This is one of things I've been meaning to do since last week...
First thing: No holster from Blade-Tech yet. Will update when my order arrives.
Inital impressions of the FN FiveseveN
1. IOM vrs Tactical. There is a lot confusion in "the channel" about the IOM version vrs the Tactical. In fact my gun was actually an IOM (just about 98.7% sure) but marketed and sold as a tactical. I'm going fall back on FN's definition; the IOM has a saftey. Plus the IOM has Vertical "ribs" (no jokes please) at the back top where the Tactical has the bump-dot pattern up there. I'm sure a really smart person (RSP) will post here and let us know the serial number designations for each in time.
2. This weapon is large and light. The D-stack 5.7x28 mag makes the grip FAT. There is no getting over this - so make sure you have large paws or keep your single stack 1911. The total grip felt as fat as a Para P14 - but longer and less wide. I wear a XL glove and I like the grip - except for the mag catch listed below.
3. Fit and finish. Many of us have negative pre-disposition towards polymer guns. I certially do but I'm learning to be modern, so bear with me. I found 3 production mistakes on my gun. One on the plast-tech just under the barrel. This looks like a mould nipple that was not sanded down very well. the second is on both 10-roudn mags: a mis-morph at the bottom corner. Again, this seems like a mould/finish error. Third is the allignment of the safty - this is an abidexterous saftey. The two levers on mine are not alligned with each other! Ever so slightly off - the left rests fully down but the right is up off the bottom of the refrence nub about .95mm. So if your dealer has multiple FiveseveNs (right) you might look for the best finish. I find this to be incongruent with the FN reputation for quality and the fit and finish of all the other metal FN's I have ever ever seen. In fact, I never expected an F&F issue from FN.
4. Design. I like it. 100% subjective but I do. A few nits.... The mag release (left side only) is too far forward to operate (by me) without rotating the pistol out of the "seat" of my palm first or using my left hand. This shifting of grip is not what I want in a stessed shooting situation. This occures becase we are shooting a little rifle round (SMG round) from a pistol here and the cases are so long. The trigger guard looks odd. I guss it's designed for winter gloves or to be operated by ogers. (how come every Belgian I've ever seen was 5'6" and weighs less then 160lbs they buid this super-big gun?) Other wise I love the design.
The sights are metal. They won't attract a lodestone but the they are some kind of metal to be sure. It has a cartidge indicator for tactiale confimration of chamberd round.
6. Shooting. Dead on. After 3 min of sight adjsutment this gun was a tack driver at 25 meters. We had too much to shot that day so we never moved out further (only put 100 rounds downstream). Next time I will take her out to 50, 75 and maybe even 100m to plumb the purported long-range virtures of this round (SS192). I will say that it is LOUD, It sounds more like a .223 then a pistol - that high-pitched rapid excelleration kind of sound.
No recoil. It's just not worth mentioning. My sight picture bucked but I never lost target acqusition. Becae of this I was as accurate with my last round as my fist. I expirenced none of the hand jarring that my .45 gives me after a few rounds.
5. Value. This gun is running just under $800 retail right now. While expensive it is still cheaper then a Colt 1911* at $1,850. It's not cheap and the ammuntion is single sourced and about $20 per 50 rounds. If these numbers come down I think more American shooters may try this gun out....
6. What's going on with this gun's bad rap? I don't think FN really cares if this guns has ANY sucess with the civilian market. Hence, they are not going to beg you to love it. And I'm afraid that that old deamon "Resistance to Change" cannot be overcome today without a 2 million dollar ad campaign. The round is brisk, the recoil is nothing, the magazine capicity is amazing (20 rounds fully containted in the grip), and the accuracy (so far) is good (may be great I'm not saying until a few hundred more rounds at distance).
7. 5.7x28 - I heard that everyone hates this round, but no one has fired it. The wildcat people are mad becase FN didn't use the 5.7 Whats-his-Face wildcat devloped in 1964. Let me say this for the record: You would be better off with .22 Hornet in a 20-round pistol - so if you find a pistol like that: buy it. Until then, think of this round as the offspring of a .223 / 9mm with some of the failings and virtures of both.
On thing I will say is that 1000 rounds of 5.7x28 will fit in my left boot. It was comical as we got ready to go out last week to see 1000 rounds of this sitting next to 1000 rounds each of 9mm and .45ACP at the store. Some of this bulk is packaging but the weight diffrence was astonding: I will get the scale out and give you some examples as I get time.
8. Will it penatrate a Level IIIA vest? I don't know and don't care. The "training round" that the public consumes SS192 is NOT the AP round that was designed for the P90. The round has more in common with a rifle then a pistol in terms of volocity and bullet shape but it is not a .223 by any means. On the other hand, it's lighter then .233 and less dangerous in an urban setting.
9. Overall. A neat gun with limitations. You cannot buy aftermarket triggers and barrels (nor will you if FN stays on present "stealth" tack. You have to buy expensive ammo from one mfg. You will pay a lot for this gun (you could get a 1911 Gold Cup for $800 - almost). But if you like the idea of putting 20 rounds downstream at near-rifle velocities or you actually have to carry a pistol + 100 rounds for any length of time you may want to look at this gun.
Mons-meg what did I forget?
* Colt 1911 price calcualted as follows: M1991A1 GOVT 45AP - $650.00 plus $1,200.00 of accesories from Brownell's.
