5.7 x 28 ammo. WTH

Wish I was prescient and could tell you, but unfortunately I'm not.

My solution for a few guns that shoot expensive ammo, like an original .38-40 Winchester '73 I had, or the .357 I have, is to reload just for those calibers.

Yeah, I think I'm down to one mag of ss190 and ss195.

I'm assuming that nobody is bothering to manufacture it, with 5.56 and 9mm flying right now.

You don't make potatoes, when everybody is ordering rice.

Speedo66 said:

Wish I was prescient and could tell you, but unfortunately I'm not.

My solution for a few guns that shoot expensive ammo, like an original .38-40 Winchester '73 I had, or the .357 I have, is to reload just for those calibers.

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My question just how easy it is to reload 5.7. I understand that it uses a lubricated case due to pressure and being used in blowback or at least not fully locked type actions.

barnetmill said:

My question just how easy it is to reload 5.7

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By all accounts it is not easy. This is the primary reason I’ve never been excited about this cartridge

I got rid of the 5.7 Ruger Pistol I bought two years ago , because of the ammo cost and the lack of much advantage over .22 RF mag ! I did not lose anything much in the price cause I goy it cheap and some one wanted it. I lost a good deal in the cost of ammo and me including even one box in the deal !

I'm a big fan of both FN platforms but the pricing has been a real letdown. Ages ago I socked away several cases of SS198 when prices weren't so absurd, I really wish I had bought more back then because doing so today is quite a cringe. On a whim I had also bought two bricks of SS190 when it under a buck a round, today I see it selling for $5-10 and kick myself. What I have now I do not shoot, just the blue tip for practice when I can find it a relativly decent price, fortunately POA/POI are the same at practical ranges.

crestoncowboy said:

First off, yes I know everything is more expensive than it was in the past. Yes components have gone up. Etc etc. The 5.7 uses perhaps the most common bullets and powders. Nothing rare

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Your premise is immediately flawed.

There is absolutely no way the 5.7mm uses the most common bullets and powders and there's no way a large commercial manufacturer is going to take a financial risk to change that.

That title belongs to 9mm and .223/5.56 by orders of magnitude.

While it might be an exciting cartridge that fits your criteria perfectly, there is no way a manufacturer of commercial ammunition is going to place that cartridge ahead of 2 proven money makers with nearly 175 years combined use ahead of a niche product (honorable mention exceptions may be .40S&W and .45ACP) that is almost guaranteed not to sell to any financial satisfaction.

Even mainstream cartridges like .357/.44 mag, and standby hunting rifle cartridges like .30-30, .35 Rem, .270 etc are taking a back seat to the ones that sell on the regular (at least until hunting season comes back around)

And that's not even taking into account the shortage of raw materials, the famous "supply chain issues" and lack of manpower.

Never going to happen

Zerodefect said:

Yeah, I think I'm down to one mag of ss190 and ss195.

I'm assuming that nobody is bothering to manufacture it, with 5.56 and 9mm flying right now.

You don't make potatoes, when everybody is ordering rice.

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5.7x28 ammo or just those specific loads?

here is a link for reloading the 5.7. The case must be lubed if there is to be extraction.

https://www.fivesevenforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=17011

American Eagle 5.7 is limited 1 box per customer right now. And very expensive.

Zerodefect said:

American Eagle 5.7 is limited 1 box per customer right now. And very expensive.

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Where?

FFF in Ohio.

I laughed when I saw it. I'm the only 1 single person in the entire middle of the state shooting it. I cant believe that theres any demand for it. Maybe it's just scarcity leading to this.

Zerodefect said:

FFF in Ohio.

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One store in Ohio.

I don't think that speaks for the country, and I see 5.7x28 in stock at several places on the web.

Technically they're a few stores.

But I dont get the seriousness of it. Nobody is shooting 5.7 around here.

Zerodefect said:

FFF in Ohio.

I laughed when I saw it. I'm the only 1 single person in the entire middle of the state shooting it. I cant believe that theres any demand for it. Maybe it's just scarcity leading to this.

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You know how many other people in the entire middle of the state of Ohio shoot 5.7x28?

How are you blessed with this vast knowledge?

1. Just me.

I eat my vegtables.

Your logic is flawed and while it's true there are more 5.7 guns that have been sold the past decade, the same is true for all guns, especially the popular calibers like 9mm. 10mm, while still not more common than the big four (.380, 9, 40, 45) is far more popular and common than 5.7x28 is. 7.62x25 Tokarev, given the popularity in Asia and the WW2 history, is more popular.

The market produces ammo based on two things: what has historically sold well (which I guess explains their hesitancy to make more .32 revolver ammo) and what is projected to sell well in the future. They see what calibers are selling and have been selling for many years and while there's more 5.7 guns out there, the reason those guns were made was for the manufacturers to sell more guns and get market share, not because there was any outcry from the consumer to offer it.

