So what's the general consensus on the FN Five-seveN?

cool but too expensive. that's my take on it.

Novelty, you can't buy the ammo that would possibly justify having one.

The PS90 is a fun little bullpup carbine and the ammo is not horribly expensive (although the choice is rather limited), but other than having a pistol that takes the same ammo as your carbine the FN Five-seveN never really makes any sense to me. The PS90 makes more sense in its "native" SBR configuration, but that requires NFA hassles.

A lot of folks worrying about if the 6.8 SPC will "catch on", with the Five-seveN you are dependent on a single company that has not shown itself to really care much about civilian sales.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19913

Even 9mm NATO FMJ makes a larger wound--and we are all aware of the awe inspiring incapacitation potential of M882 ball from the M9.....

Several papers have described the incredibly poor terminal performance of the 5.7 x 28 mm projectiles fired by the FN P90:

--Dahlstrom D, Powley K, and Gordon C: “Wound Profile of the FN Cartridge (SS 190) Fired from the FN P90 Submachine Gun". Wound Ballistic Review. 4(3):21-26; Spring 2000.
--Fackler M: "Errors & Omissions", Wound Ballistic Review. 1(1):46; Winter 1991.
--Fackler M: "More on the Bizarre Fabrique National P-90", Wound Ballistic Review. 3(1):44-45; 1997.
--FBI Academy Firearms Training Unit. FBI Handgun Ammunition Tests 1989-1995. Quantico, U.S. Department of Justice--Federal Bureau of Investigation.
--Hayes C: “Personal Defense Weapons—Answer in Search of a Question”, Wound Ballistic Review. 5(1):30-36; Spring 2001.
--Roberts G: “Preliminary Evaluation of the Terminal Performance of the 5.7 x 28 mm 23 Grain FMJ Bullet Fired by the New FN P-90 , Using 10% Ordnance Gelatin as a Tissue Simulant”, AFTE Journal. 30(2):326-329, Spring 1998.

Click to expand...

My experience/opinion is that (both pistol and ammo) it is expensive, lacks the ability to defeat soft armor (which is this platform's "claim to fame") because the ammunition required to do so is unavailable to the general public and struggles due to its diminuitive diameter and mass to produce adequate terminal performance "on par" with the more commonly encountered semi-auto pistol "service calibers" (9mm, .357Sig, .40/10mm, .45ACP).

I own one and I like shooting it. Very easy to shoot well and is a top quality, military grade, reliable pistol.

Honestly, the only reason I see for the pistol is for comonality with the FN P90 PDW. The round itself appears inferior to other common SD handgun rounds.

Novelty, you can't buy the ammo that would possibly justify having one.

Click to expand...

Exactly, the only advantage of the 5.7 over more conventional ammo is in the AP rounds. Since civilians can't buy those, the standard rounds just don't offer any benefit over cheaper, more widely available civilain ammo.

I've had one since Nov 05.
It's OK but I'm not getting rid of my 9mm, 45ACP, .380, 9x18, etc, etc, and going strictly 5.7.

I used it for a night stand gun for several years and had no doubt it would stop a BG's clock with a shot or two to the chest.


The only complaint I have is brass, for reloading, is difficult to find and expensive.

The only complaint I have is brass, for reloading, is difficult to find and expensive

Click to expand...

That is why you need a PS 90 or AR57 upper -- bottom ejection piles the empties at your feet, or with the AR57 you can remove the follower and spring from a 5.56x45 ProMag and use them as a catch bucket, finally a use for ProMags


I don't enjoy reloading large volumes of bottleneck cartridges. YMMV.

The P90 and PS90 are excellent CQB rifles. Way better than the MP5 and SBR semiauto MP5 clones. Running one in a carbine comp is like cheating.

5.7x28mm out of the 10-16" barrels seems to outperform the 9mm when fired from the tiny short barrel of the Mp5. My tests are fairly unscientific, but somewhat effective nonetheless. Phonebooks, dead pigs, waterjugs, Goa'uld Jaffa space aliens, etc. etc.

But the FiveSeven pistol, with it's short barrel is too borderline for me to trust. And I see no need for ammo commonality between rifle and pistol. A Glock has 27+ rounds with one reload, a rifle has 30-50 without reloading. If you go through all that, you have bigger problems.....

So I can wholeheartedly recommend the P90 or PS90 for CQB defensive use, but not the FiveSeven pistol. But it's still better than a .380.

mdauben said:

Honestly, the only reason I see for the pistol is for comonality with the FN P90 PDW. The round itself appears inferior to other common SD handgun rounds.


Exactly, the only advantage of the 5.7 over more conventional ammo is in the AP rounds. Since civilians can't buy those, the standard rounds just don't offer any benefit over cheaper, more widely available civilain ammo.

Click to expand...

Good points. I suspect that if someone can obtain AP ammo in 5.7x28, they can also obtain AP ammo in 9mm. Since the effect (AP) is the same, why bother with the more exotic and expensive round?

Every year, I and my best friend go to Montana to shoot prairie dogs and he has brought along on the last two trips, his FiveSeven pistol. Running it with the appropriate JHPs it does a good job of nailing the ones that are "up close" and it is a very well made pistol that is a lot of fun to shoot.

OTOH, my Glock 17 loaded with "el cheapo" Remington/UMC or WinchesterUSA 115 gr. JHPs does just as good a job at blowing the little vermin to bits as the FiveSeven and at a lot less expense.

mdauben said:

Honestly, the only reason I see for the pistol is for comonality with the FN P90 PDW. The round itself appears inferior to other common SD handgun rounds.


Exactly, the only advantage of the 5.7 over more conventional ammo is in the AP rounds. Since civilians can't buy those, the standard rounds just don't offer any benefit over cheaper, more widely available civilain ammo.

