I am in the market for a semi-auto rifle. While looking for a .223 caliber, I stumbled on the FN PS90. The PS90 uses their unique 5.7 x 28mm round, which I am not crazy about, but as a left-handed shooter, the shell ejection coming straight out of the bottom of the rifle instead of in my face is very appealing.

I appreciate all thoughts and insights on the gun itself and also the 5.7 round.

Link to FN's website: https://fnamerica.com/products...es/fn-ps90-standard/



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The 16" barrel doesn't look as bad on the PS90 bullpup as it does on something like a HK UMP, but it still looks wrong to me. Anything shorter would be an SBR stamp. In any case, the P90 was designed as a small PDW, and the PS90 is just the semi auto legal length barrel version.

One option to consider is a 5.7 AR upper that uses the FN 50 round P90 mags and ejects down through the mag well.

5.7 tends to be pricey and hard to get. Right now even more so.

If you're wanting something similar in .223/5.56, there's the FN FS2000. Similar ergonomics to the PS90, but in 5.56 and using AR mags. Its ejects spent brass out the front, so they wouldn't interfere with lefties.

And the controls are ambidextrous, except for the charging handle, which can be managed by reaching over/under with your support hand (similar to a right-handed shooter manipulating an AK's charging handle with their left hand).



https://fnamerica.com/products...-products/fn-fs2000/

KelTec RDB is a bottom eject .223
I have really enjoyed mine.

Thanks for the input, guys.

I just found Kel-Tec RDB .223 with downward shell ejection. Any thoughts on reliability of the brand?

https://www.keltecweapons.com/firearms/rifles/rdb/



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quote:

Originally posted by sigNull:
KelTec RDB is a bottom eject .223
I have really enjoyed mine.

Thanks, sigNull. I guess we posted about the same time. I appreciate your input on it.



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as someone who has been on the FN PS90 bus for a very long time, I certainly would not suggest you get one now. FS2000 does what you need, its an enjoyable gun but the mechanism to get forward ejection is heart stopping if you consider the mechanics involved over a long period of limited parts. Others I own that do will do it are a Tavor x95. But in fact the AR industry has some much depth you should probably just build or buy a left hand AR. About the best possible choice in .223.

If you are a lefty, there ar companies that make lefty ARs...STAG or BLACK RAIN.

Anyone can shoot a regular AR. I taught many south paws when I was in the service. Since the A2 series the rifle has had a bump on the right side just behind the ejection port to bounce empties away from the shooters face.

Now the two different rounds is another thing. The 5.56 is known...the 5.7 is great for a PDW but lacks legs for anything past 200 yards.

1. The ammo is expensive
2. TherE is a very limited type/choice of bullet
3. Mags are expensive

But if you want that caliber w/o dropping $1500, you can even get a new upper for an AR that ejects thru the standard mag well....can’t Remember who sells it though right now.

AR57 made the upper, but at the moment they are not available in new production. But there is '0' reason to head toward 5.7x28 on an AR. Just get a lefty upper.

I have a PS90 myself.
It's a fun little gun to shoot.
As stated however - you ain't gonna get much range out of it.
And also (as stated) ammo availability/price isn't great.

As hinted around above.. there's a company that makes an AR upper for the 5.7 round:
http://www.57center.com/

It takes P90/PS90 mags that lay on top of the barrel (much as in the p90) and ejects out the mag well on the bottom.
However I personally haven't seen one available to buy in a long damn time.

If ejection path is your only concern for straying from an AR platform.... There's companies that make lefty ARs.
https://www.stagarms.com/
I have a buddy here in town who has two stags - .223 and .308
He loves these things and really puts them thru the paces.
He had 1 hiccup with the .223 model (I don't remember the specifics) and the warranty on it was top notch.
He even got a free pair of iron sights out of the deal lol.

As others have said, the AR57 upper that uses the P90 magazine lying horizontally on top and ejecting downward through the magwell of a standard AR lower has been out of production for a few years, and is hard to find. CMMG has a radial delayed blowback upper that works with a standard AR lower and uses proprietary 40 round mags that fit in the standard AR magwell. Ejection is through the standard AR ejection port.

https://cmmginc.com/product-ca...=5-7x28mm-conversion

I have one of the 8” Banshee 200 uppers that I use on a SBR AR lower, and it works great. If you want to get into a 5.7 short barrel or pistol carbine, I think it’s a better (and cheaper) option than the FN PS90.

