FN Hershtal marketing FN 5.7x28mm pistol in the US (but you can't have one serf)

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Aikibiker

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2002
Messages
558
Location
Daytona, Fl
I got to checkout the new Guns and Weapons for Law Enforcement at Books-a-Million tonight. Imagine my surprise to learn the FN has come up with a version of their FN pistol that can legally be sold in the USA. The FN IOM (Individual Officers Model) has a 10 round magazine and adjustable rear sight making it suitable for importation into the United States. It is also being marketed with a non armor piercing version of the proprietary 5.7 mm ammo it fires.

Sounds great right? Hell, I bet some of you are drooling right now (I was).

The kicker is that FN will only sell them to dealers the will only sell them to LE personnel, AND the officer in question has to sign a contract stating he will only sell the gun to another officer or back to the same dealer he bought it from.

I don't really buy the hype that this is the ultimate handgun for combat, but damn it I want one. They look like they would be a lot of fun at the range, and I get upset when I am told if I touch one I will go rob a bank with it because of it's evil mind control rays.

Ok I feel better, I'll let yo guys rant on this some.
 
You're drooling over this?? The FN Five-seveN?
FSN1.gif

:uhoh:
 
Schuey,

It's a cool toy that appeals to my sense of tacticality.

Either that or all my taste is in my mouth.

Which ever it is I want one and can't have one. And that ticks me off to no end.
 
I played with one last month, as well as its big brother, the P90. Impressive weapon- weighs a pound and a half with a 20 mag. Neat construction, innovative- but still can't get one. Bummer.
 
I think it would be a fun range toy, but IMO the pistol is crap. Looks ugly, and 5.7x28 has awful terminal ballistics from my casual research. Only good thing about it is you can use a P90 to drill 10-20 holes in the bad guy in a couple of seconds.

Two things about this announcement don't make sense. If FN is selling them to LEOs only, why the 10-round mags? If they're LE imports, they also don't need to pass the "sporting purposes" test. Also, how is the contract with FN enforcable -- if the whole package is civilian-legal, what power does FN have to tell an officer to whom he can sell his own property?
 
Blades,

You telling me a gun rag would print something less then the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth???

My innocence is shattered.
 
What does any of this matter, anyway? Sooner or later if they are sold in America, the civilian market will absorb some of them; or someone (maybe the Chinese) are going to copy them for sale. This will be all the easier when the AWB lapses next year. I don't think these guns are going to be high prority with the ATF to police and regulate.
 
Pipsqueak, the autopsy reports we went over from shootings with the 5.7 were impressive, as well as the after action reports. The round works quite well.
 
Question...

Besides its standard 20 round magazine, why would this pistol be illegal for the average joe to purchase. I am often asked this by buddys of mine (they somehow think because I own guns I can answer any firearms related question they may have) and I honestly dont know the answer.

Please someone explain why FN couldnt just slap a 10 round mag in it and sell it here in the United States.
 
Because it was designed to fire a round that penetrates soft body armor. The BATF decided it was a primarily a handgun round, and hence the ammunition was restricted. There was nothing illegal about the gun, but FN never imported a version that passed the lame "sporting-purposes" test.

Imagine also the bleating and whining of the Brady bunch as they decry this "cop-killing" handgun that would be "widely-available on the streets". :rolleyes:
 
Heck, I'd buy one just because.

Query: are they supposed to be doing this the same way they do LEO-only mags? Department letterhead and all that, or what?

And yes, I fully agree that anyone able to buy any other gun should be allowed to buy this one, too...

Mike
 
Query: are they supposed to be doing this the same way they do LEO-only mags? Department letterhead and all that, or what?
Click to expand...

No contract! All that is required is department letterhead for the "sporting" pistol and practice ammunition. Duty ammunition and the cool gun gets shipped directly to the department only.

FN is trying to find ways to unleash the cartridge into the civilian market to reduce cost, which is now about $15 a box of fifty, but has no idea how. During Shot Show I had a lengthy conversation with FN. At the time we were talking dozens of people would walk up and grab the pistols, comment about the cartridges armor piercing capabilities and walk away. FN guys just looked at me and said there's the short answer as to why.
 
Who would want a gun with half of its designed capacity, a reduced load that would have horrible ballistics, and uncommon mags??? :confused: :barf:
 
The kicker is that FN will only sell them to dealers the will only sell them to LE personnel, AND the officer in question has to sign a contract stating he will only sell the gun to another officer or back to the same dealer he bought it from.
Click to expand...


My understanding is that when an officer or department purchases a sidearm, they are not assessed the taxes that a member of the general public would pay when purchasing. QED it's more than FN just being catty about who gets the firearm.
 
That restriction sounds familiar...

Anybody here remember the hoopla over the .224 Boz round? ;)
 
I took the FN P90 Armorer's course. Do I qualify for a "good gun" discount? BTW, I'm no serf. Serfs work the soil and the only thing I can do with soil is salt or scorch it. I'm a proud neo-proletariat person who is single-handedly trying to destroy the rainforest by overconsumption of paper products. ;)
 
Anybody here besides me remember when Grendal was making a .22mag pistol with a 30 round magazine? The more things change the more they stay the same... :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
  • Locked
FN's Five-seveN® Pistol
Replies
6
Views
728
Snowdog
Snowdog
Y
  • Locked
FiveseveN Range Report
2
Replies
44
Views
4K
mons meg
M
F
  • Locked
FN FiveseveN Warning *Picture Heavy*
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Replies
221
Views
95K
Larry Ashcraft
Larry Ashcraft
MachIVshooter
  • Locked
Ruger 57-First Impressions
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
FL-NC
FL-NC
D
  • Locked
No FN five seven's for Boston
2
Replies
43
Views
4K
Tory
T
Back
Top