issue rounds available...which are not available on the civilian market legally. The ammo that IS available for the handguns (the SMG is not available on the civilian market) will not penetrate standard level II body armor, and even if it did, is pretty puny even from the SMG...a nice expensive conversation piece, with expensive, underpowered ammo to go along with it,  but little else.

The bullet has a velocity of 2400-2600 fps.  And yes with full metel jacketed rounds it will at close range punch through a Level IIIA vest.  They did it at Knights Shooting Sports in St. Petersburg Fl.  It when stright through the plate.  (This may have been an older vest I do not know if that would effect it)  

SilentHunter;

This was from the pistol or the SMG? Also, correct me if I am wrong, but the FMJ stuff is NOT commercially available for "civilian" use IIRC.