5.7 pistol?

Fun range toy. Ammo available. Like the 22 TCM they are very loud with tremendous muzzle flash which to my way of thinking, removes them from the bedside gun category.

Crosshair said:

Fun to shoot.
Lots of muzzle blast.
Expencive to feed, tricky to handload.

Just not worth the trouble IMHO.

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I do not understand why we do not see more interest 22TCM as a 5.7 replacement

If you want to see muzzle flash shoot a .22 Jet.

Bob

rkittine said:

If you want to see muzzle flash shoot a .22 Jet.

Bob

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The muzzle flash may be more of the choice of powder used rather than the caliber. The 5.7 is generally loaded for rifle length barrels rather than handguns. Since the 5.7 is very difficult to hand load, I find the 22TCM (shortened .223) more interesting.

Tcruse said:

The muzzle flash may be more of the choice of powder used rather than the caliber. The 5.7 is generally loaded for rifle length barrels rather than handguns. Since the 5.7 is very difficult to hand load, I find the 22TCM (shortened .223) more interesting.

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Mine came with a 9mm barrel in the box, and I could have bought three of the RIAs for the price of the FN.

Tcruse said:

I do not understand why we do not see more interest 22TCM as a 5.7 replacement

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Because the interest in the 5.7 is so incredibly limited in the first place.

I have shot several magazines through a friends FN Five Seven. I loved that there were so many (20) pretty potent rounds in such a lite weight but full size package. It pointed and shot very nicely with very good (for me) ergonomics and a nice trigger. The recoil seemed effortless with very fast follow up shots. I would consider one if reloading the 5.7 x 28 cartridges were not such a challenge. I can't imagine paying full price for 5.7 ammo, that is just crazy!

I have never shot the Ruger but it really seems to have missed the mark in the specs that I have seen with it being 15% heavier than the FN Five Seven. BUT I have never even held the Ruger so the weight might feel pretty comparable when mounted on my hip.

I believe the RIA MAPP HC holds 16 rounds of .22 TCM 9R is a package weight almost identical to the FN Five Seven. I have never seen any reports of 22 TCM 9R being hard to load and has no special case coatings to provide lubrication for proper functioning. The 22 TCM 9R round does appear to hold a sizeable ballistics advantage on paper (i.e. a much better bear gun!). At $380 the RIA MAPP seems quite reasonably priced for a plinker/backpack gun with readily reloadable ammunition. The specs I read said that the MAPP is almost exactly the same weight as the Five Seven. I would love to at least hold one in a gun shop to check out the fit in my hand and the trigger before putting my money down on one though.

(FYI 22 TCM 9R is a 22 TCM cartridge with the bullet seated deeper resulting in an OAL more compatible with 9mm magazines but using the same case and projectiles as the standard 22 TCM)

The afore mentioned PMR33 also seems a good choice with much cheaper ammo, excellent reliability reports and being so ugly that no one would ever consider stealing one! I think I would opt for the CP33 over the PMR 30 even though they have very different use cases and .22lr doesn't belong in a discussion with 5.7 x 28 and 22 TCM 9R.

I had an opportunity to shoot an FN maybe ten(?) years ago. It was not long after the cartridge had been introduced. I can't recall any specifics other than it was a neat range toy. The ammunition was scarce and expensive enough to focus my interests elsewhere.

If I were in the market, Paul sold me on the Ruger.

I like FNs so it was just one that I wanted to own. Have no real need of use for mine, but for the price I may get the Ruger too.

Bob

MikeInOr said:

.... I have never shot the Ruger but it really seems to have missed the mark in the specs that I have seen with it being 15% heavier than the FN Five Seven. BUT I have never even held the Ruger so the weight might feel pretty comparable when mounted on my hip. ......

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I own the Ruger 57. I've never examined the FN (seemed too much $$$$ to be reasonable) but have seen comparison articles in gun magazines. Yes, the Ruger is a tad larger, but not much. The Ruger is certainly light and pointable, and has good sights and nice trigger. It's a very well designed gun. I'm not saying the FN is bad, but for my money, I'd ask WHY THE FN??? ?
As for weight on one's hip; I seriously doubt anyone would note the difference.

Tommygunn said:

I own the Ruger 57. I've never examined the FN (seemed too much $$$$ to be reasonable) but have seen comparison articles in gun magazines. Yes, the Ruger is a tad larger, but not much. The Ruger is certainly light and pointable, and has good sights and nice trigger. It's a very well designed gun. I'm not saying the FN is bad, but for my money, I'd ask WHY THE FN??? ?
As for weight on one's hip; I seriously doubt anyone would note the difference.

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Thank you!

Tcruse said:

I do not understand why we do not see more interest 22TCM as a 5.7 replacement

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I suspect that those buying the 5.7 guns did not buy them for the ballistics, but because they were made by FN and/or were cool, unique guns. And with .22 TCM you get a worse 1911.