When Ruger announced their 5.7 a lot speculated that they would be bought and re-sold after the first few boxes of ammo and that cycle would continue to the point Ruger would eventually stop making the pistol because what was being sold or traded on the used market would be enough to meet demand because the reality is with 5.7 pistols they're first and most prolific use is pretty much as range toys. Once the new feeling wears off people will look at the cost and availability of the ammo, the difficulty of reloading it, its effectiveness for self defense or competitive shooting, and decide it was nice to try, nice to shoot, but no longer fun to own.

There's another issue with 5.7 pistols that is going to keep them from ever selling as well as 9, 40, 45, etc. and it's that they are always large pistols with long, service length barrels because the grip frame must be made large and the barrel long to get velocity with the 5.7 cartridge.

Full size semi autos are easily the least popular size of semi auto pistols sold, the focus is largely the conceal carry market and if full size pistols are sold they're typically military or police pistols like the 1911, Beretta 92, Sig P320, Glock, etc. When people want to buy a full size pistol they're not flocking to the 5.7's, I guess they feel big pistol requires big caliber. I certainly understand that philosophy in revolvers, I've never been a fan of 8 shot .357's or 10 shot .22 revolvers, but for an autoloading pistol... IDK. If I'm going out in the woods and I'm open carrying a full size pistol, my concern is stopping power, not low recoil or capacity. I get the feeling that's what the ammo makers think or are seeing, so they don't see a significant increase in demand for 5.7 coming in the near future, thus they have no interest in ramping up production.

I just don't see prices for 5.7 coming down, at least not to 9mm levels. I could see them drop a few bucks a box during normal times, but not below $25. Even when things get back to normal (if they ever do) it's going to take a LONG time before prices come down on 5.7 ammo.

Eventually the fad is going to wear off and the 5.7 pistols are going to sit on shelves. Prices on those will come down, but IDK if I'd ever buy one, I just don't have a use or need for one even if the ammo cost was under $20 a box. If low recoil is the desire, the Beretta 81 is still available and .32 ACP not as expensive or scarce as 5.7 is and nowhere near as difficult to reload and the pistol is smaller too.

I obtained a PS90 about 5 years ago, and I bought some ammo for it from PSA back then when it was $300/1000 rounds. When I saw how much it went up, I quit shooting it even though I have ammo. Its too distracting- every time I squeeze the trigger, I don't even hear it go bang- its more of a cash register noise.

I think one interesting factor to watch will be PSA. A few months ago they started manufacturing their own 5.7 pistol. PSA is also now manufacturing ammunition under the AAC brand. They have the ability to produce the ammo in large quantities to lower the price and make their own 5.7 pistol more desirable. Right now, like all ammo producers, they are manufacturing the most popular calibers so we'll see if they start making 5.7 as well. PSA's entire business model is selling things in mass quanitiy and driving the market price down to everyman price points.

The reason that I did not buy a PS90 years ago, even though I reeeeeally wanted one, is because I insist on being able to readily/easily reload for all of my centerfire cartridges. I decided long ago that I did not want to be dependent upon the store-bought-ammo price roller coaster, so ...

@Trent started a Thread about his Reloading 5.7x28 Adventure several years ago. I looked forward to every installment hoping that he would both discover & solve all of the issues involved.

What I learned from that wonderful Thread was ... for me, reloading 5.7x28 was not to be. WAY more effort than I was willing to expend.

Assuming that a primary driver behind the historically high 5.7x28 ammo prices is the "niche" hypothesis ... I think that the ultimate irony of the historically Stupid-High 5.7x28 prices is that if the MFRs considerably dialed-down their profit margins on the cartridges for a year or two, folks would now be buying MANY more firearms chambered for it and, therefore, buying a LOT more of the commercial ammunition.

O'course, there is also probably a good chance that that would have only had the desired effect if it had been done in the early days, as now, I think, most folks shy away from 5.7x28 firearms, many due to outrageously high 5.7x28 ammo costs.

Schade ...

I fortunately bought enough 5.7x28 Ammo prior to the craziness, so I really don't need to reload. I do have dies and components, but don't tumble clean them any wear off the coating that comes on the factory rounds, or you will have to lube them for more than just resizing.

FN Herstal and Fiocchi partner up to manufacture 5.7 x 28 ammo for the U.S. market. Hopefully this will mean lower pricing.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/06/17/fn-herstal-fiocchi-5-7x28mm/

9mm accounts for the lion’s share of pistol shooting these days so the ammo manufacturers are responding accordingly. When there’s no pent up demand and people are buying as they need, companies have the time to make runs of all the numerous niche calibers and then to sell them at attractive prices. But today there’s evidently still plenty of unrequited demand for the basics, which means sadly that 5.7, 9mm largo, and even .32acp or .357 end up as afterthoughts, if they’re made at all.

Truly hope you find what you need friends!