FN Five-seveN Wha's up wi- dis??

GunHawke

[8D] Once again, from not so sunny Florida...presently,

Just looking for your input. I read up on the FN Five-seveN back when they announced it's development and the fact that it would NOT be issued to the general public. Now I see it for sale in my wholesale flyers and on GB..........???

Why the change...and more to the point, why wouldn't I want one of these 2400fps screamers for a carry weapon? My creed is usally to carry big, fat slow moving rounds for the punch. Any reason to switch to a screamer for the ballistic havov it creates merely by passing through at Superdude speed???

Maybe I just gotta have one!!

GunHawke



"They blink an eye or draw a breath before they pull a trigger. I won't!" J.B. Books

Invicta

if you think you are ever going to get mugged by a guy wearing full body armor and a kevlar helmet then you might want a five-seven. the five seven was designed for police/military who need a round that will penetrate body armor. civilians don't need armor piercing capability and this is why these guns are not made for the civilian market. if you shoot a bad guy and the round goes through him/her and into a innocent bystander then you are in big trouble. the five-seven would be a good varmint round though.
http://www.fnhusa.com/contents/hg_fiveseven.htm

Mooseyard

FN Herstal is making a version for the general public. The ATF required it to only be able to hold 10 rounds, and it had to have adj. sites. The armor piercing ammo is not available to the General public. It is known as the IOM model.

vicg1

FN is not selling these to the public... there is no law against civilians owning them. The AP ammo is restricted, however. Civilians can only buy the "practice" ammo which has an aluminum core.

Iconoclast

The round really is more appropriate to military / LEO SWAT operations than to the civilian market. As Invicta noted, it's unlikely the average person would ever need a handgun round capable of piercing body armor. There are many handgun / cartridge calibers out there far better suited for CCW - most of them, IMHO.

Like most such items, the ammo, at least, has been circulating among collectors for years . . . in virtually all flavors, including the full blown AP stuff. I have none in my collection as I stay solely with US material (although that would change if our military or PDs start using it). I've seen at least three different loading markings although I cannot cite the identification without the references I've already packed.

Believe me, once ammo is made for any firearm, even in the experimental stage, cartridge collectors seem to ferret it out and acquire specimens. Just for example, for years I had a 5.45x39 first year of mfg round . . . courtesy of an individual whose "company" was "consulting" with certain parties in Afghanistan some twenty or so years ago. He acquired a supply from some Soviets who had no further use for the rounds (I believe to forward for evaluation by our military). In any case, a few specimens "happened" to delivered into private hands and I was one of the first civillians in the US to have an actual round. Today, you can buy it by the case from any dealer. KGB and Chinese assasination rounds? Collectors have 'em. You'll never meet a scrounger more creative than a dedicated cartridge collector!

"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And DemoCraps" (me)