The confusion of the R version did .22 TCM no favors. I suspect it would fare better if RIA didn't jerk around with the cartridge definition.

Either way, even with the AR57 getting off the market, the 5.7 trounced .22 before Covid hit, with CMMG and Ruger coming out with new guns. The reasons for this could be anything. Heck, the 5.7 rounds look cuter, and the 22 TCM case is too fat, like a miniature .300 WSM. Maybe that played a part!

Light recoil, flat shooting. Love the cartridge, but I'm an absolute trigger snob so the FN and ruger felt awful to me.

If I was a rich man, I would find a company that would build me a 1911 in 5.7, or go full gomper and neck down a 10mm to .224 for a 224boz build.

I have had an FN FiveSeven for some years now. I bought it before they got crazy expensive. Lots of rounds downrange since then. It is great fun to shoot. I have always considered it a varmint rifle that I can put in my pocket. It has been accurate (four inches or better at 100 yards) and reliable. I buy factory ammo when I can find it cheap (rare). I also reload......not a cartridge for the beginning loader.
I have a PMR-30 also. I enjoy shooting it. Ultimately, though, the 5.7 is cheaper to shoot because I reload. The PMR is not nearly as accurate as the FN nor as reliable.

Five seven was on my list until I saw that I can shoot civil defense ammo out of a 10mm and do the same thing. 2400fps w/ a heavier bullet.

I shot a FN 5.7 zero recoil, very accurate. Keep in mind the 5.7 was designed to defeat soviet/russian body armor replacing the 9mm and .45 acp. Unless you are shootings the NATO AP ammo (illegal in the US) you are shooting the equivalent of a .22 magnum. And paying 3-4 times the price.
A very cool gun if $$ is not a concern.

I will cut the shooting cost a little if I can find a set of reloading dies. Everywhere I look they are back ordered for 6-8 months.

Bob

I own probably 30 or so handguns and when my wife wanted to take up shooting I took them all out of the safe and let her take her pick. She had been shooting with me before (kind of) but this time she really wanted to get serious about it.

Out of all those choices she settled on the FN 57. She loved it’s low recoil, easy to rack slide and its easy to load double stack / double feed magazine.

Dan

BlackSheep1-2 said:

Any of you guys ever shoot one of 5.7 pistols?? If so which one and what was your impression?

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Had the FN FiveSeven. The brand is one of the BEST to deal with interns of product quality and customer support - absolutely TOPS... The pistol was well made, as they say - "combat tough". The 5.7 is the longest range pistol caliber I have ever shot. Usually I went to 50 yards but it is capable of 3 times that distance.

The gun was expen$ive - $1,200 out the door. I even got a 30 round magazine for it. Ammo is HARD to reload (I cannot), and current prices have it going for $50 a box - expensive. It was, unfortunately, not one of the most accurate pistols I have ever used. In fact, it was on of the worst - BUT, that could be ME for sure.

I considered it to be the ideal "bug out" gun. Small, high capacity, long range.... But, in the end I have opted for the AR.

It is a thoroughbred to be sure. Worth it IF you have the MONEY....

There are 4 features that I absolutely love about the FN 5.7 as compared to the Ruger. Yes, the Ruger is a great gun and I’ve got many Rugers. But I prefer the FN version of the 5.7.

1. The loaded chamber indicator. One of the best out there. Very positive - You absolutely know when the chamber is loaded. Doesn’t matter if it’s pitch black and you can’t see it.
2. The safety. Unlike almost any other handgun. You keep your trigger finger on the safety which happens to be the safe position for your trigger finger also. You at all times know the safety position of the gun and a simple sweep downward to take the safety off and put your finger on the trigger. More guns should be like this.
3. The plastic coated slide. It keeps your hands off the steel components, if you’ve got perspiration that can cause corrosion, or other contaminants on your hands.
4. The takedown lever/ease of slide removal. One of the best and easiest out there.

There are other things I like about 5.7 guns in general, like portability of the ammo, but those are common to all the firearms that chamber it.

I got a used FiveSeven a while back and stocked up on ammo when it was under $0.50/ea.

The FiveSeven pistol itself is a bulky full size service pistol and the cartridge forces a ling front to back grip length. Still, even with my short fingers it's very reasonable for me to shoot. I did reverse the mag release button to the right side (I'm right handed) so I can trip it with my index finger.

The cartridge* is a joy. Very flat shooting, accurate, and in the FiveSeven (I haven't shot the Ruger) recoil is very low making follow up shots very fast.

BSW

*I stocked up on SS198LF (27gr high velocity) when I found it at a reasonable price. I have shot some of the 40gr American & FN loaded rounds and wasn't that impressed. The whole point of 5.7x28 is speed and 40gr out of that cartridge just ain't right.