According to Wikipedia, the FN Five-seven [FN Five-Seven, FN Five-SeveN, FN 5-7]pistol was introduced in 1998 as a high-velocity pistol using 5.7×28mm ammunition. It is a lightweight polymer-based weapon with large magazine capacity, low recoil, and the ability to penetrate body armor.
There are those who believe the FN Five-Seven to be the most deadly handgun available today. And though that is only an opinion, it has it merits, considering the FN Five-Seven is basically a pistol that shoots rifle ammo. In fact, it actually fires the same diameter bullet (.224 inches) as a standard AR rifle!
Just looking at the 5.7x28mm cartridge you can tell this is no average handgun ammo. The base cartridge of this weapon is armed with a high-velocity bullet that travels an 2,133fps. and will penetrate 48 layers of Kevlar at 50 meters.
But the high velocity of the 5.7x28mm does not only pierce body armor, it will also cause brutal hydraulic shock trauma (hydrostatic shock or hydraulic shock is a term which describes the observation that a penetrating projectile can produce remote wounding and incapacitating effects in living targets through a hydraulic effect in their liquid-filled tissues, in addition to local effects in tissue caused by direct impact).
Not only does the FN Five-Seven hold 20 rounds in its standard magazine, it only has about as much recoil as a .22, making it the easy to fire a rapid succession of extremely accurate shots, closely grouped.
The first military to adopt the Five-seven was the Greek Εθνική Φρουρά, or Cypriot National Guard, which purchased 250 pistols in May 2000 for its special forces group. By 2009, military and police forces in 40 nations throughout the world were using the Five-seven.
In the United States, the Five-seven is currently used by over 300 law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service. Below is an excerpt from a leaked document by the LAPD published as a warning to its officers. Note the tone of deep respect the author gives this weapon:
'When Col Ben, reviews the FN 5.7 Pistol for Ammoland, he wrote:
"The FN 5.7x28mm single action pistol impressed me as an accurate, lightweight, soft recoil, high capacity, easy to rack gun with a great trigger press and short reset, after my range live fire. It was really fun to shoot the FN 5.7..."
So lets see the FN 5.7 in action:
There are a lot more YouTube videos testing, demonstrating or just shooting the FN Five-seven in every scenario possible, so if you're still in doubt about this weapon, take a look at some of the videos on YouTube or check out some of the links I have provided at the end of this article to relevant info and reviews.
It all boils down to whether you like your holes made with something fast and small or fat and slow?
The primary con of the FN Five-seveN, or better said the 5.7mm round, is that it behaves more like a rifle round, and because of its high velocity may not easily stop a close quarters threat like a 9mm hollow point would. Instead of mushrooming like a hollow point, the 5.7mm relies on tumbling to create the wound channel. That's great, but tests show that on unarmored targets, the 5.7mm round is much more likely to go right through its target.
The only other cons I can see, is the ammo's high price and questionable availability. With 5.7mm rounds being primarily German made, it is not to hard to figure that they could become hard to find in this country down the road. If I were to keep an Five-seven in my arsenal, I would make sure to include lots and lots and LOTS of ammo.
Though the high-velocity, armor piercing bullets should make it popular with militia and resistance members, the low recoil should make it a bestseller for women, elderly and smaller men, and the incredible accuracy of this gun should make it a favorite with all serious marksmen, the weapon has been anything but a commercial success. Indeed, the FN Five-seveN seems to have everything and more to stand out from the pack... and yet it has been poorly received by gun enthusiasts and all but shunned by the general public.
For many gun enthusiasts, the FN Five-SeveN is a brilliant technical achievement, but it conflicts with their large caliber mentality. They see the 5.7 as a threat to 50, 45, 44, 357 and 9mm supremacy.
The FiveseveN is a gun people either "get" or they don't. It's as polarizing as Donald Trump. Those that love it, sleep with it, and obsess about it's performance. Those who don't, never miss an opportunity to demean it even when they have absolutely no firsthand experience with it...welcome to internet where EVERYONE is an "expert."
I happen to own a myriad of handguns of all calibers and have at one time owned one of just about everything, and in many cases several. I've been handloading since 1973, and can WELL remember during my Army time how much derision was heaped on the M16/AR15 by all the experts of that time...which was just about EVERYBODY....yet now, the AR15 is has become the quintessential "Modern Sporting Rifle" despite a near endless stream of those who claimed it had no sporting purpose, (as if THAT is the ONLY reason to own a gun). When the 9mm first became popular...same thing...it's a puny round that can't stop a 90 year old grandma on a walker....my how that round virtually took over mainstream AMERICA yet it is in FACT no more "powerful" than the mil-spec loading of the 5.7x28 from the Fiveseven.
