FN Five Seven Getting A Bad Rap

[Shawn Dodson]

"Thats a bad ass gun, thats the one that killed those people at that Army base."

Many of those who were wounded didn't know they'd been shot.

43 people were shot with 5.7x28mm in the Ft. Hood shooting. 13 victims incurred fatal injury when the bullet(s) directly damaged vital tissues; 30 were wounded. 11 died at the scene, 2 died at the hospital. The percentage killed (30%) is virtually identical to the percentage of those who are killed when deliberately shot with a common handgun cartridge.

If I am ever attacked by ballistic gel or wet phone books I will be sure to defend myself with something other than 5.7x28mm, otherwise it's performance in the real world would seem to suggest it was very effective.

Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff's Office has used 5.7x28mm in several officer involved shootings and no longer uses it because of its poor "real world" performance. JSO is but one of many agencies to stop using 5.7x28 due to poor "real world" performance. The poor "real world" performance was predicted by gelatin tests. Those agencies that chose to ignore gelatin test results soon realized their error.

 

[m2steven]

I have the 5.7/28 pistol and I really like it. I would trust it in a self defense situation because firing followup shots is so easy and therefore more likely for me to hit my target multiple times. They are sweet, reliable shooters.

 

[LawofThirds]

As the russians say, quantity has a quality of it's own.

At least it provides a .22 caliber handgun that consistently expands.

 

[blackwalnut]

I discovered that a .22 magnum round (40 grain FMJ) will penetrate an average of 6 inches into seasoned 12 x 12 blocks of Douglas Fir. These were shot out of a 6 inch barrel revolver at a distance of 20 feet. I thought the objective of military small arms was not necessarily to kill but incapacitate a combatant and require others to then attempt to offer help/rescue and also so to speak take them out of the fight while giving aid. I do not want to be hit with any of these rounds. It is not a good assumption to believe that all who shoot are on the same page with issues regarding safety, morals, or even political beliefs. As far as range officers go if you find there presence aggravating I will ask you "What are you doing wrong or thinking of doing?" I have seen once a year hunters and even so called experienced competition shooters do dangerous things. Dont assume your immune. Do it right in drill and you ll do it right and safe on the range.

 

[EdLaver]

If you can get this kind of grouping with the 5.7x28, trust me, its lethal. Thats not my pic but I can do the same grouping with a Five Seven @ 25 yards on in. I would trust it in a defense purpose. Its all about shot placement.

 

[bigfatdave]

a .22 magnum round (40 grain FMJ) will penetrate an average of 6 inches into seasoned 12 x 12 blocks of Douglas Fir. These were shot out of a 6 inch barrel revolver

1 - not even close to a measurement of damage in flesh
2 - .22mag is a rifle round, you lose a LOT of velocity in a handgun

I thought the objective of military small arms was not necessarily to kill but incapacitate a combatant

myth, possibly spread within the military to spare raw recruits an existential crisis

As far as range officers go

ignorant commentary on hardware is NOT a safety reminder

 

[uspJ]

i was at a gun store and was looking at a five seven when a customer mentioned to me "that's the gun the fort hood shooter used to kill soldiers." i knodded my head and pointed to a bushmaster on the wall and said " the d.c. sniper used one of those.", i then pointed to an ak and said that :the viet cong used those to kill soldiers too, and i bet every make of gun in this store has been used to kill someone." you can't attatch emotion or intent to an inanimate object.

 

[philip964]

People like to show you they are smart. So instead of saying "hey doesn't that gun pierces body armor" they now say "hey is n't that the Fort Hood gun".

Join a private range.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

I have the 5.7/28 pistol and I really like it. I would trust it in a self defense situation because firing followup shots is so easy and therefore more likely for me to hit my target multiple times.

JSO's experience with 5.7x28mm involved the FN P90 PDW. In one incident a deputy crawled on the hood of a car and fired through the windshield at a suspect inside, landing multiple hits. The entire time the suspect was reportedly screaming "Stop shooting me! Stop shooting me!" He wasn't incapacitated by the hits and survived his wounds. After several shootings in which 5.7 failed JSO SWAT dumped it.

LAPD SWAT tried 5.7 and dumped it. Miami PD SWAT tried 5.7 and dumped it.

 

[dom1104]

Is anyone really surprised by this?

If you had a Luger and people started making comments like "Thats the gun the nazis used" would you be upset?

Or, a Carcano 38 and people start remembering Lee Harvey Oswold.

Sheesh. Guns have a history. The history of this gun is .... in general poor.

Bad rap from the antis. Bad rap as far as being nuetered for the public use. Bad rap for being <debatably> useless. Bad rap for Ft. Hood. Bad rap for being REALLY expensive to both purchase and shoot.

Dunno, my take on this is "yeah thats probably what I would expect."