History & Specs of the FiveseveN

[MP_OHIO]

ALWAYS ON TARGET WITHTHE FN FIVE-SEVEN®.

The FN Five-seveN® single-action autoloading pistol fires the low-recoil 5.7x28mm cartridge making it ideal for personal protection, target shooting or NRA Tactical Police Competition. It features a textured, ergonomic polymer frame with checkered panels for enhanced grip. The polymer slide cover helps reduce weight and the operating controls allow for easy access with a reversible magazine release and ambidextrous manual safety levers. The barrel is hammer-forged and chrome-lined for enhanced accuracy and extended service life. Models are available with matte black, olive drab green or Flat Dark Earth frames with a choice of adjustable target sights or fixed three-dot combat sights.



Type
Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin Belgium
Service history
In service 2000–present
Used by See Users
Wars Afghanistan War
Mexican Drug War

Production history
Designed 1993–1998
Manufacturer FN Herstal
Unit cost US $1,000
Produced 1998–present
Variants See Variants:
Five-seven
Five-seven Tactical
Five-seven IOM
Five-seven USG

Specifications (USG)
Weight 617 g (1.36 lb) empty
744 g (1.64 lb) loaded [
Length 208 mm (8.2 in)
Barrel length 122 mm (4.8 in)
Width 36 mm (1.4 in)
Height 145 mm (5.7 in)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cartridge 5.7x28mm
Action Delayed blowback
Rate of fire Semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity 650 m/s (2,133 ft/s) (SS190)
625 m/s (2,050 ft/s) (SS195)
520 m/s (1,700 ft/s) (SS197)

Effective range 50 m (165 ft)
Maximum range 1,510 m (4,955 ft)
Feed system Detachable box magazine; capacities:
10 rounds (restricted)
20 rounds (standard)
30 rounds (extended)

Sights "Three-dot" type: fixed or adjustable; 177.8 mm (7 in) sight radius




FN Five-seven
The FN Five-seven, trademarked as the "Five-seveN", is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. The pistol's name refers to its 5.7-mm (.224 in) bullet diameter, and the name's unusual capitalization style is intended to spell out the manufacturer's initials, FN.

As a companion pistol to the FN P90 personal defense weapon, the Five-seven shares many of the same characteristics: it is lightweight and accurate with low recoil, a large magazine capacity, and the ability to penetrate body armor when using certain cartridge types. The FN P90's 5.7x28mm ammunition was originally created by FN in the early 1990s, and the Five-seven was introduced in 1998 as a pistol using the same cartridge.[5] The pistol was originally restricted by FN to military and law enforcement customers,[15] but since 2004 it has also been offered to civilian shooters in various models, most recently as the Five-seven USG.[16]

The Five-seven is currently in service with military and police forces in over 40 countries throughout the world.[17] In the United States, the Five-seven is in use with numerous law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.[13][18] Since the pistol's introduction to the civilian market in the United States in 2004, it has also become increasingly popular with civilian shooters.[19]



History
The Five-seven pistol's 5.7x28mm ammunition was originally developed by FN Herstal in the 1990s alongside the Five-seven and the FN P90 personal defense weapon.[20] The original 5.7x28mm cartridge, called the SS90, was introduced in 1990.[21] This cartridge was discontinued in 1993, and replaced with the 5.7x28mm SS190.[4] The SS190 used a heavier and slightly shorter 2.0-g (31 gr) projectile.[21] The reduced length of the SS190 projectile allowed it to be more conveniently used in the Five-seven, which was under development at that time. In 1993, Jean-Louis Gathoye of FN filed a United States patent application for a delayed blowback system intended for the Five-seven.[4] The following year, U.S. Patent 5,347,912 ("Elements for decelerating the recoil of the moving parts of a fire arm") was received.

In 1995, FN officially announced the development of the Five-seven pistol, and in 1996, a prototype of the pistol was placed on public display.[23] With some improvements, a double-action only variant of the pistol went into production in 1998, and a single-action variant called the Five-seven Tactical was introduced shortly afterward.[5][24] The Five-seven first entered service in May 2000, when the Cypriot National Guard (Greek: Εθνική Φρουρά) purchased 250 pistols for their special forces group.