-Yo
First thing: No holster from Blade-Tech yet. Will update when my order arrives.
Inital impressions of the FN FiveseveN
1. IOM vrs Tactical. There is a lot confusion in "the channel" about the IOM version vrs the Tactical. In fact my gun was actually an IOM (just about 98.7% sure) but marketed and sold as a tactical. I'm going fall back on FN's definition; the IOM has a saftey. Plus the IOM has Vertical "ribs" (no jokes please) at the back top where the Tactical has the bump-dot pattern up there. I'm sure a really smart person (RSP) will post here and let us know the serial number designations for each in time.
2. This weapon is large and light. The D-stack 5.7x28 mag makes the grip FAT. There is no getting over this - so make sure you have large paws or keep your single stack 1911. The total grip felt as fat as a Para P14 - but longer and less wide. I wear a XL glove and I like the grip - except for the mag catch listed below.
3. Fit and finish. Many of us have negative pre-disposition towards polymer guns. I certially do but I'm learning to be modern, so bear with me. I found 3 production mistakes on my gun. One on the plast-tech just under the barrel. This looks like a mould nipple that was not sanded down very well. the second is on both 10-roudn mags: a mis-morph at the bottom corner. Again, this seems like a mould/finish error. Third is the allignment of the safty - this is an abidexterous saftey. The two levers on mine are not alligned with each other! Ever so slightly off - the left rests fully down but the right is up off the bottom of the refrence nub about .95mm. So if your dealer has multiple FiveseveNs (right) you might look for the best finish. I find this to be incongruent with the FN reputation for quality and the fit and finish of all the other metal FN's I have ever ever seen. In fact, I never expected an F&F issue from FN.
4. Design. I like it. 100% subjective but I do. A few nits.... The mag release (left side only) is too far forward to operate (by me) without rotating the pistol out of the "seat" of my palm first or using my left hand. This shifting of grip is not what I want in a stessed shooting situation. This occures becase we are shooting a little rifle round (SMG round) from a pistol here and the cases are so long. The trigger guard looks odd. I guss it's designed for winter gloves or to be operated by ogers. (how come every Belgian I've ever seen was 5'6" and weighs less then 160lbs they buid this super-big gun?) Other wise I love the design.
The sights are metal. They won't attract a lodestone but the they are some kind of metal to be sure. It has a cartidge indicator for tactiale confimration of chamberd round.
6. Shooting. Dead on. After 3 min of sight adjsutment this gun was a tack driver at 25 meters. We had too much to shot that day so we never moved out further (only put 100 rounds downstream). Next time I will take her out to 50, 75 and maybe even 100m to plumb the purported long-range virtures of this round (SS192). I will say that it is LOUD, It sounds more like a .223 then a pistol - that high-pitched rapid excelleration kind of sound.
No recoil. It's just not worth mentioning. My sight picture bucked but I never lost target acqusition. Becae of this I was as accurate with my last round as my fist. I expirenced none of the hand jarring that my .45 gives me after a few rounds.
5. Value. This gun is running just under $800 retail right now. While expensive it is still cheaper then a Colt 1911* at $1,850. It's not cheap and the ammuntion is single sourced and about $20 per 50 rounds. If these numbers come down I think more American shooters may try this gun out....
6. What's going on with this gun's bad rap? I don't think FN really cares if this guns has ANY sucess with the civilian market. Hence, they are not going to beg you to love it. And I'm afraid that that old deamon "Resistance to Change" cannot be overcome today without a 2 million dollar ad campaign. The round is brisk, the recoil is nothing, the magazine capicity is amazing (20 rounds fully containted in the grip), and the accuracy (so far) is good (may be great I'm not saying until a few hundred more rounds at distance).
7. 5.7x28 - I heard that everyone hates this round, but no one has fired it. The wildcat people are mad becase FN didn't use the 5.7 Whats-his-Face wildcat devloped in 1964. Let me say this for the record: You would be better off with .22 Hornet in a 20-round pistol - so if you find a pistol like that: buy it. Until then, think of this round as the offspring of a .223 / 9mm with some of the failings and virtures of both.
On thing I will say is that 1000 rounds of 5.7x28 will fit in my left boot. It was comical as we got ready to go out last week to see 1000 rounds of this sitting next to 1000 rounds each of 9mm and .45ACP at the store. Some of this bulk is packaging but the weight diffrence was astonding: I will get the scale out and give you some examples as I get time.
8. Will it penatrate a Level IIIA vest? I don't know and don't care. The "training round" that the public consumes SS192 is NOT the AP round that was designed for the P90. The round has more in common with a rifle then a pistol in terms of volocity and bullet shape but it is not a .223 by any means. On the other hand, it's lighter then .233 and less dangerous in an urban setting.
9. Overall. A neat gun with limitations. You cannot buy aftermarket triggers and barrels (nor will you if FN stays on present "stealth" tack. You have to buy expensive ammo from one mfg. You will pay a lot for this gun (you could get a 1911 Gold Cup for $800 - almost). But if you like the idea of putting 20 rounds downstream at near-rifle velocities or you actually have to carry a pistol + 100 rounds for any length of time you may want to look at this gun.
Mons-meg what did I forget?
* Colt 1911 price calcualted as follows: M1991A1 GOVT 45AP - $650.00 plus $1,200.00 of accesories from Brownell's.
-Yo
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