Fabrique Nationale is a company which doesn’t need much of an introduction. Having outfitted hunters, police, and militaries for quite some time FN as a whole is a respected and well regarded firearms manufacturer. With their product line now including the new 509 Tactical pistols and the SCAR 20S I thought it might be fun to rewind the clock back to the early 90’s when they came out with a most peculiar creature known as the Five-seveN.
Around the time this pistol came out there was a “Personal Defense Weapon” program being put forth. Two of the highlights of this program had been Heckler & Koch’s MP7 which took a necked 4.6mm bullet and FN’s P90 which was chambered in a necked 5.7x28mm cartridge, really a downscaled case loaded with a 5.56mm projectile. Their original intention was to have a compact automatic firearm, a PDW, firing a low recoil bullet which was capable of defeating body armor. The P90 in particular was a very futuristic ambidextrous bullpup design which held fifty of these rounds per magazine and has made countless appearances in every sort of media out there, both sci-fi and not. The P90 is iconic in every sense of the word.
What about the Five-seveN, then? This neat sidearm doesn’t seem to get the fame and glory of the P90. After all it’s just another polymer framed pistol, right? In fact there’s a lot more going on with this gun than meets the eye. I had seen some of these pistols behind the glass at gun stores over the years, but it wasn’t until only a year ago that I had a chance to put one into my hand and was immediately caught off guard by a number of different details.
It’s polymer! Like, the Entire Gun is polymer! (Almost.) This is the first pistol I have ever come across where the slide itself is encased within a hard polymer shell, completely concealing a single piece machined steel slide. The ambidextrous safety is polymer and positioned forward above the trigger which, while unusual, does offer an instinctive function with a quick downward sweep of the trigger finger to make the sidearm ready. Also, this gun is surprisingly light for its size. 21 ounces without the magazine, and it’s by no means a small device.
The grip is a bit longer than most guns because of this bottlenecked cartridge, but what’s more interesting here is that a magazine holds twenty of these potent little bullets. It’s a double stack and double feed mag as well so it’s a little easier to load. The stainless steel barrel is cold hammer forged and chrome lined, but it looks more like what you might expect out of a modern .22 pistol, almost like a straw or a sleeve. The guide rod is rectangular and rather flat. The sights are quite tall and the rear is fully adjustable for windage and elevation. Ergonomics are pretty darn good considering the size requirements they had to work around. I have no complaints here.
Shooting this mini monster is quite the experience. The slide is kind of difficult to rack as the springs are quite stout. The safety is easy to flick off and when the slide goes home it does so with a solid and pleasing report. Every pull of the trigger results in a flash of light and a very fast yet fairly mild recoil impulse. You get the impression that the slide is moving incredibly quickly but the gun itself doesn’t jump around a lot. Even so, with this speed, the flash, and a loud bang the Five-seveN tends to catch me off guard a little. It’s such a light gun with such an impressive bark that subconsciously I keep expecting it to be a lot more of a handful than it really is. This is one of those guns I would want to spend a lot more practice time with. Fortunately it doesn’t induce a lot of shooter fatigue. Honestly the best comparison I’d have is shooting a .22 Magnum. If you’ve ever had a chance to try out a Kel-Tec PMR-30 it’s very similar.
In fact, ballistically the 5.7×28 is quite similar to a .22 Magnum in several areas but there is one very notable difference. While the muzzle velocity and energy are quite comparable between these two the 5.7 generates over twice as much pressure at just over a staggering fifty thousand PSI! For comparison that’s only slightly less than the 5.56 NATO! With that boost in pressure the bullet is capable of flying nearly twice as far as the oldschool .22 Mag. This is one incredibly hot bullet!
Accuracy was, unfortunately, something which I had some trouble with. I know that both these guns and the bullets are accurate but I couldn’t quite connect with the trigger. While claimed to be a 4.4 pound single action pull it felt a little gritty and a little mushy for me to ever feel properly confident with it within my limited time on the firing line. My best five shot group all fell within a five inch circle at fifty feet. Part of it might be that I’m used to seeing larger holes in the paper. Larger holes are much easier to connect than small holes (not to mention easier to see!) This gun is definitely more capable than what I was able to achieve with it.
I have heard stories of people carrying the Five-seveN as a concealed carry sidearm. There’s even a magazine extension which boosts its capacity all the way up to thirty rounds, which is a lot of power in a small space. However, my personal opinion is that while lightweight and with such an impressive round count per mag this is not an ideal choice for carry use. The caliber was originally intended to defeat body armor, something which the common civilian doesn’t have to worry about (not to mention I believe that specific bullet isn’t available commercially.) The bullet itself is quite tiny which is counter to what you would be looking for in a defensive round. It’s also incredibly loud and generates a lot of flash, both of which can work against you. The main spring is stiff which can make operation of the slide more difficult. I would also worry about the potential for over-penetration or how far any missed shots might wander. From what I’ve read the 5.7 is good for some 3,400 yards of travel which is well beyond that of a 9mm.
These, then, are perhaps some of the reasons why these are not very common handguns. To the average shooter there honestly isn’t much of a reason to own one. They aren’t inexpensive and they take a special cartridge which can be costly and difficult to find.
Despite all of this the Five-seveN can still stand on its own due to its uniqueness and the shooting experience which comes from it. They’re tough, solid working machines which have been designed from the ground up to see hard service use rather than civilian use. Maybe this sidearm is more of a novelty or a range toy for the average shooter, but I love it if for nothing more than it being another symbol of the level of freedom we are fortunate enough to have in this country.
Also the 5.7mm bullet is simply adorable.
