Very good list, Trooper, I'll have to tuck that away for reference
Too many critiques/reviews of the gun focus solely on the round itself, and the qualities/quirks of the firearm itself go ignored.
The primary "legit" criticism of the gun itself is its somewhat non-standard control-scheme. Many don't like having the safety above the trigger access by the index finger. Seems intuitive to me, but it would be strange to switch to from another platform. The slide release is tiny, and on mine, very hard to actuate under slide tension. I understand the carry-need for low profile buttons, but it's almost unusable. I believe there are bigger aftermarket replacements, though. Oddly, the mag release is ginormous by comparison
. The grip stippling is excessively aggressive (as it is on
every polymer gun these days). The recoil is beyond controllable; there's no reason my hand needs to be embossed for an hour after shooting. The sights are functional, but the factory 3-white-dots are nothing to write home about (mine are the non-adjustable)
My criticism of the design is the combination of features it needed to meet our stupid "Saturday Night Special" import laws (as if a 1000$ gun is a "Saturday Night Special" anyway:banghead
. A gun with no external hammer or decocker; fine, you can dry fire it to release the striker tension. No so, with the Five-seveN; you to
insert a mag to dry-fire due to the dang magazine safety interlock!
.
The "obvious, reasonable solution" I've heard to ensure firearms safety is to remove spring/follower from one of your +30$ mags, paint it red, and use it as a tool to let down the striker. Red, neon blue, or whatever; It always feels weird and disconcerting to pop in a mag, check the chamber a few times, and pull the trigger. It is just stupid that we must stoop to that. The interlock can be removed, rendering the gun the way FNH originally intended, but I'd hate to defend that decision in court.
These criticisms aside (except for that last one, which is my one hangup with using the pistol for carry) the gun is superbly made, highly innovative, accurate, powerful for what it is, and
very fun to shoot. Only gun I've done <4" at 25 yards with so far
. Just wear good ear protection, and try to avoid developing a twitch, which is easy due to the loud bark/flash.
The ambi-controls and low recoil would make it perfect for dual-wielding
. If the Machine Gun Registry ever reopens
rolleyes
the Five-seveN will get first dibs
followed by the VZ58
$.48 per round for clean top-shelf ammo loaded with premium components. That is standard going rate ($23.99) for SS197 sporting rounds.
Would you mind posting a source? That's a good (and plausible) price, but since the shortage two months or so ago, I haven't seen it online for less than $.55/round (and usually that SS196 lead-free stuff). For what it is, 5.7x28 is no rip-off. People who claim it is
severly overpriced invariably insist on comparing it (incorrectly) to 22WMR, and project
that rounds' pricing onto the 5.7's "worth"--I usually don't even engage those folks since they've already formed a negative opinion on the round.
I wonder if the OP is referring to double-feeding or stove-pipe jams? Simple answer: the Five-seveN tapered round is basically immune to these common feeding issues. As far as Kabooming, apparently if they
do go off it's impressive, but there is little (none?) evidence that bad/unknown handloads or overpressure after-market ammo weren't the culprits. Even less of an issue than 40SW/10mm never was in Glocks, though, at any rate
TCB