FN Five-Seven Reviews

FN Five-Seven Review

In a nutshell, the FN Five-SeveN is a big little handgun with a whole lot of attitude. Why? Mainly because of the unique 5.7x28mm cartridge that it’s designed to fire. While the FN Five-SeveN is not a small gun, the 5.7x28 bullet is small in caliber, albeit a very fast one as far as pistol projectiles go.

FN Five-Seven Review

For some gun gurus, the Five-SeveN is the handgun equivalent of the world’s most fire-proof paper hat. It’s a brilliant technical achievement but who cares? For one thing, you’re more likely to find Keira Knightley at Country Buffet than a box of 5.7×28mm ammo at K-Mart. For another, firing-off a hundred rounds of Five-SeveN ammo costs more than draining a particularly good bottle of Scotch. As for the weapon itself, you can buy two Springfield XD’s for the price of one of FN’s strangely-chambered pistols. Did I mention that the Five-SeveN’s safety sits on the side of the gun’s barrel? Or that the grip is longer (end-to-end) than War and Peace? All of which makes the Five-SeveN a novelty gun for impressing range rovers who Glock around the clock. Right?

FN Five-Seven Review

The firearms company Fabrique Nationale (FN in Herstal, Belgium) developed the 5.7x28mm (5.7) pistol cartridge in the 1980s for first use with the P90 submachine gun.

Then in 1998, they developed and introduced the 5.7 pistol for military and law enforcement use, followed in 2004 by the 5.7 for the civilian market. The 5.7x28mm cartridge was the first small caliber high velocity pistol cartridge and is based on the 5.56x45mm SS109 NATO round, which was also developed by FN. It is important to understand the characteristics of the 5.7 cartridge to fully appreciate the 5.7 pistol.