Sidearms & Scatterguns anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Opticsspecialist

Opticsspecialist

Gunny Sergeant
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Dec 9, 2009
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Hammond,Louisiana
#1
if so how do you like it? is it just a plinker and varmint gun, or could it have serious application in other arenas? whats your opinion and back ground? I have a few customers that use this pistol for coyote hunting to great effect, i want to get more opinions from end users, i've also read some foreign goverments use the pistol and the p90.
 
#2
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Americans use the P90 in some capacity. I believe the USSS has a few, but may be wrong.

I've put almost 1k rounds through a 5.7, no complaints reliability wise. Ammo is kind of pricey, and so is the gun itself. IMO, better options are available in a more common caliber.
 
#3
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RegularGuy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Americans use the P90 in some capacity. I believe the USSS has a few, but may be wrong.

I've put almost 1k rounds through a 5.7, no complaints reliability wise. Ammo is kind of pricey, and so is the gun itself. IMO, better options are available in a more common caliber.
</div></div>

i just have a chance to get a good deal on one, so i'm wondering if it's truly just a beefy 22 magnum, or if there is more to it, seeing a guy drill a coyote at 150 yards really impressed me, but i just wanted to see what other guys thought

the secret service uses the p90 and the 5.7 or just the p90?
 
#6
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lefty Diesel Nut</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've heard that anything past 200 yards you shouldn't even be trying.

As far as countries that use it, some of the belgian army, and a lot of our country's police departments. </div></div>

this is what i was looking for some examples.
 
#7
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

In it's intended role, penetrating body armor in a lightweight firearm, it works. I don't shoot at anyone wearing body armor...hell, I don't shoot people at all. The terminal ballistics are horrible, and several police depts who used the P90 in the field since got rid of them.
BUT, for plinking, ballistics dont really matter. If you like it, shoot the crap out of it, and have some fun. I'll never talk a guy OUT of buying another gun haha I've got a few that serve aboslutely no purpose other than making noise and puttin a smile on my face.
 
#9
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Put simply, the 5.7x28 is a shitty cartridge for shooting at things that are alive that you wish to be dead. Unless they're really small, furry, and reasonably close, I suppose. The entire raison d'etre of the caliber is to provide close-range penetration of soft body armor in a handgun-sized package, no more. In absolutely any situation other than defending against body armor-wearing assailants, you'd be wildly better off with virtually any other typical sidearm on the market.

As for the pistol itself...from a handgunner's point of view, it's a rather lackluster weapon. The trigger isn't all that amazing for a single action only weapon, the slide release is a pain to use, and it has a certain cheap plastic feel that you just don't get from most polymer-framed handguns, even Tauruses. The old rental 5.7 seemed to always be out for service due to various magazine issues, and finally gave up the ghost after a relatively short lifespan of use. Call it 2.5 stars out of 5, being generous. If I had a bunch of money lying around stinking up the place, and someone offered me a 5.7 for less than $500, I'd give it at least a moment's thought. Anything less and it doesn't even register.
 
#10
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

I ran a couple of mags through one. I was not impressed. The grip sucked, the trigger sucked and it wasn't very accurate. Now running a couple of mags through a P90 on full auto, that was a different story. Damn that thing was fun
grin.gif
 
#11
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

I have one, suppressed with a SWR Spectre. The barrel work was done by Tornado Tech. It runs great and I have had no issues. My one complaint is the trigger pull is way to long and they feel like a squirt gun in the grip area. I wish they would redesign it.

Otherwise they are fun shooters. I have taken a few raccoons out with it and I honestly was not impressed. It wounds more then anything. I use a suppressed 9mm with hollow points to great success when dispatching critters in trees.
 
#12
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Such a small pistol to have a 30 round magazine is cool. It would be fun to play Rambo with.