The Five-seven pistol was originally restricted by FN to law enforcement and military customers, but in 2004 the new Five-seven IOM variant was introduced and offered to civilian shooters, for use with 5.7x28mm SS192 ammunition. The IOM variant incorporated several modifications to the weapon's design, such as the addition of a M1913 accessory rail, magazine safety mechanism, and fully adjustable sights. The Five-seven's introduction to civilian shooters was met with considerable controversy and objection from gun control organizations such as the Brady Campaign.

Further development of the pistol led to the introduction of the Five-seven USG variant, which was approved by the ATF as a sporting firearm in 2004.[27] The USG variant incorporates a conventionally-shaped (square) trigger guard and reversible magazine release, among other changes.[28] This is the current pistol offered by FN Herstal, and previous variants have been discontinued.[16] In recent developments, this model has also been made available with different frame finishes and sight options.[16]

Design details
The Five-seven is a semi-automatic delayed blowback pistol that uses 5.7x28mm ammunition.[7] The pistol appears hammerless, but it has a concealed hammer.[7] Polymers are used extensively in its design, for resistance to corrosion and reduced weight.[11] The pistol has the appearance of being constructed entirely of polymers, because even the steel slide is encased in a polymer shell.[6][10] However, the slide interior, barrel, trigger, springs, pins, and similar parts are steel.[10] The pistol is noted for being very lightweight, weighing only 617 g (1.36 lb) empty or 744 g (1.64 lb) with a loaded 20-round magazine.[7][11][21]

The Five-seven is a full-size pistol, having a height of 145 mm (5.7 in) with the standard adjustable sights, and an overall length of 208 mm (8.2 in). Despite the considerable length of the pistol's 5.7x28mm cartridge, the distance from the trigger to the backstrap measures 69.85 mm (2.75 in), exactly the same as an M9 pistol. The Five-seven has a max width of 36 mm (1.4 in), and it has the same grip angle as the renowned Browning Hi-Power and M1911 pistols. The Five-seven barrel is cold hammer-forged and chrome-lined, with a total length of 122 mm (4.8 in) and a rifled length of 94 mm (3.7 in). The barrel has eight right-hand rifling grooves with a twist rate of 1:231 mm (1:9.1 in), weighing in at 113 g (0.25 lb). It has a stated service life of 20,000 rounds and the Five-seven is noted for being very accurate.

The current Five-seven USG variant is single-action with a short and light trigger pull of 2 to 3 daN (4.4 to 6.6 lbf).[7] The USG has an M1913 accessory rail and a magazine safety mechanism that prevents the weapon from firing without a magazine inserted.[7] The grip texture is extensively checkered for a superior hold, and each side of the slide has a series of narrow ridges at the rear to aid grasping.[16][19] The trigger and trigger guard surfaces also have grooves to reduce finger slip, and the trigger guard is elongated to ease firing while wearing gloves.[10] In addition to the standard black frame finish, the pistol is currently offered with a flat dark earth frame finish (as the Five-seven FDE) or an olive drab green frame finish (as the Five-seven ODG).[16] Starting in 2009, it is also offered with low profile fixed sights in addition to the standard adjustable sights.[30]

Ammunition
5.7x28mm cartridges as used in the Five-seven. From left to right: SS195LF hollow point, SS196SR V-Max, and SS197SR V-Max.[19]Particularly significant to the design of the Five-seven is the small caliber, high velocity bottlenecked cartridge it uses.[6] The 5.7x28mm cartridge was created by FN in response to NATO requests for a replacement for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge.[31] The cartridge weighs 6.0 g (93 grains),[32] roughly half as much as a typical 9x19mm cartridge, allowing extra ammunition to be carried more easily.[11][33][34] The 5.7x28mm cartridge produces considerable muzzle blast and muzzle flash, but it produces roughly 30 percent less recoil than the 9x19mm cartridge, improving controllability.[21][34] It also exhibits an exceptionally flat trajectory.[33]

One of the design intents of the SS190 variation of this cartridge was that it have the ability to penetrate Kevlar protective vests, such as the NATO CRISAT vest, that will stop conventional pistol bullets.[34] Fired from the Five-seven, the 5.7x28mm SS190 is capable of penetrating the CRISAT vest at a range of 100 m (328 ft), and it is capable of penetrating 48 layers of Kevlar material (roughly equivalent to two stacked Level II Kevlar vest panels) at a range of 50 m (164 ft).[24][32] It is also capable of penetrating a PASGT vest at a range of 300 m (984 ft) or a PASGT helmet at a range of 240 m (787 ft).[24]

