Which 5.7x28?

[PredatorSlayer]

I think the 5.7 is going to be my next handgun. Been looking at the PSA Rock, S&W and the Ruger. Anybody own or have experience with any or all of these? Recommendations, thoughts?

 

[Cubby]

I must ask why did you land on this caliber of pistol? They are crazy fun to shoot but the ammo is crazy expensive. I've shot the Ruger and it was fun but the price of ammo is a no go for me, I practice with my handguns a lot so ammo is a deciding factor for me.

 

[wyosteve]

I have an FN and really like it. Held a S and W at a gun show and the grip felt too thin to me. Not comfortable.

 

[grfox92]

I sold a bunch of Ruger and FN and never had anyone u happy with either. Although with ammo scarcity at the time I'm not sure how much use they were seeing.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[B23]

I have a FN five seven and they're a good gun but kind of expensive for what they are and the trigger kinda sucks in them. Mine smoothed out a little but it's still a very heavy pull. If you've already shot a 5.7x28 pistol then you'll already know this but if not, they are a LOUD little SOB and as others have already pointed out the ammo is considerably more expensive than it used to be.

Don't know if you've given any thought to one but maybe take a loot at the KelTec PMR30. They're a 22mag semi auto that has a 30rnd mag. The 22mag isn't exactly comparable to the 5.7x28 but both in pistol length barrels, the 22 mag isn't really that far off from the 5.7x28 and ammo is A LOT cheaper and easier to get. The KelTec PMR30 is kind of a funny-ish looking pistol but I don't think any of the 5.7x28 pistols are particularly attractive so that's kind of a wash but I enjoy shooting my PMR30 much more than I do my FN five seven and the KelTec PMR30 costs a fraction of what my FN five seven cost, AND, my PMR30 has a wayyyyy better trigger. Something to think about if you aren't completely locked in to a 5.7x28 Oh, and yes, any 22mag in a pistol or revolver is, also, one LOUD little mother effer too.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I must ask why did you land on this caliber of pistol? They are crazy fun to shoot but the ammo is crazy expensive. I've shot the Ruger and it was fun but the price of ammo is a no go for me, I practice with my handguns a lot so ammo is a deciding factor for me.

I have all your typical calibers 9mm, 40, 10mm.

I think this would be a sweet truck gun/backcountry sidearm when I am not in grizz country.

My buddy just picked up the Ruger 5.7 carbine and it is pretty fun.

Supposed to be some more ammo players coming to market, so I am sure ammo will come down a little bit. If it doesn’t, I can afford it at the current price.

 

[Super tag]

The 5.7 has twice the velocity-more energy, there’s a reason it is used in combat and not the 22 mag. The PMR30 is an awesome gun, fun as hell to shoot and plink, costs far less etc. probably a better way to go unless you want the FiveSeven for obvious reasons.

 

[wyosteve]

I had a KelTec PMR 30 and couldn't find ammo that wouldn't jam in it. Sold it. One other thing about the 5.7 if it matters. Our local indoor range won't let you shoot them indoors. Apparently too hot for the backstops and some were going through is what I was told.

 

[4090Sharps]

I’ve got an S&W 5.7 and owned an FN 5.7 in the past. I wanted a suppressor ready pistol, and really liked the thin profile of the grip. FN is a little chunky.

I haven’t experienced the blowback issues people have reported with suppressed 5.7 pistols, which might be due to the gas vs delayed blowback action. The gas system also makes for even less perceived recoil.

The trigger is really nice on the S&W by comparison, but the magazines seem a little tight. Luckily, S&W provides a nice magazine loader.

If you’re not interested in a gas system and want a great value, maybe look at the PSA Rock. People really seem to like it.

5.7x28 is fun to load for if you’re into that sort of thing and 1x fired brass is cheap. Otherwise, PSA is making ammo under the AAC name and Fiocchi is also making some.

 

[B23]

The 5.7 has twice the velocity-more energy, there’s a reason it is used in combat and not the 22 mag. The PMR30 is an awesome gun, fun as hell to shoot and plink, costs far less etc. probably a better way to go unless you want the FiveSeven for obvious reasons.

I don't know what ammo you shoot in your five seven that produces double the velocity but I shoot the FN 197SR 40gr Vmax ammo in mine and the 30gr Vmax in my PMR30 and those two are very similar in ballistics and performance. There's a lot of urban legend surrounding the different ammo for the 5.7x28 and how it had armor piercing capabilities.

As for feeding, with regard to the PMR30, the only issues I've ever had with feeding in mine is when I load the mags with a full 30rnds then I'll have feeding issues for the first 2-3 rnds then go to running fine so I only load my mags with 27rnds and it runs flawless. I bought the "all in one" kit from M-Carbo for my PMR30 and that's supposed to fix any issues but it's still sitting in the bag it came in on the shelf. One of these days I'll have to get around to installing it.

FN SS197SR 5.7X28MM | FN® Firearms

The FN-designed 5.7x28mm caliber, standardized in 2020 by NATO, was originally designed in the late 1980s for use with the military issued FN P90® and FN Five-seveN® pistol. With three decades of trusted use, the FN 5.7x28mm drastically improves range, accuracy and terminal performance from...

fnamerica.com

22 WMR 30 gr V‑MAX® Varmint Express® Rimfire - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Matching Success Hornady® 22 WMR ammunition delivers the pinnacle of rimfire performance. It delivers industry leading accuracy and deadly performance that has “mist”-ified varmints for years. Loaded with the venerable V-MAX®, or alternative metal NTX...

www.hornady.com

 

[4090Sharps]

There's a lot of urban legend surrounding the different ammo for the 5.7x28 and how it had armor piercing capabilities.

