SW M&P joins the 5.7 club

[kerplode]

Internal hammer and the gas-operated rotating bolt are what got my attention- but I've never looked at 5.7 guns- are those two things common?

I thought 5.7 was always a small gun able to defeat soft body armor?

No, the big players in this space to date (PS90, FiveseveN, Ruger 57, Ruger 57 Carbine, CMMG Banshee) are all some variation of a blowback action.

Yeah, the original intent of the 5.7 was as a PDW that was capable of defeating body armor. That ammo (SS190) is restricted, however.

[kerplode]

There's quite a few 5.7 offerings out there now, none inexpensive.

Yeah sure, they're not $200, but you can buy two Ruger 57's for the cost of the FN FiveseveN. Having a $600 gun opens up quite a larger market than a $1400 gun will. I expect the Smiff might be somewhere in between, but likely closer to the Ruger in price.

My hope is that eventually all this will make the ammo less than $1 a round. It'd certainly make my FNs more enjoyable... :-)

[glocktogo]

I think the 22 Mag fills that well at far reduced $. I always liked the .22 Mag for small game/woods kinda gun. Sure, if 5.7 ammo was even close to comparable, I'd go 5.7 as it has more juice. No doubt the 5.7 also functions better in semi auto and other variables but .22 Mag ammo/gun development is pretty much non existent.

It is apples/oranges but they can fill similar niche for those uses.

True, and there is an ammo manufacturer now making "defensive" .22 Mag. I've just always been reluctant to rely on rimfire for defense, due to the reliability issues with the rimfire priming systems. Maybe they've covered that with this new breed of rimfire ammo?

[MegademiC]

You might be thinking of Elite Ammunition. They make some HOT 5.7.

I haven't personally tried any of their stuff because I got kind of a bad vibe off them from reading their posts on the FN forums...

Thats it. 50 gr "protector" series at 1800fps with a varmint round... potential to expand and not frag, but I havent seen any testing.

I find it interesting but wouldnt buy one.

[WillBrink]

True, and there is an ammo manufacturer now making "defensive" .22 Mag. I've just always been reluctant to rely on rimfire for defense, due to the reliability issues with the rimfire priming systems. Maybe they've covered that with this new breed of rimfire ammo?

I would not consider either one for defense myself.

[glocktogo]

I would not consider either one for defense myself.

It wouldn’t be my first choice under every day circumstances either. But I can see a niche where you’re hiking and want something you can shoot, doesn’t add up to much weight even fully loaded with 20+1 and a spare mag, and could reasonably be counted on for defense should the need arise.

Besides, it might just be a fun shooter?