• About USA Carry
  • Advertise
  • Contact
DAILY GUNS & AMMO DEALS - CLICK HERE!
USA Carry
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Resources
    • Concealed Carry Permit Information By State
      • A-E
        • Alabama
        • Alaska
        • American Samoa
        • Arizona
        • Arkansas
        • California
        • Colorado
        • Connecticut
        • Delaware
      • F-J
        • Florida
        • Georgia
        • Guam
        • Hawaii
        • Idaho
        • Illinois
        • Indiana
        • Iowa
      • K-M
        • Kansas
        • Kentucky
        • Louisiana
        • Maine
        • Maryland
        • Massachusetts
        • Michigan
        • Minnesota
        • Mississippi
        • Missouri
        • Montana
      • N-O
        • Nebraska
        • Nevada
        • New Hampshire
        • New Jersey
        • New Mexico
        • New York
        • North Carolina
        • North Dakota
        • Northern Marianas
        • Ohio
        • Oklahoma
        • Oregon
      • P-U
        • Pennsylvania
        • Puerto Rico
        • Rhode Island
        • South Carolina
        • South Dakota
        • Tennessee
        • Texas
        • Utah
      • V-Z
        • Vermont
        • Virgin Islands
        • Virginia
        • Washington
        • Washington D.C.
        • West Virginia
        • Wisconsin
        • Wyoming
    • Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps
    • Concealed Carry Permit Examples
  • Articles
    • Concealed Carry
    • Gun Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Defensive Gun Use Stories
    • Training
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • EDC
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Directory
    • Firearm Instructors
    • Gun Ranges
    • Gun Stores
    • Gunsmiths
    • Gun Clubs
  • Giveaway
  • Store
  • Deals
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Resources
    • Concealed Carry Permit Information By State
      • A-E
        • Alabama
        • Alaska
        • American Samoa
        • Arizona
        • Arkansas
        • California
        • Colorado
        • Connecticut
        • Delaware
      • F-J
        • Florida
        • Georgia
        • Guam
        • Hawaii
        • Idaho
        • Illinois
        • Indiana
        • Iowa
      • K-M
        • Kansas
        • Kentucky
        • Louisiana
        • Maine
        • Maryland
        • Massachusetts
        • Michigan
        • Minnesota
        • Mississippi
        • Missouri
        • Montana
      • N-O
        • Nebraska
        • Nevada
        • New Hampshire
        • New Jersey
        • New Mexico
        • New York
        • North Carolina
        • North Dakota
        • Northern Marianas
        • Ohio
        • Oklahoma
        • Oregon
      • P-U
        • Pennsylvania
        • Puerto Rico
        • Rhode Island
        • South Carolina
        • South Dakota
        • Tennessee
        • Texas
        • Utah
      • V-Z
        • Vermont
        • Virgin Islands
        • Virginia
        • Washington
        • Washington D.C.
        • West Virginia
        • Wisconsin
        • Wyoming
    • Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps
    • Concealed Carry Permit Examples
  • Articles
    • Concealed Carry
    • Gun Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Defensive Gun Use Stories
    • Training
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • EDC
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Directory
    • Firearm Instructors
    • Gun Ranges
    • Gun Stores
    • Gunsmiths
    • Gun Clubs
  • Giveaway
  • Store
  • Deals
No Result
View All Result
USA Carry
No Result
View All Result
  • DAILY GUNS & AMMO DEALS – CLICK HERE!
Home Articles Gear Reviews

Should 5.7x28mm Get A Second Look? 

The Second Act Of 5.7mm

Sam Hoober by Sam Hoober
March 6, 2023
in Articles, Gear Reviews, General Firearm, Gun Reviews
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Should 5.7x28mm Get A Second Look? 

There’s a slow but steady increase in support for 5.7x28mm, the niche PDW cartridge that’s now a niche handgun cartridge. Industry support hasn’t matched the buzz, and in a lot of ways still doesn’t. 

However…that’s starting to change. Is it worth a second look? 

The New Wave Of 5.7x28mm

Most new handgun cartridges don’t get a second act. There’s some initial adoption, but a lot of people tend to realize it doesn’t do anything all that special outside of maybe some niche use, and it withers away to nothing. 

.357 Sig is dead. .30 Super Carry is not off to the hottest of starts. 

Ruger released their Ruger-57 pistol in 2019, followed by the PSA 5.7 Rock pistol from Palmetto State Armory and the KelTec P50. Diamondback Firearms released AR uppers for it along with whole rifles, and Ruger released their own PCC in 5.7mm in late 2022. 

It was also announced that Fiocchi would start making ammunition, a key component to a caliber’s success since more bullets means more supply which means lower prices and greater availability. 

So…it would appear that 5.7mm is getting a second wind. 

This begs the question of whether 5.7mm is something you should be interested in. 

There Are Some Positives…

Besides the ability of armor-piercing ammunition to defeat soft 3A body armor, 5.7mm is impressive for its size but is hardly the ballistic terror that some people imagine. 

The International Wound Ballistics Association – you can find their entire archive here – found in multiple test iterations that it neither penetrated nor created permanent cavities in ballistic gel or otherwise did anything that any other typical service cartridge didn’t do just as well, if not better. 

Just How Powerful IS 5.7x28mm?

It doesn’t produce hydrostatic shock nor make julienne fries, but neither is it proven to be totally ineffective. Recoil energy usually works out to about 70 percent of 9mm, meaning it’s about on par with .380 ACP from a compact to full-size gun. 

