FN Five-seven

History

The Five-seven and its 5.7×28mm ammunition were developed by FN Herstal in response to NATO requests for a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. NATO called for two types of personal defense weapons: a shoulder-fired weapon and a handheld weapon, intended for personal protection in last-resort situations. In 1989, NATO published document D/296, specifying that the new cartridge should have greater range, accuracy, and terminal performance than the 9×19mm, and be capable of penetrating certain body armor.

The shoulder-fired weapon was to weigh less than 3 kg with a magazine capacity of at least 20 rounds, while the pistol was to weigh less than 1 kg with a magazine capacity of no fewer than 20 rounds. FN Herstal was the first manufacturer to respond, developing the FN P90 and the 5.7×28mm cartridge. The original SS90 cartridge went into production with the P90 in 1990 but was discontinued in 1993, replaced by the SS190 with a heavier, slightly shorter projectile weighing 2.0 g, which was more convenient for the Five-seven then under development.

Design

The Five-seven is a semi-automatic delayed blowback pistol with a concealed hammer. Polymer materials are used extensively, and the steel slide is encased in a polymer shell, reducing weight and improving corrosion resistance. The pistol weighs only 744 g with a loaded 20-round magazine.

It has an overall length of 208 mm, a height of 137 mm, and a max width of 36 mm. The grip angle matches that of the Browning Hi-Power and M1911 pistols. The barrel is cold hammer-forged and chrome-lined, 122 mm long with a rifled length of 94 mm, eight rifling grooves with a right-hand twist rate of 1:231 mm, and a stated service life of 20,000 rounds.

Current models are single-action with a trigger pull of 20 to 30 N. They feature a Picatinny rail, a magazine safety mechanism, checkered grip texture, serrated slide ridges, and grooved trigger and trigger guard surfaces. The trigger guard is elongated for gloved use. The pistol is offered in black or flat dark earth frame finishes, and with adjustable or low profile fixed sights.

Variants

The original Five-seven, introduced in 1998, was double-action only with a heavy trigger pull of 4.5 to 6.5 daN, no manual safety, a pebbled grip, a smoothly contoured accessory rail, low profile fixed sights, a large circular trigger guard, and no slide release. It was discontinued. The Five-seven Tactical was introduced shortly after as a single-action alternative with a trigger pull of 2 to 3 daN, an ambidextrous manual safety, and a slide release, but was otherwise identical to the original. It was discontinued after the IOM model.

The Five-seven IOM (Individual Officer Model), debuting in 2004, was the first offered to civilian shooters. It added a Picatinny rail, serrated slide and trigger guard, fully adjustable sights, and a magazine safety. It was discontinued in favor of the USG model.

The Five-seven USG (United States Government) model, approved by the ATF as a sporting firearm in 2004, retained IOM changes but added a square trigger guard, tightly checkered grip, and larger reversible magazine release. It was originally offered with adjustable sights, and from 2009 also with low profile fixed sights. Since 2013, the USG model is no longer listed by FNH USA.

Controversies

The Five-seven was originally restricted to military and law enforcement customers, but in 2004 the IOM model was offered to civilian shooters with SS192 ammunition. This move was strongly opposed by U.S. gun control organizations such as the Brady Campaign. In early 2005, the Brady Campaign claimed that commercially available SS192 ammunition penetrated a Level IIA Kevlar vest in testing. The National Rifle Association countered that the Brady Campaign may not have adhered to standard testing procedures, and that FN offers armor-piercing cartridge varieties only to military and law enforcement customers.

Varieties offered to civilians are classified by the ATF as not armor-piercing, and FNH USA stated that SS192 and SS196 ammunition could not penetrate various Kevlar vests in their tests. Michael D. Barnes, then-president of the Brady Campaign, challenged NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre to be shot with the pistol while wearing a Kevlar vest. The NRA responded that Barnes demonstrated disregard for gun safety. In the same year, two pieces of legislation targeting the Five-seven and its ammunition for a federal ban were introduced in Congress but did not proceed to a vote.

Did You Know?

• The first military organization to adopt the Five-seven was the Cypriot National Guard, which purchased 250 pistols in May 2000 for its special forces group.
• The Five-seven is used by over 300 law enforcement agencies in the United States, including the U.S. Secret Service.
• The pistol's barrel has a length in calibers of more than 20, 58% more than a comparable 9x19 barrel.