Your honest opinion of the 5.7x28

[Hokkmike]

Got two at the local Rural King. An FN for around $1,200 and a Ruger for $700.

A pistol caliber that supposedly shoots accurately to 150 yards.

Ammo is herd to reload but readily available locally.

What do you think?

 

[hoardingthemanual]

I go back and forth on this very issue. PSA has their 5.7 pistol for $300. https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-5-7-rock-complete-pistol-2-tone-flat-dark-earth.html

$315 for the threaded barrel version https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...essor-height-sights-threaded-barrel-gray.html

 

[silicosys4]

A friend of mine had a few. I got to shoot the PS90 and Ruger 5.7.
No thanks.
It serves no purpose for me.
Too underpowered for anything but varmint hunting, there are too many better options, and its too expensive to feed as a range toy.

 

[Gun-Reck]

The 5.7x28, to me, is a spec solution to the problem of mass attacks with body armor.

High capacity, barrier blind.

For range, I like the heavy for caliber .357 SIG, or .357 Magnum, in longer barrels.

 

[Mark_Mark]

5.7 = Yawn…

22 TCM! high Five

 

[.38 Special]

I dunno. One of the benefits is the huge magazine capacity, but I live in California, so...

It also seems, at least on the surface, that it would be a good choice for a small, light, concealable gun, but those don't seem to exist. Perhaps in a short barrel, the little bullet loses too much speed, which would make it nearly worthless.

Beyond that, it seems like a good cartridge for pests, but I don't think I'd go after big game with it, and that's kind of my "floor" for a defensive cartridge: If I wouldn't shoot a calm, unalarmed 200 pound animal with it, why would I trust it to work on an enraged 200 pound man who wants me dead?

So, yay capacity, yay decreased recoil. Boo full-sized guns, and boo (maybe) a little bullet that doesn't do enough damage in flesh.

So I guess from where I sit, it's a pretty specialized cartridge/gun, which sits well in an OWB duty holster worn by a professional who needs to worry about suspects with body armor. For the rest of us, I'm not sure I see the niche.

 

[Gordon]

Not for me ! I replaced the .22 Jet I used for many years with .22 Rimfire Magnum. Also .22 k hornet which I reload is head and Shoulders above either .5.7 or .22 mrf. They have thirty shot .22 mrf pistols now that work well . The armor penetration of the 5.7 is way overrated, not near a 5.56 pistol.

 

[Hokkmike]

I have never seen a 5.56 pistol up close... Would love to.

 

[HKGuns]

I like my FN alright. It is a fun pistol to shoot and it is pretty darned accurate.

 

[.308 Norma]

What do you think?

I had just barely enough interest in the 5.7X28 to click on this thread once.

 

[BreechFace]

Meh…

I’ll take 22WMR and 22TCM

 

[SDGlock23]

Honestly, I've never been interested in it, not even remotely.

 

[tarosean]

I have only shot the FN. Never even seen the others.

I thought it was neat round, buttttt unless I also owned the P90 I cannot see myself with one.

 

[mcb]

I think 5.7x28 would be fun in a little bolt action rifle. You could probably use a 22 Mag action. Keep the barrel short ~16-inch. A nice magazine fed gun with a flush magazine and a higher capacity.

 

[SKILCZ]

It's a fun caliber to shoot that feels like a .22 LR and has a large capacity. The idea is obviously velocity over bullet mass. There are pros and cons to this. Some loads can defeat some types of body armor. There are mixed opinions from the "experts" as to whether it is a viable defensive carry round. The guns are generally large for carry, but the capacity and shootability are nice. They can be loud, however, but if you get one threaded you can suppress it.

Ammo used to be hard to find and insanely expensive. It's still expensive, but it has come down quite a bit as more than just FN makes one now (e.g. Ruger, PSA, S&W). That should help. I see "deals" on 5.7x28 all the time now, though it's still obviously much more money than the more common defensive calibers.

 

[usp9]

A number of years ago I found a FN for sale at a gun show for $700. The seller also had about 1000 rounds of ammo priced at $14 per box. I enjoyed the gun. Impressed with it's quality and reliability. I've always thought a 5.7 upper on a AR would be cool as ice. Never bought one but ponder it from time to time. My brother has it now. The pistol is a bit loud, especially indoors, and produces an impressive flash. Accurate, though I never shot beyond 25 yards.

For someone with a degree of difficulty handling larger calibers the FN is a viable answer to that problem as it is easy to load, soft on recoil and has a large grip. The trigger could be better.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I have never seen a 5.56 pistol up close... Would love to.