Click to expand...

The SS190 AP rounds really aren't that impressive. Nothing, at least, that a solid copper bullet with the right load couldn't duplicate. SS195 has exactly the same effect on someone without body armor as SS190. And reloading something hotter than SS195 is easy, but the brass is toast after being reloaded hot once. (IME)

If you really want some SS190, it's out there. Not cheap, but hopefully you'd never have to use it anyways. Allthough I don't like the idea of hanging on to old ammo for defensive purposes, I like to shoot it and keep fresh ammo in hand.

The 5.7x28 may not be the upper power of the more common calibers, but even the lowly .22lr has done a lot of damage to folks in its history. The 5.7x28 is considerably more potent than that. Just slightly under the 9mm. Plenty of power, . . . especially when SHOT PLACEMENT is far more important than caliber size.

I own a five-seven and it is a great pistol. Very soft shooting and 100% reliable so far. It is a big weird looking but I like that about it. As for the ammo, there are many different types/models. The most easily found is the blue tips or sporting rounds. You can find these for about $20 a box if you know where to look. The black tips or the armor piercing ones are a bit harder to find though they are out there. These are the expensive ones. If you only had enough money to buy one pistol, I would recommend against this one. This pistol is more of a collector/enthusiast piece. They are kinda expensive. If you are looking for a great range gun or if you're going into some "thick action area" this would be nice.

Overly expensive range queen that makes younger video gamer boys drool

I think they are sort of silly, but pretty cool none the less. They are too expensive and impractical for me to be interested. I can still see why they are a good idea for certain agencies.

pointless, expensive to shoot, poor wound ballistics. pass.

pointless, expensive to shoot, poor wound ballistics. pass.

Click to expand...

There is no reason to slam the gun. It isn't "pointless". The rounds are a bit expensive, . . . but it hardly has "poor would ballistics". Feel free to pass, but no handgun round is magical.

Other than the Fort Hood shootings, have there been any documented shooting demonstrating whether the pistol/round is or isn't effective?

Overly expensive range queen that makes younger video gamer boys drool

Click to expand...

pointless, expensive to shoot, poor wound ballistics. pass.

Click to expand...

Statements like this, in themselves, mean nothing.
What is your personal hands on experience with the gun and ammo that leads you to that conculsion?





.

Never shot one. I did watch a guy at the range shooting one and he loved it. I prefer a bigger bullet.

A Lot of conjecture and uninformed speculation here, from people with NO EXPERIENCE!

The facts:

You can indeed legally purchase, own, and shoot ammunition which will defeat an NIJ Level II vest when fired from a 'Five Seven' handgun.

You can indeed legally purchase, own, and shoot ammunition which will defeat hard barriers and still penetrate sufficient soft tissue to reliable reach vital organs when fired from a 'Five Seven' handgun.

These cartridges run about $1 per round sans shipping from several boutique manufacturors, which is about the same price you would pay for premium defensive ammunition of any other flavor... Or you can load it yourself for less. The FN factory ammo retails at $.50 per cartridge for top shelf ammunition (if loaded a little light). There are many more common pistol cartridges you cant touch for that in HP form.

There was a time when I used to think the FsN had no place, or was just a novelty. Then I shot one, and got real world experience. Now I own one and love it.

The platform does have some pitfalls:
* High startup cost
* Expensive mags
* Ammo not at WalMart

But it also has several VERY BIG strengths:
* 20 rounds of centerfire
* High accuracy
* Very low weight
* very low recoil

What other pistol can claim that? Where else can you get a pistol that holds a ton of centerfire ammo while being light weight AND having no recoil? Nowhere.

You can 5 - tap someone with a 'Five Seven' as fast as you can muster, and still keep all of the bullets in a 4" circle at 15 yards, and every shot will penetrate to vitals while fragmenting. That is significant, and it's a task most people CAN do with a FsN when they CAN'T do it with a Glock/Sig/Whatever.

On my first range trip with the pistol, I scored 5 head shots on 5 scaled down silhouette in as many seconds ... and IM NOT VERY GOOD! Anyone here on this forum could do that if they were shooting a 'Five Seven'.

As a pistol shooter of only mediocre ability, I practically cant miss when I'm shooting my 'Five Seven'. Even on targets at 100 yards, there is no guess work or great skill required to keep all rounds on target - the average joe can do it with an FsN in just a few rounds, and do it every time.

Yes, the price of admission is high, but the performance is very high as well. The gun is not perfect, but in my opinion it offers the average shooter an instant performance advantage that would take years of constant practice to achieve with any standard service pistol.

There is no reason to slam the gun. It isn't "pointless". The rounds are a bit expensive, . . . but it hardly has "poor would ballistics". Feel free to pass, but no handgun round is magical.

Click to expand...

the 5.7 is a highly specialized round created specifically for LE/Military to defeat body armor. for civilians, it's nothing more than an expensive plinker.

The Secret Service uses the P90 in 5.7mm, however Special Agents are still using the Sig P229 in .357 Sig as their sidearms.

Never shot one. Shutting up now. Should not have bothered.

Maybe only people who have actually shot a 5-7 should be commenting in this thread!

I can allmost use 5-7 threads to build a list of posters to never take advice from.

Click to expand...

Yes, after years of the same naysayers jumping in with the SAME arguments... Guys who never even owned the gun, and are just regurgitating the same garbage, I almost never participate in these threads anymore...

Even if the question is about a specific aspect of the gun, and not the bullet itself... The anti five-seven round guys gotta come say it all again. Typically, these threads end up in name calling by the end, and are quite often locked... So why bother to get involved in them after seeing this go on for years now...