Seriously thinking about 5.7

lklawson said:

My "new job windfall" is going to buy my a new gun. I'm kicking around several ideas ranging from a lightweight .308 AR to a 1911 45ACP +P stoked with 450SMC. But the 5.7x28 is quite intriguing to me. I'm too cheap to ever buy a FN FiveseveN but the Ruger 57 was looking interesting, that is until I stumbled across the PSA 5.7 Rock.

So far, literally, every review I've found of it has been positive. Lower price, decent trigger, more capacity (23+1), more affordable mags, optics ready options...

OTOH, it's out of stock all the time and seems like there's only one company making OWB Kydex for it (WeAreNerd). And it's a "full size handgun" that is a tad longer than the G17 in OAL with more of a slide.

And 5.7 ammo ain't free. I like being able to reload to save money on practice ammo and, as @greg_r has noted, 5.7 ammo has a reputation, at best, for being errr... "fiddly."

But the round is flat shooting, claims 30% less recoil than 9mm, has what looks to me to be good terminal performance, is endorsed by people I trust as being very effective for social work, and, in the event that Russia invades, most of the ammo will penetrate NIJ II soft armor and about 1/3 of boutique commercial offerings will penetrate Level IIIA, and that's nothing to sneeze at.

...still, I'm pretty cheap.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

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greg_r said:

Nice review. I generally like Paul Harrell.

I am still on the fence about a Ruger 57 & LC Carbine. The pros:

1. Magazine compatibility
2. The cool factor
3. It’s a Ruger.

The cons all center around the cartridge itself. Basically the cost and reloadability

This has also made me look hard at the 22 TCM again. I do like the 22TCM. I have the rifle, I have the dies, it does not have reloading issues and cases can be formed from plentiful brass. The platforms are "old school" and that appeals to me. A 1911 chambered for 22 TCM would be a neat acquisition and the wood and parkerized finish would match the wood and parkerized finish of the M22. Magazines are comparable, except I do not see me sticking the 17 rounders in the rifle, I am happy with the 5 round mags for the rifle, but I could if I wanted to. The only drawback is availability. No 22TCM 1911’s are available to order at my LGS. I was added to the wish list.

One thing the video made clear to me that I was not paying attention to before though. The 22 TCM is considerably more powerful than the 5.7x28. Paup was getting just over 2100 fps using the 40 grain load out of the LC Carbine. I am getting over 2700 fps out of my M22 using a 40 grain bullet. A difference of some 630fps is nothing to sneeze at. Granted, that’s comparing a 22 3/4" barrel with a 16" barrel, but advertised velocity using the 5" RIA 1911 is still some 300 fps faster than the velocity out of the 57 pistol.

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lklawson said:

Me too. But he is comparing his own TCM handloads to factory 5.7, presumably optimized for the handgun length bbl.

Still, it is something to consider.

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

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Bill whitney said:

I cant get past 40 gr projectiles.

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lklawson said:

I only obsessed over three or four different options before finally deciding on this one.

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

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Visper said:

View attachment 76823

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Rerun said:

Brownell's is selling 5.7x 28mm ammo for $37.99/box.

Rerun

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lklawson said:

I ordered from Battlehawk Armory. That's about what I paid. Except for the 100 rounds of Gold Dot. That's quite a bit more. I used ammo seek to find the best deal.p

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

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lklawson said:

Ammo was delivered last night. Good grief that stuff seems tiny! I understand why it fit so many rounds in a mag and I understand why so many people find it challenging to reload for. Just the case mouth size alone is going to have its own challenges.

I'm contemplating building some sort of table-top brass net for when I take it to the outdoor range. PVC and netting or something. Any suggestions?

Now I'm just waiting on my reflex sight. Ammo is expensive enough that I bought a laser bore sighter to do an initial dial-in. I used to have one but I can't find it for the life of me. I probably loaned it to a former friend who just never returned it.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

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Visper said:

...total without the credits is 15-18k range... one guy actually gave me a quote for 28k... I laughed, he said they do financing... I laughed more...

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