Thanks in part to the Ft. Hood shooting where Major Nidal Hassan used a FiveseveN loaded with OVER THE COUNTER ammo that is intentionally loaded "light," the cartridge PROVED what it is capable of....I think 45 "examples" of young, strong men and women in their prime being taken down with the "commercial" variant round is quite substantial PROOF that the round is deadly, and WILL "stop a human" in their tracks. Let us NOT forget all the shootings with other handgun calibers where a person was shot many, many times and still kept charging (Ferguson)....which is ALSO indicative of just what's wrong with the post-modern thinking about handgun "stopping power" versus reality.
Elite Ammo makes a 32 grain turned copper bullet that is driven at just 2,200 fps from the FiveseveN and it with punch through BOTH sides of a Kevlar ballistic helmet plus the "gel head" inside! It will punch through a TL-IIIa vest like it's not there and then through another foot or more of gelatin, with a massive shockwave and violent tumble. It is a very violent round! Elite loads the FN aluminum core bullet under the name "S4M" with a measured speed across a chronograph of nearly 2,450 fps from the FIVESEVEN pistol! This round of course punches through kevlar like it's butter, and goes on to violently tumble, even separating the core and creating multiple wound tracks! Now, THESE are the rounds the gun is CAPABLE of shooting, yet you won't find them on any "Walmart" shelf or even a real gun store shelf because if you could, by now there would have been legislation to ban the round and the gun. So FNH...who until recently was the ONLY maker of brass, I am certain stipulated that all of it's contract ammo loaders hold velocities down. In fact, American Eagle recently shifted from the "pointy" FMJ bullet to one with a ROUNDED nose...can only be for one reason...to PREVENT the round from "being all it can be..." All it PROVED to be in the Ft. Hood shooting.
Interestingly, even the weak factory ammo delivers surprising down range numbers when it comes to trajectory. The SS197SR can be sighted in for 125 yards and be no more than 2" high, dropping to about 2.5" low at 150, and about 12" low at 200 yards! Thanks to it's .200 BC the round is still carrying ample "killing power" at range and of course it GETS THERE much faster than any 9mm slug. Belaboring the point, if that same bullet is pushed around 1,900 fps - well within safe load range, the trajectory flattens out even more.
So, those who never let a single fact get in the way of their own good opinion, will NEVER acknowledge the 5.7 as legitimate...just as a huge swath of the media and public will NEVER accept Donald Trump as "legitimate!"
So why isn't the FiveseveN more "popular?" Same reason Donald Trump isn't "more popular...." Within the right circles, President Trump is WILDLY popular, yet outside of that, he is reviled. Same goes for the FiveseveN. Those who "get it" love it, those who don't will say anything to discredit it. Statements such as, "...there are no examples of how the 5.7x28 round will perform...." KNOWING that there is one HUGE example that gives us literally "years" of "normal time" proof of EXACTLY how it DID PERFORM! The Aurora, CO shooter only killed 12 with an AR-15! How many people will volunteer to run down range and soak one of those up to "prove" it lacks effectiveness???? I issue the same "challenge" to any sane human about the 5.7x28. Anyone who thinks it's a piddling, over-rated "22" please step-up and sign your waiver of liability, then submit yourself for "body part" testing to "prove" the round is so weak as to be shrugged off by any "real man!"
As for cost....I don't mind at all pointing out that SIG has plenty of models than cost MORE than the FiveseveN, as does H&K! So to does COLT, and S&W, and KIMBER....oh, and all those ridiculous, "custom" 1911's that people mortgage their house for!
ALL the 5.7x28 needs is for someone like Starline to start making brass for it, and someone like Underwoodammo to add it to their line up... This is what really resurrected the 10mm from the ash-heap....the factories had down-loaded the round to pointless, and the custom makers such as Buffalo Bore, Underwood, Corbon, and more recently Sig, and"Ted Nugent's" line started filling the DEMAND that eventually fueled an entirely new generation of 10mm models. It would also be "nice" to see another company build a pistol comparable to the FiveseveN in terms of weight and practical utility. The Excel Arms model is big and heavy, as is the MPA version....but hey, at least they're in the fight so to speak. The FiveseveN or something "like it" in a "long slide" with a 7-8" barrel would be pretty sweet and would really ramp up even the anemic factory loads....and of course all the performance loads would be that much better! Posted by Illyia on the handgunforum.net thread: Why isn't the five seven more popular?
I have made the FN Five-seveN my preferred choice when it comes to medium and medium-long range handguns. It may not be as big and intimidating as a Golden Eagle, Colt 45 or Taurus Raging Judge, but at distances over 50 feet it will do just as much damage as any of these large caliber, with plenty of shots left over.
In summary, the FN Five-SeveN is probably the best medium and medium-long range combat and survival pistol available today, but I would think twice before using it for close-quarters combat, personal or home defense. But when facing multiple opponents on a battlefield, in the wilderness or even in urban environments there is no better handgun. It would also be my survival handgun of choice during a Zombie Apocalypse, alien invasion or rise of the machines when accuracy and rate of fire could determine whether you live or die.