The trajectory is certainly an attribute where some advantage emerges; the greater velocity forestalls any serious drop to well more than 100 yards. If you were to put a red dot on a 5.7mm pistol, such as the recently-debuted new model by FNH, it would have a serious advantage when shooting at a distance. 

Real-World Use Cases For 5.7mm

There are some real-world use cases for 5.7mm. If you’re going to carry a full-size gun no matter what and have some sort of issue related to your hands (arthritis, injury, age, etc.) that precludes carrying 9mm, it’s actually a very viable choice. 

If you like the idea of having less recoil in a full-size gun, but without worrying about bad rimfire priming (which does occur), then it’s a great choice. That also makes it viable as a pool weapon in the home, a home defense pistol that almost anyone would be able to shoot effectively. 

If you wanted a pistol that you could carry for personal defense but could also shoot small game, it’s also a good choice. It’s not unheard of; plenty of people have done so with 9mm, and in the revolver era, .38 Special and .32 S&W (along with .32-20) were popular game-getters. 

However, the downsides of higher running costs (expensive ammunition) and the fact that there aren’t (and likely won’t ever be) any compact 5.7mm pistols are real drawbacks in a lot of other contexts. 

Body armor penetration is a fringe benefit at best (when a recorded instance of an armed civilian losing a gunfight to a threat wearing body armor emerges, we’ll let you know), and the carrying capacity is not as impressive (three more rounds than a Glock 17) as some portray. 

Slide lock reloads don’t really occur in civilian shootings, and few gunfights have been lost because a handgun had a 17-round magazine instead of 20. 

For the average person, the juice may not be worth the squeeze…but there’s enough virtue to justify its existence. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. 

Previous Post

“Officer Down” Is The Last Thing Anyone Wants To Hear

Next Post

March 2023 Drill of the Month: The Bill Drill

Sam Hoober

Sam Hoober

Sam Hoober is Contributing Editor for Alien Gear Holsters, where he writes about gun accessories, gun safety, open and concealed carry tips. He also contributes a bi-weekly column for Daily Caller. In his free time, Sam enjoys camping, hunting and spending time at the gun range as often as possible.

Related Posts

Maximizing Your Firearms Training: The Benefits of Training Partners and Accountability
Training

Maximizing Your Firearms Training: The Benefits of Training Partners and Accountability

by Ethan Vaughn
March 29, 2023
Retired Police Officer and Burglary Suspect Hospitalized After Exchanging Gunfire
DGU

Retired Police Officer and Burglary Suspect Hospitalized After Exchanging Gunfire

by Sean Holt
March 29, 2023
Armed Bystander Helps Disarm Knife-Wielding Suspect at Las Vegas Mall
DGU

Armed Bystander Helps Disarm Knife-Wielding Suspect at Las Vegas Mall

by Luke McCoy
March 29, 2023
Father Shoots Daughter's Abusive Ex-Boyfriend in Act of Self-Defense
DGU

Father Shoots Daughter’s Abusive Ex-Boyfriend in Act of Self-Defense

by Sean Holt
March 28, 2023
Fatal Shooting at Family Dollar: When Emotions Override Responsibility
DGU

Fatal Shooting at Family Dollar: When Emotions Override Responsibility

by Luke McCoy
March 28, 2023
Next Post
March 2023 Drill of the Month: The Bill Drill

March 2023 Drill of the Month: The Bill Drill

5 1 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Connect with
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect with
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Please login to comment
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
jGecko
jGecko
20 days ago

From article, “Slide lock reloads don’t really occur in civilian shootings, and few gunfights have been lost because a handgun had a 17-round magazine instead of 20”-With 5.7 it would be nice to know dealing with taking an extra magazine isn’t absolutely critical. Also, one would worry less about magazine swap delays arising in a home defense situation when time could be critical. Increased capacity would reduce the number of things one must worry about in such situations.

However, 9mm provides a bullet form-factor flexibility that many seem to find desirable in home defense ammunition (JHP, FMJ, special home defense rounds, rounds designed to reduce penetration through walls, and so on)

0
USA Carry

© 2022 USA Carry LLC

Navigate Site

  • Concealed Carry Resources
  • Articles
  • Forums
  • Directory
  • Giveaway
  • Store
  • Deals

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Concealed Carry Resources
    • Concealed Carry Permit Information By State
      • Alabama
      • Alaska
      • American Samoa
      • Arizona
      • Arkansas
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Connecticut
      • Delaware
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Guam
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
      • Kansas
      • Kentucky
      • Louisiana
      • Maine
      • Maryland
      • Massachusetts
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Mississippi
      • Missouri
      • Montana
      • Nebraska
      • Nevada
      • New Hampshire
      • New Jersey
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • North Dakota
      • Northern Marianas
      • Ohio
      • Oklahoma
      • Oregon
      • Pennsylvania
      • Puerto Rico
      • Rhode Island
      • South Carolina
      • South Dakota
      • Tennessee
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • Vermont
      • Virgin Islands
      • Virginia
      • Washington
      • Washington D.C.
      • West Virginia
      • Wisconsin
      • Wyoming
    • Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps
    • Concealed Carry Permit Examples
  • Articles
    • Concealed Carry
    • Reviews
    • Defensive Gun Use Stories
    • Training
    • CCW For Women
    • General Firearm
    • Open Carry
    • Self-Defense
    • Survival
    • EDC
    • Home Defense
  • Forums
  • Directory
    • Firearm Instructors
    • Gun Ranges
    • Gun Stores
    • Gunsmiths
    • Gun Clubs
  • Giveaway
  • Store

© 2022 USA Carry LLC

Popup Button
wpDiscuz
1
0
Join the conversation, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply
You are going to send email to

Move Comment