FN states that the Five-seven has an effective range of 50 m (165 ft) and a maximum range of 1,510 m (4,950 ft).[10] In testing conducted by Passaic County, New Jersey Sheriff's Department, the SS190 penetrated 27 cm (11 in) in bare ballistic gelatin, and penetrated 23 cm (9 in) in gelatin protected with a Kevlar vest.[6] The SS190 and similar 5.7x28mm projectiles have been shown to turn base over point ("tumble") in testing in ballistic gelatin and other media, using the 21.6-mm (.85 in) projectile length[10] to create a larger wound cavity.[6][11][14][20] However, some are skeptical of the bullet's terminal performance, and it is a subject of debate among civilian shooters in the United States.[14]

The 5.7x28mm projectiles are statistically safer than others, because the projectile designs limit overpenetration and the projectiles have a low risk of ricochet.[6][29][35] Since the SS190 projectile does not rely on fragmentation or the expansion of a hollow point, the cartridge and pistol are considered suitable for military use under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which prohibit use of expanding or fragmenting bullets in warfare.[14]

Controls
All of the controls (excluding the trigger) on the Five-seven USG and earlier variants are grey polymer, in contrast to the black polymer frame and slide cover.[19] Similarly, all of the controls on the Five-seven FDE and Five-seven ODG variants are black polymer, in contrast to the flat dark earth and olive drab polymer frames.[16] A takedown lever is located at the front on the left side of the weapon's frame, and a slide release is located at the rear on the left side of the frame.[7] The takedown lever and safety device are protected from accidental movements by slight projections in the frame contour.[10] A chamber indicator, in the form of a pin in a tiny hole, is located on the left side of the slide, protruding when a round has been chambered.[7] It will protrude 1.6 mm (0.06 in), which is sufficient to allow it to be felt by hand in low light if necessary.[13][19]

The pistol is disassembled by using the left hand to retract and hold the slide 5 mm (0.25 in) rearwards, while simultaneously using the left-hand thumb to push and hold the takedown lever rearwards.[7] When the slide is released, it moves forward freely and the complete slide assembly can be disengaged from the frame.[7] The barrel (and captured recoil spring) can then be removed from the slide.[7] This level of disassembly is sufficient to perform thorough cleaning of the pistol, and FNH USA recommends no further disassembly except by an authorized armorer, FN Herstal, or FNH USA.[7] Reassembly of the pistol is done in the reverse order, except no use of the disassembly lever is necessary.[7]

The current Five-seven USG variant has an ambidextrous manual safety device in an unconventional position: one control is located above the trigger on each side of the frame.[7] It is reachable here with the trigger finger or support hand thumb.[19] A red dot is visible here when the safety is deactivated and the pistol is ready to fire.[7] When the safety is moved to the raised position, it is activated and the red circle is not visible.[7] The magazine release, located on the left side of the frame where the trigger guard intersects with the grip, is square-shaped and reversible for left-handed shooters.[7]

Feeding
The standard Five-seven magazine, seen here, is flush-fit. It has a capacity of 20 rounds.


The Five-seven is supplied with 20-round detachable box magazines as standard, or 10-round magazines for jurisdictions where magazines are restricted by law to a maximum capacity of 10 rounds. The standard magazines fit flush with the pistol grip. The Five-seven will also accept an aftermarket extended 30-round magazine, which protrudes an additional 38 mm (1.5 in) from the base of the pistol. With an additional cartridge in the chamber, the Five-seven pistol has a total capacity of 11, 21, or 31 rounds depending on what magazine type is used. Magazine pouches for the Five-seven magazine are available from various manufacturers.

The Five-seven's magazine can be disassembled for cleaning or lubrication by removing the polymer floorplate. The magazine body is constructed of polymer, with steel inserts at the feed lips. Unlike a conventional pistol magazine, it feeds from dual feed lips, with a follower that has the same appearance as that of an M16 rifle's magazine, and which is loaded in the same manner: by pushing cartridges straight down into the magazine, rather than pushing them down and back.[39] This setup makes it very easy to load individual cartridges into the magazine.[13] The magazine floorplate has a slight finger spur, and four holes in the left side of the magazine body allow a convenient estimate of the amount of remaining ammunition.[7][10] After the last cartridge has been fired from the pistol, the slide stays open, and when the magazine release on the pistol is depressed, the magazine drops free.

