Would you sell a pistol you "can't really afford to shoot"? Five Seven.

[Orion8472]

I have a Five Seven that I've been back and forth on as per whether or not I should sell it. I posed the question on the FN board, and of course they said I should keep it. . . . . that the round "is the best out there" [debatable, of course, and not the purpose of the thread].

It would make a great platform if society collapsed. Light weight pistol with light weight ammo [that you can carry a lot of]. Also not the purpose of this thread.

The thing is, . . . I like the gun. But only to a point. It feels okay in the hand, but not as good as my CZ pistols [of course]. I like the potential it could offer in case OF a "collapse". But that's not likely to happen, . . . no matter what the Glenn Becks of the world say.

So what I have is a pistol that shoots ammo that I really hate shooting because of the cost of it. I have a supply of rounds, but for all intents and purposes, . . . the cost of a 50 round box is ~$30 for SS197SR. For the cheaper American Eagle, it hovers around ~$24 per 50 round box. That isn't extremely expensive, but a lot more than a 50 round box of 9mm. I can get nearly 100 rounds for that price, actually. So, going to the range with a Five Seven is essentially $30 but 50 rounds. . . . . which goes quick.

If I sold the pistol and ammo, I could get ~$2,800 for it all.

So the guys at the FN forums think I'm crazy to sell it. Maybe they're right. But asking a dedicated brand forum probably isn't the best way to go. What do you all think?

 

[boricua9mm]

Those pistols have been Hot Button guns for a long time. Will they be here to stay, or will they be banned? The issue goes back and forth very often it seems.

In terms of ammo cost, it would appear that it's not any more expensive than shooting factory .45ACP, .38SPL or .357MAG rounds.

I can't justify buynig one, but if I already had one, I'd keep it.

 

[wally]

Put the pistol and ammo in a pile on the table, imagine it was a pile of twenty-eight $100 bills instead. If you think the money would be more useful to you, sell it, if not keep it.

 

[JimC]

A few years back, I thought I wanted a Five Seven after firing one.
I joined the Five Seven Forum to read all about them.
I had a lead on a used one, it was one of the more desirable models with a few mags and ammo included, I don't recall the model right now.
Ammo at that time was rather hard to come by and that was before this current ammo shortage issue.
I finally got real honest with myself and came to the decision that I didn't really need it.
Whether or not you keep yours is totally up to you. I have reached the point in my life where I try not to sell any of my guns.

 

[ATLDave]

I no longer have any interest in non-rimfire guns that I cannot reload for. The 5.7 is a super-finicky round to load, so I'd dump it.

BTW, my view is that, if a "collapse" scenario has you expending massive amounts of ammo, then you're going to die quickly. Nobody is going to live long in a scenario where, by themselves or with 1-3 other people, they are getting into multiple firefights and where there is no medical rescue available.

 

[bannockburn]

If it were me and factory ammo was that expensive I would probably sell it. If every time you take it out to the range you're thinking about how much it costs you to shoot it instead of getting any enjoyment out of using it, then what is the reason for having it (short of your "collapse" scenario)?

 

[PistolPete45]

A truly tough decision . And it is all yours . I have a few guns I love, even if I had to scrounge for ammo I would keep them .. Had one years ago I wanted and after having it for a while it lost its charm and I sold it ,, Tec-9 > Do I wish I still had it ? not really , only when I see one and remember I had one and sold it .. but If I still had it Guess what I would still sell it .. just for a lot more $$$$$ .

 

[Spats McGee]

Would I sell a pistol that I couldn't afford to shoot? In a heartbeat. I don't keep guns that I can't or don't shoot.

 

[tarosean]

Learn to reload the round? Seems like most of your investment is in ammo anyhow as the gun isn't very expensive.

 

[Ed Ames]

Normally I would chose a post like this to extol the virtues of reloading, especially using hand presses (not bench mounted) for low price and high portability. But. From what I have read 5.7 is not a forgiving round to reload.

Personally I would dump the 5.7. I would not include a centerfire gun that was difficult to load for in my fantastic scenario disaster "planning", any more than I would choose it for a range/practice gun, for much the same reason. Being able to reload is enabling.

 

[mavracer]

Cost is a major reason I don't own one, not the only one.

 

[Orion8472]

At some point, I want to get into reloading 9mm. But the 5.7x28 is a beast all its own that I would rather not touch.

The only other option for me is to keep what I have for the next "scare". Prices aren't that great on the ammo right now. Sure, that may make me a bit of an opportunist, but I can play that role once in my life.

 

[Skribs]

Take it to an extreme, and if cost were the only factor, we wouldn't own anything but .22s.

If you absolutely need the money; sell it. If you don't use it and don't ever envision needing it over your others, selling it is a good option. Personally, unless I needed the money, I'd keep it. Having a gun in an oddball caliber isn't a bad thing when there's a scare and all the regular calibers are triple price and off the shelves.

