Those who have range time and experience with the FN Five Seven what is your opinion of the gun?

What do you like and what do you dislike about them?

I’ve wanted one for a long time. The MK3 just might win me over. I know looks are not everything but I do like that they finally made it look a bit more aesthetically appealing. I also like that the ammo is becoming more reasonable now that more manufacturers are offering pistols and rifles in the 5.7x28.

The FN Hi Power also looks pretty damn good in that tactical dirt color. . That is a pistol I have always loved and I miss my FN HP.

One of these two pistols has a damn good chance of being my next pistol purchase.

I’ve shot the FN 5.7 as well as the Ruger and S&W. They are all on par with one another as far as accuracy goes. I can’t see spending twice as much for the FN. As for the new FN Hipower. It’s 9 ozs heavier than its clones. My Springfield SA-35’s have proven themselves for me and I’ve been quite happy with them. Will be interested in what others chime in with..

I have shot the FN57 a bit, and I like the round, but the gun itself is just a bit awkward. Once the ammo finds a stable place in the market I will buy a handgun on that caliber, but it won’t be from FN. The S&W and PSA offerings are more my preference.

I’ve always enjoyed my older fn five-seven. I like optics, but I think the MRD five seven looks ugly so I haven’t purchased the new one just because of that. In my opinion, none of the other options look any better with an optic on them either soooo I just don’t get an optic on a 5.7x28 pistol yet.

I fell in love with 5.7 the minute it hit the commercial market because of the PS90. I was hooked (as I rarely am actually) on that little bullpup. SBR'd and what a hoot. And of course I felt that one should have the correct pistol to go with it. I've thousands and thousands of rounds down a bunch of FN pistols of each generation. I've recently decided that I want an optic so I now have a couple of the newer optic ready ones, but of course not too many rounds yet. Being an optic person the FN setup is very good in the scheme of things.
But all of them have been 100%. There are certainly some issues for some in the size of the pistol, reaching the controls, the trigger is solid but not stunning, exceptional accuracy and low recoil shooting are the norm. I tried the ruger as I thought it might get me an optic setup before FN announced theirs, but it was not very good and I got rid of it. no idea on the new S&W looks promising. But if you can afford the entry fee and the ongoing feeding bill I would get the FN. Anything more specific fire away...

While I don't have one, yet, I do want to get the FN out of the other options out there. The S&W pistol I was able to handle at my local ffl dealer, had an awkward feel to me. One of the guys working the counter the day I went in, had a Ruger and I was impressed at how well it felt in the hand, the trigger felt the best and the slimmer ergonomics compared to the FN and S&W, was really nice. The only issues I have heard is how they are finicky with certain brands of ammo and have some FTE problems. I have a couple FN guns and really like the way they perform and have never had an issue with them. The newer FN Five-Seven really gives the gun a good look and feel compared to the original.

Did they restyle it or come out with a new model? I don't remember the original FiveSeven looking like that. (This one looks better.)

Because my priorities when considering a gun purchase have shifted to practicality and utility and not "hey, this is cool," I'd personally pass on it. It doesn't do anything than the 9mm Luger handguns I already have won't.

quote:

Originally posted by Nick: the gun itself is just a bit awkward.

Right. The main controls, safety and slide stop, are reversed from their location on regular FN, Browning, and 1911.
The Smith and Ruger can be had with a standard location thumb safety or, along with the PSA, just shot naked like a Glock.

Buddy of mine has the PSA 5.7 & loves it.
I've only briefly handled it in the office, haven't shot it myself.

I had one of the original FN 5/7's and didn't really care for the pistol itself. It functioned perfectly but I thought it looked (and felt) like it was made by Mattel and the trigger wasn't that good.

However I like the round in size, weight to carry, and ballistics. Loaded mags aren't that heavy so with one in the pistol and 2 on my belt I was armed with 60 pretty effective rounds.

I would love to see the round introduced in more traditional rifles as a modern version of 22 Hornet, like from CZ.

I don't know anything about the handgun, but I don't care for the cartridge. The best thing I can say about it is that it's low recoil and allows for high capacity. We shot it out of a P90 and it would have been very controllable on full-auto if the ergos of the gun weren't so horrific.

Terminal performance was terrible. We got better penetration on the car with 9mm, and despite its reputation to the contrary it didn't even come close to penetrating a vest panel. I imagine out of a handgun-length barrel the 5.7 would do even worse than what we saw out of the P90.

