What's your thoughts on the FN 57 in 5.7x28mm

Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

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I know someone looking to unload his FN 57 and asked me if I wanted to buy it. I did a search on the forum for a thread on it and didn't find it so I'd figure I'd ask. From reviews online it looks like it performs well and the ammo has good ballistics. Wonding if anyone has one and what your thoughts are on it. I'm on the fence as I don't know much about them or the round itself. To me it almost looks like a necked down rifle round in a handgun.
 
I shot one of those last year. Surprising as to how little kickback there is on that round. I don’t know if I would own one because the rounds are expensive, and I live in mass so I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of its capacity to hold a lot of rounds. It was a really nice gun, though. I can’t say i wouldn’t be tempted.
 
I have one. Nice gun, fun to shoot. With the normally available commercial ammo it performs very much like a .22 WMR, but centerfire, so supposedly more reliable. Ammo is VERY expensive. It's a nice complement to a PS90. But with the Mass. 10 round mag restrictions, it makes very little sense. IMHO it's a cool toy (particularly if you have a PS90 to go with it) but unless you're looking at it as your 50th or 60th gun, I couldn't recommend it.
 
I've shot that and one of the Ruger ones. I liked the Ruger much better. My thumb kept hitting the mag release on the FN, which caused it to drop by a fraction of an inch, which resulted in a FTF.

Practically zero recoil, but loads of muzzle flash. Expensive ammo. Large to carry for a small caliber bullet. Limited capacity if you're in MA, CT, etc.

Fun, but a range toy.
 
Can be fun if you have the money for it. I wouldn't bother with it though. Doesn't check off any of the boxes for me.
 
My buddy has one. For the money, it feels a little cheap since it’s so lightweight and the trigger sucks.

But it’s a cool round with next to no recoil
 
Probably a blue chip investment if you legally wallhack one into MA. You will either have an interesting gun or an interesting gun that cannot be easily obtained in MA.
 
Researched a 5.7 years ago , i like unique and interesting. I also wont buy anything i cant handload . The 5.7 is a royal pia to reload, most say dont bother. So this , and also the fact that factory ammo is just insane for cost , persuaded me to do a hard pass .
 
DW357 said:
My buddy has one. For the money, it feels a little cheap since it’s so lightweight and the trigger sucks.

But it’s a cool round with next to no recoil
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That was another thing I had forgotten. For a $1,000 gun (back then), it felt like cheap plastic. The Ruger feels much more substantial.
In God We Trust said:
Could you hand load them up to the forbidden specs?
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Maybe. The bullet diameter is .224. Hornady, RCBS, and Lee list dies for it.
 
Cool round, fun range toy.

I guess the mass ones wouldn’t have a threaded barrel? And no 20 round flush fit mag….
 
In God We Trust said:
So what is the difference between the ammo we can get and the .gov variety?
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The SS190 (.gov variety) has a steel penetrator with an aluminum core and is classified by the ATF as armor-piercing (AP) handgun ammunition. It's the only 5.7x28 ammo that will generally meet the claim to penetrate level II body armor, and will only do that reliably from the P90 (PS90 semi-auto). The best you can do is the SS198LF (lead free). The "green tip", which is the same bullet as the more commonly available SS195LF, but propels it at about 100 fps faster. FN says it's for sale to LE only, but it's not classified as AP so you can get it on the street, but it's usually way over priced for what it gives you.
 
I don't like the cost and availability issues associated with 5.7x28, I don't think the benefits of magazine capacity and soft armor defeating potential outweigh not having as much ammo stocked up as you could other calibers or not being able to get the right ammo. There's also an issue of the pistols are just large, not heavy, but large and that doesn't make them great for concealment. Open carry, sure, but I can think of so many other pistols I'd rather open carry than a 5.7.

As for the FN Five Seven, it's overpriced compared to other available 5.7 pistols now and from some reviews I've seen, not as accurate. It would be the last 5.7 on my list of 5.7's I wouldn't be buying because I don't buy 5.7 firearms.
 
A lot of fun to shoot. Low recoil and very accurate! Muzzle velocity at 2000 fps+! The most accurate ammo that is available is the FN 195LF that is in the $.70-.80 per round range right now (see ammoseek.com). I would say it depends on the price. New pistol is $1400 so for $1100 or less the good news is that a year or two from now it will be worth more than what you paid for it!
 
Rockrivr1 said:
I know someone looking to unload his FN 57 and asked me if I wanted to buy it. I did a search on the forum for a thread on it and didn't find it so I'd figure I'd ask. From reviews online it looks like it performs well and the ammo has good ballistics. Wonding if anyone has one and what your thoughts are on it. I'm on the fence as I don't know much about them or the round itself. To me it almost looks like a necked down rifle round in a handgun.
Click to expand...
The main advantage to the 5.7mm is capacity and penetration.

You cannot get the real deal AP ammo for it.
You can only use half cap mags in MA.
The penetration is best in a 10"+ barrel anyways (p90).
The ammo is expensive.

That said, the 5.7mm is proven to be reasonably effective, but personally I don't see any advantage over a 9mm. I think a full auto p90 with a 10.5" barrel would be a brilliant gun for certain applications. High end executive protection maybe.

For me? Pass.

PS - Ive heard some of the newer 5.7mm pistols are both better and cheaper anyways.
 
T-Unit said:
The 5.7 has no room for error tho, there was a video I saw online, guy loaded them and weighed every charge and he still had a primer blow out.
Click to expand...
What is so different about that round compared to so many others?
 

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