Range Report

Last time I was at the shooting range I noticed that they had one of the FN Five-SeveN USG pistols for rent. Here is what it looks like:

That is a 20 round magazine. The ammunition is 5.7 x 28 mm. The bullet is a Hornady V-Max 40 gr JHP with a polymer tip. The ammunition is manufactured by Fiocchi and marketed under the FN label.

Muzzle velocity for the 31 gr. armor piercing round is 2133 fps. The slightly heavier civilian-legal bullet should be leaving the barrel in the neighborhood of 2000 fps, making it a flat shooting handgun.

Recoil was very mild, about like a Browning BDA in .380. Accuracy was pretty good as you can see from this group shot off hand at 25 yards:

The gun uses light weight materials and tips the scales at 1.7 pounds. The grip is long, but narrow and is easy to hold. The sights are in the high visibility three dot configuration. Overall the gun is fun to shoot.

I am, however, skeptical about its utility as a defensive weapon. Mossad Ayoob tells us that a 40 grain, 22 caliber hollowpoint bullet will expand reliably and not overpenatrate in a human target. BUT that is when fired from a rifle with muzzle velocity nearly 1000 fps faster. I will withhold my opinion until I hear some reports from the field.

The Range, Rex's Indoor Range in Hendersonville, NC, is a stocking FN dealer and can let you have your very own Five-SeveN USG for around $800.00, about $200.00 less than the large gun stores in Charlotte.