For 5.56, I had a FS2000 “Tuna”, but it was my least favorite bullpup and eventually sold it. It worked fine, but it was bulky, had a poor trigger, the disassembly/reassembly of the bolt and “switch” that fed the ejected cases into the tube above the barrel was a bit complex, and the very deep magwell meant you were pretty much limited to USGI metal 30 round mags. Also, unless you removed the rubber dust skirt inside the magwell, you would have to pull on the magazine to get it out for a swap. Also doesn’t like the lack of access to the chamber if you had a problem. The gun has a lid on top that you can raise (aka the toilet bowl cover) to look at the rear of the chamber, but with the switch in the way, you’re limited in what you can do. I think the AUG and Tavors are better bullpups. The Keltec RDB is also nice, and has a decent trigger too.

Unless you've had problems with the way the AR-15 ejects, I think you're overthinking the issue. There are thousands, maybe millions, of left-handed AR-15 shooters that do just fine with a right ejecting rifle. This includes members of the military and law enforcement, competition shooters, instructors, and all manner of others. The AR-15 aftermarket is also very strong and has much to offer in left-handed friendly controls.

I recently sold my Ps90 and recovered the $$$$ i had invested in it along with a bunch of ammo, during the start of the pandemic. My go to gun is a Sig 556 with a lot more capability than the PS90

Steyr AUG, can be configured L or R, and is in 556 and you can watch DieHard each Christmas with much more interest!

The PS90 is a cool gun, super compact, but just screams to be SBR'd to the proper barrel length.

HK Ag

Very reliable and well made, ergonomic firearm. I really can't recall a single problem with the one I got for my wife over 12 years ago. She is a lefty and she actually calls it her "Precious". She recently took it to a corporate outing at a local range. Even with access to the range's rental weapons, all of her co-workers told her afterwards that her PS90 was their favorite to shoot that night.

In my area when the ammo was on the shelf, American Eagle was selling for 24.95$ a box, and I think the FN sporting round was 28 or 29. So while it does cost more than 223 or 556 ammo, I didn't see much under 8 or 9$ per 20. So 20$ for 50 rounds of the cheapest 223 that I could find compared to 25$ for the same amount of 5.7 locally on shelves in my area. My wife has too much fun shooting to worry about it. She is not going to be using it for any classes or high volume shooting.

So if someone is looking at the PS90 "just because...", like I do with a lot of firearms, I can definitely recommend it. Great for lefties, reliable, and fun.

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
Steyr AUG, can be configured L or R...

The Steyr AUG really has my attention. The L/R configuration, plus the reputation for reliability/durability and bull pup design is very intriguing. I hear the mags take a little longer to change out, but that is really the only negative I have heard.



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Guys, thank you very much for the heads up on Black Rain, Stag, Steyr and Kel-Tec. And for the feedback on the FNS too.

I agree on the downsides of the 5.7. I appreciate you all confirming that, plus the great alternatives on other .223's.

Steyr is very intriguing, but the more standard AR platforms offer a lot more options, now and later.

Everything seems scarce right now, so it will come down to what I can actually purchase.

Thanks again, everybody. I really appreciate all of your responses!



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I really enjoy my PS90, it's recoil is virtually zero and is nothing but giggles to shoot. Every time I see a PS90 thread here it encourages me to dust of my Form 1 for it and get the "correct" barrel finally, one day...

Anywho, as others have mentioned it's probably not the best rifle if it's your only rifle. Plenty of other options out there and if I could only have one, it would be 5.56 as well.

Years ago I had a Microtech clone of the AUG, I really liked that rifle looking back. Never had a problem out of it and was very accurate. I wouldn't rule that platform out if you're not wanting to try a left hand version of an AR.

You shouldn’t compare 5.7 to 5.56, it’s apples and oranges. The 5.7 is really just a pistol round, and is pretty expensive to shoot as well.

I have two and SBR’d them both. It makes a huge difference in how they handle. As stated Ammo is expensive but available. Mags aren’t that price considering they are 50 rounders. They will always draw a crowd at the range and are a marvel of engineering. Grab one while you can.