The secret service uses them, but with the steel core penetration rounds. Joe civilian can't get that. I have also read that it tumbles like the .223 making a big wound channel. I don't hold much value to that claim, but if you fear light armor assaults ninjas and you can get the steel core ammo its great for defense.

I want one just because...... I have no real reason though
 
#13
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

i've got too good a deal to pass on one, i'm just curious if it's a toy or something more. everyone has an opinion, but they are mixed, and the test i've seen on ballistic gel are questionable because some people might have an ax to grind
 
#14
#15
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

My take:

I borrowed a friends to play with - prior to the fort hood shooting. I was stunned at how fast I could shoot it. I could hit a paper plate at 20 yards 30 times in less than 10 seconds. I'm not an amazing pistol shooter, but I'm not bad.

I remember thinking to myself - wow, someone could really mess a lot of people up FAST with one of these and some spare mags.

Then Fort Hood happened, when that F'n terrorist Nidal Hassan proved my intuition correct. He killed 12, injured 32 (+/- 1).

Ok. Bottom line - pistols are shitty, inefficient projectile launchers if your intent is to kill someone. Look at the stats - pistol gunshot wounds are not fommonly fatal. At Fort Hood, this weapon had a 33+% kill rate, which I argue classifies it as a HIGHLY effective pistol.

I hope it's obvious that I completely ABHOR what happened at Fort Hood and I completely denounce what happened there, and I apoligize in advance for any feelings I may hurt in speaking/writing about it the way I did - was only trying to point out the effectiveness of a given weapon.
 
#16
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

We use one as my wife's bedside gun. Primarily because with the right loads from Elite ammunition it dumps all its energy without overpenetration. Second my wife shoots it very well. Third it has lots of capacity and the minimal recoil allows her to dump a mag accurately and fast. I am more than comfortable with it putting down a threat. My edc is a 45 acp and in a house with 3 children the 45 or my wife's 9mm is going to go through too many walls.
 
#17
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ggmanning</div><div class="ubbcode-body">We use one as my wife's bedside gun. Primarily because with the right loads from Elite ammunition it dumps all its energy without overpenetration. Second my wife shoots it very well. Third it has lots of capacity and the minimal recoil allows her to dump a mag accurately and fast. I am more than comfortable with it putting down a threat. My edc is a 45 acp and in a house with 3 children the 45 or my wife's 9mm is going to go through too many walls. </div></div>

Elite ammo is all marketing (they do their own testing, no bias there right?) and your "dumps all its energy without overpenetration" statement is the kind of BS, unscientific catchphrase you see all over the net these days. That being said the scenario you describe sounds like a good reason to use one.
 
#18
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Good points on advertising Falar....very valid. I test my stuff myself for that very reason by setting up sheetrock and framing. It is not a great caliber....it is a good compromise of the things I need it to do for our use. I stumbled on a good price like the OP and tried it out.
 
#21
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mumbles</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The PS90 is a lot of fun to plink with. I don't have any first hand experience with the pistol, and I've never shot anything living with the PS90.

There is this though, and when it comes to terminal ballistics, I'll listen to anything DocGKR has to say:

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19913 </div></div>

+1 !!
 
#22
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

I have been thinking about getting one too! what is a "Good Deal" price? I can get one NIB $940... A $1000 handgun does not sound like a good deal to me. unless you guys are running into this gun for $750 somewhere I don't think I will own one.
 
#23
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Don't own one...yet. I've shot the FN Five-Seven alot though...really amazingly fun pistol. Very easy to shoot, extremely accurate. Shot it out to 75 yards off hand and was putting in 6" groups (that's with the pistol, not the PS-90 carbine). I probably wouldn't carry it as a defense gun...but for tacking away with a really fun pistol, I think it's hard to top. If for some random reason you had to shoot at someone with soft body armor...it'd probably do the job as long as your shot placement was good.