There's also truth to it. Here's a video with some examples:

 

[Super tag]

I don't know what ammo you shoot in your five seven that produces double the velocity but I shoot the FN 197SR 40gr Vmax ammo in mine and the 30gr Vmax in my PMR30 and those two are very similar in ballistics and performance. There's a lot of urban legend surrounding the different ammo for the 5.7x28 and how it had armor piercing capabilities.

As for feeding, with regard to the PMR30, the only issues I've ever had with feeding in mine is when I load the mags with a full 30rnds then I'll have feeding issues for the first 2-3 rnds then go to running fine so I only load my mags with 27rnds and it runs flawless. I bought the "all in one" kit from M-Carbo for my PMR30 and that's supposed to fix any issues but it's still sitting in the bag it came in on the shelf. One of these days I'll have to get around to installing it.

FN SS197SR 5.7X28MM | FN® Firearms

The FN-designed 5.7x28mm caliber, standardized in 2020 by NATO, was originally designed in the late 1980s for use with the military issued FN P90® and FN Five-seveN® pistol. With three decades of trusted use, the FN 5.7x28mm drastically improves range, accuracy and terminal performance from...

fnamerica.com

22 WMR 30 gr V‑MAX® Varmint Express® Rimfire - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Matching Success Hornady® 22 WMR ammunition delivers the pinnacle of rimfire performance. It delivers industry leading accuracy and deadly performance that has “mist”-ified varmints for years. Loaded with the venerable V-MAX®, or alternative metal NTX...

www.hornady.com

I don’t shoot the 30gr, and if I’m not mistaken Keltec recommends 40gr ammo and recommends against the lighter stuff.

40gr Vs 40gr the 5.7 wins all day long. Probably something close to 5.7 at 2100 fps and the Vmax is something under 1500fps or close - in a handgun, just estimating, not gonna look it up because I don’t really care. I did say the PMR 30 is a great choice and it’s an impressive round for sure, but too many people make the mistake of saying PMR is just like the 5.7 - it’s not the same.

I’ve seen some amazing results with my 5.7 and especially with my PS90 using the 195 and other types of ammo.

 

[4090Sharps]

I don’t shoot the 30gr, and if I’m not mistaken Keltec recommends 40gr ammo and recommends against the lighter stuff.

40gr Vs 40gr the 5.7 wins all day long. Probably something close to 5.7 at 2100 fps and the Vmax is something under 1500fps or close - in a handgun, just estimating, not gonna look it up because I don’t really care. I did say the PMR 30 is a great choice and it’s an impressive round for sure, but too many people make the mistake of saying PMR is just like the 5.7 - it’s not the same.

I’ve seen some amazing results with my 5.7 and especially with my PS90 using the 195 and other types of ammo.

Plus, 5.7 allows for other cool bullet options

 

[WKB]

I don’t shoot the 30gr, and if I’m not mistaken Keltec recommends 40gr ammo and recommends against the lighter stuff.

40gr Vs 40gr the 5.7 wins all day long. Probably something close to 5.7 at 2100 fps and the Vmax is something under 1500fps or close - in a handgun, just estimating, not gonna look it up because I don’t really care. I did say the PMR 30 is a great choice and it’s an impressive round for sure, but too many people make the mistake of saying PMR is just like the 5.7 - it’s not the same.

I’ve seen some amazing results with my 5.7 and especially with my PS90 using the 195 and other types of ammo.

40 grain 5.7 in a pistol, regardless of manufacture, runs about 1750-1800 fps. The 22 mag in a 40 grain is running 1300 or so. As the statement on "combat", there was a push in the early 1990s to make the P90 a PDW for NATO REMF, but that went nowhere. The FN FiveSeven had some initial contracts with some DoE, USMS, and US Treasury Agencies, but did not go many places as a duty psitol. The HK MP7 in 4.6x30mm has seen waaaayyy more time in actual "combat" in the last ten years. I personally saw them in Jordan and Syria carried by JORSOF and a couple other entities be-bopping around the desert.
To be clear I wholeheartedly agree with you that the 5.7 is significantly more powerful than the 22 mag. It is also incredibly underwhelming in civilian loadings and in pistols.

 

[B23]

There's also truth to it. Here's a video with some examples:

As I stated originally, in a pistol, the 22mag isn't that far off of the 5.7 The 40Vmax FN197 ammo in a pistol only runs about 75fps faster than does the 30gr Vmax 22mag. A few years ago Palmetto had a huge sale on FN 197 ammo, even had free shipping, so I stocked up and bought around 3K rounds. Back when I had a 22mag rifle all I ever shot was 30gr Vmax ammo and I still have cases of that stuff so that's pretty much all I shoot in my PMR30 and as I stated before it runs flawless through it.

I'm not dissing on the 5.7 I have both but with commercially available ammo and in a pistol it's just not that much better then a 22mag. Better, yes, but barely. Cool factor, the five seven easily wins because it's a very cool looking little cartridge. I don't find any of the 5.7x28 pistols particularly good looking but that's in the eye of the beholder so it matters not.

This is a pretty good video showing the comparison of the two against body armor and ballistic gel.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

I've owned a FN Five-seveN for going on 8-9 years & absolutely love it. As others have stated ammo is more expensive these days but that doesn't bother me one bit. Have had zero issues with it and have probably put a couple thousand rounds through it.