You don't want to be standiing next to an unsuppressed one when its fired. Or even across the parking lot from one.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

As for the 5.7, I think it's the .30 Carbine of this era- really only makes sense in a military-spec P90 or something similiar. Yes, you can chamber a pistol for it much more easily than the .30C, but like the Carbine round there are other pistol rounds that do the same thing better in a handgun.

 

[12Bravo20]

5.7 out of a short pistol barrel looses too much energy. The same goes for 22WMR. Both were designed for longer barrels. 5.7x28 was originally designed to be shout out of the P90 with a 10.4" barrel using armor piercing rounds. And the good rounds for SD use are not available to civilians. The whole concept of the P90 was a closer quarters personal defense weapon with more lethality than submachine guns chambers for pistols calibers.

So while the round is neat, it looses too much with the short pistol barrels and ammo restrictions. Plus they are a pain to reload due to the small powder charge in a bottle neck case and the polymer coating. At least the 22TCM is easier to reload. IF you want to shoot a 22 caliber bullet in a pistol, stick with 22TCM or 22WMR. And all three will give good fireballs out of pistol barrels.

I had one of the original 57 Ar uppers but it really didn't do much and was in between 22LR and 223 as far as usefulness.

 

[MikeInOr]

My buddy has an FN57 and loves it. There is a lot of power in a very light weight pistol with practically no recoil and I must say I am impressed. He is a very competent reloader and has not been able to reload any reliable ammo yet. He said he gets about a 75% success rate of reloads without feeding issues which gives him a lot of practice in clearing jams. With factory ammo his pistol easily shoots 100% but it is very expensive to shoot.

His experience has turned me off of the 5.7 x 28 and instead I went with a double stack 1911 with 9mm and 22TCM barrels. I have had zero issues with reloading 22TCM but the double stack 1911 is a much heavier weapon to carry than the FN57. For carrying in the woods I usually carry my XD mod 2 subcompact in .45acp with the 13 round magazine. He loves carrying his FN57 and I understand why!

RIA used to make their plastic MAPP pistol chambered in 22 TCM9R which I thought would be comparable to the FN57 but also reloadable. I have never seen or handled one in person so I can't offer a real opinion about the pistol. 22TCM isn't an SAMMI recognized cartridge where the 5.7 x 28 is which is why there are no other 22 TCM manufactures than RIA but 5.7 x 28 pistols are produced by other than FN manufactures.

 

[Mark_Mark]

As for the 5.7, I think it's the .30 Carbine of this era- really only makes sense in a military-spec P90 or something similiar. Yes, you can chamber a pistol for it much more easily than the .30C, but like the Carbine round there are other pistol rounds that do the same thing better in a handgun.

100% it was meant for Crazy Cyclic rate, 50 rd mag, and most importantly—- AP pistol rounds that is not available to non-3-letter agencies

 

[12Bravo20]

My buddy has an FN57 and loves it. There is a lot of power in a very light weight pistol with practically no recoil and I must say I am impressed. He is a very competent reloader and has not been able to reload any reliable ammo yet. He said he gets about a 75% success rate of reloads without feeding issues which gives him a lot of practice in clearing jams. With factory ammo his pistol easily shoots 100% but it is very expensive to shoot.

Is your buddy cleaning the cases in a vibratory tumbler or otherwise removing the polymer coating from the cases? If he is that can/will cause feed issues. And it is even worse with the P90 magazines. And when it comes to reloading the 5.7, correct powder charges are very important since just half of a grain can be dangerous.

 

[MikeInOr]

Is your buddy cleaning the cases in a vibratory tumbler or otherwise removing the polymer coating from the cases? If he is that can/will cause feed issues. And it is even worse with the P90 magazines. And when it comes to reloading the 5.7, correct powder charges are very important since just half of a grain can be dangerous.

I remember him saying that he wipes every cartridge down by hand and does not use a tumbler (he is the one that informed me 5.7 brass can't be tumbled). I don't know which powder and projectile he is using. He is using a Dillon 550 press with a Dillon powder measure. I highly doubt he is hand weighing every charge. Depending on the powder the powder measure on my Dillon 650 will keep a pretty consistent .1 to .2 variance. Of course stick powder has a wider variance but ball and flake powder does well for me.

 

[small town life]

Wet tumble the 5.7 cases for good cleaning without removing the coating. I have a ps90, fn5.7, s&w 5.7 and an AR upper in 5.7. I like all 4 and was fortunate enough to buy lots of ammo when it was about $20 per 50rds. Like any firearm or cartridge, you like them or not! The long time used 308win (m24) has its limits is why I have a 300bo, 308win and 300wm. 3 for 3 different reasons/uses.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I don't have a use for the round myself, or I have good options for that "need". Plus, the reloading challenge of it is something I will pass on.