Sights and accessories
The current Five-seven USG variant is offered with fully adjustable sights or fixed sights. The "three-dot" type adjustable sights are targeted at 91.4 m (300 ft).[19] They consist of a 3.6-mm (0.14 in) blade front and a 2.9-mm (0.12 in) square notch rear. The front blade has a height of 9.2 mm (0.36 in) and the sight radius is 178 mm (7 in). The "three-dot" type C-More fixed sights are offered as a low profile alternative to the adjustable sights, and targeted at 7.6 m (25 ft) using SS195LF ammunition. The C-More fixed sights are also offered with tritium-illuminated inserts ("night sights") to aid use of the pistol in dim lighting conditions.

The Five-seven is supplied with a lockable hard case, locking device and keys, magazine catch reversal tool, sight adjustment tool (not included with the fixed sights model), cleaning kit, owner's manual, and three 20-round magazines (or three 10-round magazines, where restricted by law). Holsters for the Five-seven are offered by various manufacturers, and the pistol's M1913 accessory rail will accept various tactical lights or laser sights. With the use of a special threaded barrel, the pistol can also be fitted with various sound suppressors, such as the SFN-57 suppressor, developed in 1998 by Gemtech specifically for the Five-seven. This aluminum suppressor with a matte black finish has a length of 147 mm (5.8 in), a diameter of 32 mm (1.25 in) and a weight of 147 g (0.33 lb).

Variants

Five-seven
The original Five-seven model was introduced in 1998. It is now discontinued. It was double-action only with a trigger pull of 4.5 to 6.5 daN (10 to 14 lbf) and no manual safety device. It had a pebbled grip pattern, smoothly-contoured accessory rail, low profile fixed sights and a circular-shaped trigger guard designed to improve gloved use. It did not have a slide release and the slide was not serrated as on newer variants, but a portion of the slide was instead slightly concave to aid grasping. The original Five-seven also had slightly different markings, with an FN logo placed on the left side of the frame above the trigger guard.

Five-seven Tactical
The Five-seven Tactical was introduced shortly after the original double-action only variant, as a single-action alternative. It had a short and light trigger pull of 2 to 3 daN (4.4 to 6.6 lbf), as on current models.[44] It also had the addition of an ambidextrous manual safety device (located on each side of the frame, as on current models), and a slide release.[44] Aside from these differences, the Tactical variant was identical to the original double-action only Five-seven. It was discontinued following the introduction of the IOM variant.

Five-seven IOM
The Five-seven IOM (Individual Officer Model) was the first variant of the Five-seven pistol to be offered to civilian shooters, debuting in 2004. It is now discontinued in favor of the USG variant. The IOM was similar in its basic design to the Tactical version, but differed in that it has a M1913 accessory rail, serrated slide and trigger guard, and fully adjustable sights. It also incorporated a magazine safety mechanism to prevent the weapon from being fired without a magazine inserted.

Five-seven USG
The Five-seven USG (United States Government) is the current version of the Five-seven pistol. This variant was approved by the ATF as a sporting firearm in 2004, replacing the IOM. The USG retains the changes incorporated in the IOM, but has further modifications. These include a conventionally-shaped (square) trigger guard, tightly checkered grip pattern, and a larger, reversible magazine release. In addition to the standard black finish, this model is available with a flat dark earth frame finish (as the Five-seven FDE) and an olive drab green frame finish (as the Five-seven ODG). In addition to the standard adjustable sights, this model is also offered with low profile fixed sights. Starting in 2010, the standard black pistol is also offered with black controls by AcuSport, as opposed to the original grey controls.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiveseven

[jhs27275]

The Five-seven IOM (Individual Officer Model) was the first variant of the Five-seven pistol to be offered to civilian shooters

Nope.

The IOM was LEO only purchase, Individual Officer Model. The first model offered to civilian shooters was the USG.

[blueorison]

jhs27275,

thanks for the information on the other thread, stating that the IOM was rarer than the Tactical. I just reread this sticky, above, and it still doesn't make sense to me, but I appreciate the information