 

[Hometeached1]

I don't care for the Five seveN, just so you know that I'm a little biased toward it.

That being said I'd keep it until I found a deal on something I really wanted then sell it.

 

[zerobarrier]

I was just at my LGS and they were selling 5.7 ammo for almost a $1 a round. It was 45 for a box of 50. I have always wanted one but ammo price and availability kind of sucks. I can shoot my desert eagle 50ae for cheaper(I reload for it). You could get alot of stuff with $2800 though.

 

[Orion8472]

Damn, zerobarrier, that's up there. In my area, they're at $30 per box.

 

[627PCFan]

Reloading that round skeeves me out. Im not knocking the guy for not taking it up

 

[Sol]

Jeez you must have a ton of ammo . It's about $30 a box in my area and the gun can be had at about 1k.

 

[GBExpat]

What do you all think?

The tricky/complex/iffy nature of reloading 5.7 is what has kept me away for acquiring either the pistol or PS90 (and I would really like to own a PS90).

If I had the pistol and was not willing or able to pay to feed it, I would sell it unless it was rapidly appreciating in value.

FWIW ...

 

[Orion8472]

A bit of info on this topic. I don't have zero stash for this gun. It's just more of a "what is my current replacement/box cost if I DO take it out and shoot it".

 

[CajunBass]

I buy, sell, trade, and swap guns all the time. I don't see any sense in keeping something I don't want, or don't use, or if I just see something I want more for the moment. I'm not married to them. I can always get another one.

 

[Bobson]

I'd sell it. Besides, "if society collapsed," you wouldn't be finding much ammo for it anyway. Can't shoot it now, can't shoot it later, and it's not a favorite pistol anyway? Lose it and buy something you can actually use, and will enjoy using.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I sell guns I don't shoot regardless of cost of ammo. I want popular calibers so I can find range brass to reload which keeps the cost down. 9 mm, 38 spl. and 45 ACP are all good cartridges that everyone shoots. 5.56/223 and 7.62/308 are 2 more. If you stay with those you will save money. I just can't see owning anything else unless you shoot milsurp rifles.

 

[41 Mag]

Me personally, and I fully admit, I am not the average Joe. But I would keep the pistol, build up your supply of ammo slowly a little here and there as you can afford to do so. Once I had close to 1K set aside, I would then purchase maybe another 500 factory rounds or if I could find them the cases and start loading for it. From then on out I would simply shoot and then work on those cases replacing them with factory if needed or extra new cases.

I have several handguns which ammo cost are far and above what you listed and I load for them all. If I didn't there would be no shooting as I'm not paying 25-45 dollars for 20 or 25 rounds, and they simply don't sell decent 10mm, 41magnum, or 454 factory loads in boxes of 50ea. If they did I probably couldn't afford them anyway.

 

[tomrkba]

There are several ways to think about this, but I prefer these two:

1) Never sell a gun because you never know if you will need it. Buy a small amount of ammunition for it every month and do not shoot it. Make sure you have at least 10 magazines for it.

2) If you do not like #1, then consider the gun as part of your cash flow. What can you do with the money you get from selling it?

If you clearly define your goals, then you will either find a place for the gun in your arsenal or not. For example, my goals in order of priority are:

1) Personal defense for daily situations: two examples of every carry gun, multiple holsters, 10 mags minimum
2) Home defense with long guns. Double up here, but add optics to the mix and 20 mags per weapon.
3) Sport shooting (plinking, some competition, training others).
4) Hunting
5) At least one handgun and one rifle in 22 Long Rifle.

I recommend that you have duplicates of defensive firearms and keep spare parts in inventory. Maintain a large supply of magazines and 500 rounds of defensive ammo. You should always have several thousand rounds of high quality 22 Long Rifle ammunition.

I am much more casual about sporting and hunting guns.

Keep in mind that you can overlap significantly. There is no reason why you cannot go hunting with an FN SCAR 17 with tactical optics so long as you use hunting legal magazines and ammunition. Remember, bolt action rifles with iron sights used to be weapons of war, target and hunting guns. A good bolt action rifle chambered in 30-06 or 308 Winchester can do quite a bit of hunting and long range neighborhood protection. In many cases, I would prefer it for appropriate precision use.

I have guns that fill all those roles and a supply of ammunition for each. I do need to improve my hunting ammunition situation. In this case, I should be buying a 20 round box of 30-30 Winchester ammo suitable for whitetail deer. I should also replenish my current stocks of self-defense and practice ammo for my handguns and rifles.

"FUN" is a perfectly legitimate reason to have a particular gun. I have a very nice S&W Model 24 with nearly $1,000 in it simply because it's fun. I have $200 Jordan Trooper stocks from Herretts Stocks on the way for it. It's a $1,200 gun valued at perhaps $600. But, I don't care because it's my BBQ gun!

If you do the above, the FN's place will be obvious--and its place may be at the gun store!