--Wintermute
 
#24
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

Okay, there is a difference between interior ballistics and exterior ballistics. Ya, the 5.7 looks like a 22 mag on paper. It does not perform like a 22 mag. It hits hard. Low penitration with devistating results. Ive had a Ps90 for a few years now and probably put a few thousand rounds threw it. On the range the round is light and easy to control, very flat trajectory. On a living target it acts like a .223 Ive taken a few coyotes and hundreds of prairie dogs with it and Yes I know thats not a good ballistics test but the difference between the 5.7 and a 22 mag is huge. Having said that, I have fired the 5.7 pistol. My only gripe about it is, its such a low recoil it almost gets boring to shoot after a while. Wicked fast but not too exciting. Dont doubt the round it works very well. The 5.7 pistol itself is a good gun. A tad overpriced imo though. After all, its a polymere framed pistol for almost a grand. For home defense it has great qualities. The round acts like a high frangible round so less danger to people next door. Great field gun if you live on a ranch or in the plains. Oh and the 5.7 is a severe PITA to reload. I,ve been thrilled with my PS90 and the 5.7 pistol is on my get list (way further down the list) but its there.
 
#25
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pdogsbeware</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In it's intended role, penetrating body armor in a lightweight firearm, it works. I don't shoot at anyone wearing body armor...hell, I don't shoot people at all. <span style="font-weight: bold">The terminal ballistics are horrible</span>, and several police depts who used the P90 in the field since got rid of them.
BUT, for plinking, ballistics dont really matter. If you like it, shoot the crap out of it, and have some fun. I'll never talk a guy OUT of buying another gun haha I've got a few that serve aboslutely no purpose other than making noise and puttin a smile on my face. </div></div>

Can you say ".22 Magnum"?? And a <span style="font-style: italic">very pricey</span> .22 Magnum at that...
wink.gif
 
#26
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

I've had one for about five years now. It's a good pistol, easy to shoot and a great gun for the wife. Ammo is a pain to reload (crappy RCBS shell holder likes to rip the rims off). I've got no complaints really. As to "terminal ballistics"; I treat it the same as a 9mm. If I have to shoot someone with it, like the 9mm, I'll stop shooting when the mag is empty or the bad guy is down.

Any ways, it's a fun pistol and I've never had any reliability issues with it.
 
#27
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

The thing about this caliber is a civilian can not get the rounds this weapon was designed for.It was designed for ammunition that will pierce body armor.It is similar to a 22 magnum with the ammunition a civilian can buy.
 
#28
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

I love the FN FiveseveN. A friend of mine has one and i shoot it frequently because it is extremely fun to shoot. Its extremely accurate and easy to pick up and shoot having never used it before. Unlike 1911's the barrell stays straight during firing. Alot of people hate on it because of a couple shootings and the bad press. The hornady 40grain round traveling at 2000fps from a pistol is outstanding. I highly recomment it. I dont carry, but if i did i would not hesitate carrying this weapon with its 20 rounds in a standard mag. Beeing extremely easy to aim as it is flat shooting, one in the right place is all you need, but having 19 more is gravy.
 
#29
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: A14</div><div class="ubbcode-body">... Unlike 1911's the barrell stays straight during firing. </div></div>

Interesting... I thought 1911s, with their barrel link and bushing, kept the barrel straight while firing. I thought it was Brownings 2nd "masterpiece" pistol, the highpower, that brought us the tilting barrel semi-locked breech design.
 
#30
Re: anyone use the 5.7 pistol?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: turbo54</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: A14</div><div class="ubbcode-body">... Unlike 1911's the barrell stays straight during firing. </div></div>

Interesting... I thought 1911s, with their barrel link and bushing, kept the barrel straight while firing. I thought it was Brownings 2nd "masterpiece" pistol, the highpower, that brought us the tilting barrel semi-locked breech design. </div></div>

The barrel has to come down to come out of lock up. The link changes angles pivoting on the slide stop pin bring the barrel down. If you look at the front of the barrel when you lock up the slide it is slightly higher.
 
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