It's ineffective, hard to find, expensive, and not easily reloadable so just staying proficient is going to cost you. IMO 9mm is a better choice in just about every scenario...I'd rather have the Hi Power!

I like mine a lot (I have the new MRD). Large magazine capacity, low weight, no recoil. Excellent cartridge and the SAO trigger is actually great. I went with the FN over the others because I had the extra cash at that moment and I was won over by its reputation, FN-ness, and ergonomics. But I think the others are great guns too. The Smith & Wesson was very compelling (a lot of impressive engineering for the money) but the grip was a little awkward. I think it was their attempt to make a 5.7x28 pistol more accessible to people with smaller hands, which is very difficult to do because of cartridge dimensions. However, it also manages to squeeze two extra rounds into the magazine. The Ruger had better ergonomics than the S&W I think (it’s been a while since I bought the FN and handled them all), but the FN felt the best overall.

My only real dislike (and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this is a drawback) is that FN changed the magazine floor plate, making the MRD magazines incompatible with earlier models and vice-versa. There was no good reason for this.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
I don't know anything about the handgun, but I don't care for the cartridge. The best thing I can say about it is that it's low recoil and allows for high capacity. We shot it out of a P90 and it would have been very controllable on full-auto if the ergos of the gun weren't so horrific.

Terminal performance was terrible. We got better penetration on the car with 9mm, and despite its reputation to the contrary it didn't even come close to penetrating a vest panel. I imagine out of a handgun-length barrel the 5.7 would do even worse than what we saw out of the P90.

It's ineffective, hard to find, expensive, and not easily reloadable so just staying proficient is going to cost you. IMO 9mm is a better choice in just about every scenario...I'd rather have the Hi Power!

The pricing is absurd for sure. I’d probably agree with you on the other stuff as well, but only because we get the neutered 5.7 ammo here. The high-performance stuff is usually unavailable for multiple reasons.

I don't think anyone was arguing for it as a self defense cartridge in this thread. (though I would have no issue using it for that in a last ditch situation but over the years I have accumulated substantial amounts of the 'good stuff'. When 5.7 first arrived my local PD and I wasted a few of the good rounds on some expired vests and no issue penetrating them). Nor is it a low cost ammo choice. Its a fun little round for fun.
Ammo has recently been and continues to be ridiculous. When I first got started with the PS90 my cost for a 2000 rd. case was $700.

quote:

over the years I have accumulated substantial amounts of the 'good stuff'.

I've heard that there's better ammo out there, but haven't come across anything other than basic plinking ammo (and even that is outrageous, almost $1/round). I'd like to try some of the "good stuff" next time they bring that P90 out...what load should I be looking for?

if I had to scratch the itch on a High Power, I would look at a Springfield,

the FN version looks like a love child between a 226 and a FN, with a chromosone or 2 missing,

just my opinion, I am sure they run fine


never cared for the FiveSeven, just does not fit my well,

and with all the hype over the round, I have a good friend that was actually shot in the arm with one (domestic,, ) and had very little damage done, thankfully

I really like the MKII with the Axiom. Add a few 30 round magazines and you're GTG.


Even my old Tundra works well with it

quote:

what load should I be looking for?

If you can get it ss190.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

quote:

over the years I have accumulated substantial amounts of the 'good stuff'.

I've heard that there's better ammo out there, but haven't come across anything other than basic plinking ammo (and even that is outrageous, almost $1/round). I'd like to try some of the "good stuff" next time they bring that P90 out...what load should I be looking for?

SS190 is the one we all want. Unfortunately, federal law prohibits us from owning it because it falls under the GCA’s definition of “armor-piercing” and because it can be fired through a handgun. There are however civilians who own SS190 (some weird pre-ban thing or something, I’m not really sure).

SS198LF is the next best thing currently available. It’s completely legal for us to own (at least on the federal level) because it doesn’t fall under the GCA’s definition of “armor-piercing”. However, since FN almost has a monopoly on 5.7x28 ammo production and because they only want to sell SS198LF to Military and LE, it’s more difficult to get than the more “sporting” (their words, not mine) cartridges.

quote:

Unfortunately, federal law prohibits us from owning it

This is not true at the Federal level for ownership, it may be true at the State or local level.
But if someone is planning to fire a P90 the issue of civilian ammo access is probably moot as there are no civilian P90's. So my assumption is the whole discussion is LEO/Mil. And they can get SS190.
If that assumption is not true then yes the best you can do is SS198LF, but while expensive it is easily available despite the FN commercial (not legal) restriction.