Handgun opinions? - CEG Archives

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My brother just recently got his CCW and a P226 in 9mm, which is alright, but 9mm is not my favorite ammunition, it's still so fun to shoot and I was thinking about putting an advance on getting my own pistol. I just turned 20 last saturday, so as per PA laws, I can't buy a pistol until I'm 21, but I can be given one as a gift (give my bro the money, he "gives" it to me as a "present") and I'm 100% sure of what I'm going to get. The gun is called a Five-SeveN and it's made by Fabrique Nationale. It's a decent sized pistol with a polymer frame that shoots 5.7X28mm rounds, esentially a rifle round, in a 20 round magazine (seems like overkill, but only half the recoil of a 9mm, and plus I'll be using it to practice a lot, then when I become a state trooper, purchasing a brand new one as my sidearm) with the only drawback being that 50 rounds is hard to find still, and also $30 at the cheapest. Here is a good example of one on Auction Arms. As you can see, the gun comes with a custom molded case, 3 20 round mags, and a cleaning kit. The gun forum my brother browses a lot seems to love the Five-SeveN and many people want one for their next gun. My question to CEG is this: anyone have any experience with the Five-SeveN?

Thanks, and feel free to post your own PDW.

Never heard of it. As for personal choices, there are a few handgun threads here. I doubt anyones opinions have changed greatly.

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Could go on and on. Just seach the CI forum for 'handgun' and you should get tons of matches.

I've read them, and I guess I really shouldn't have titled the thread as I did, really I'm just looking for someone with experience with the FN, I probably would have gotten flamed for posting in an old thread anyway haha. I already know the FN is what I'm getting, I just sorta threw on the post your own because I like to see people's choices, but you're right, I should have just posted in the most recent thread.

I still love my Sig Sauer P239 for a CWP handgun. Low recoil, shoots straight every time, never jams, and is perfectly weighted. Plus its small enough that I've never ran into an issue with someone "spotting" my weapon.

E1

No need to bring up old threads, I was just answering the second part of your post. I thought you were asking for opinions on our "personal defense weapon" if thats what PDW means. And in that case, most of us have voiced our opinions on the matter in previous threads.

Get name brand stuff & buy local. Off brands can be crap. Bought an off brand gun once & had the slide fly off a brand new gun & go down range - TWICE! Took that POS back SAME DAY! Can't do that very well via mail order.

Bought Smith & Wesson for my personal protection & have been happy. Now have over 5000 practice rounds through it & it's approaching time to replace it. Never had a single jam.

S&W revolver? 'Cause from what I've heard, their auto-loaders are horrible. Fabrique Nationale is a name brand, they make the P90 and several other arms, as well as being from Belgium, from what I've read, the only reason they are not widely used yet is the rounds characteristics. Apparently, instead of fragmenting on impact, the round is designed to penetrate about an inch, then tumble end-over-end inside and leave a >21mm hole out the other side (the rounds vertical size). They are rated to penetrate modern body armor (titanium and kevlar) at 100 meters, and the older style body armor at 500, but government agencies are skeptical of the unarmored penetration. From what I've read anyway.

Originally posted by DanMyers:
S&W revolver? 'Cause from what I've heard, their auto-loaders are horrible.

Autoloader yes. I've got the compact model 469, short barrel, but with a steady hand that's OK

. Maybe S&W is crap now, I don't know as a lot has changed since my purchase. Did a lot of research when I picked this one out some years ago & it paid off in a reliable weapon. More research will be forthcoming before the move is made to a new weapon. Too much ridin' on it, so gotta make the right choice.

Well I don't know, but that seems to be the majority opinion from a lot of gun owners, I personally have not had any experience with them. I will say though that Sig makes an excellent pistol, and the XD looks to be a reliable pistol too, if you want .45.

My PERSONAL choice for a 9mm semi is the Walther PPK/S (bond's gun)

Its what I have, and it EASILY concealed, carried and used. Lightweight, and easy to store, my wife can hold it without feeling like she's holding a CLUB ( smaller stock)

I carry a Sig 220 in .45 and a Keltek .32 for a backup/pocket gun. Both have worked flawlessly. The Sig has around 6,200 rounds thru it, NEVER a malfuntion, stovepipe, misfire, or other problem.

Jim T.

Sig's are definately one of the more reliable weapons on the market. When I was buying I did a bunch of research, and everyone I talked to owned at least one Sig, and had never had a problem. I ran about 400 rounds thru mine on the first few days, and even tho it ended up dry as a bone by the end of the first day, it still never jammed up.

E1

ive heard lots of good stuff about the five seven. Lots of people love it, most people dont get it because of the ammo.

Originally posted by DanMyers:
I've read them, and I guess I really shouldn't have titled the thread as I did, really I'm just looking for someone with experience with the FN, I probably would have gotten flamed for posting in an old thread anyway haha. I already know the FN is what I'm getting, I just sorta threw on the post your own because I like to see people's choices, but you're right, I should have just posted in the most recent thread.

I don't own one although a friend does and I've shot it quite a bit. Nice shooting gun, seems to be reliable. A little large for concealed carry unless your about 6' 220#. The twenty rounds is nice to have and it's very accurate, but if you hit what your shooting at you don't need the capacity. You can get similar power with a Glock in 10mm and carry 14 rounds I believe. While it's a little expensive, it is a nice handgun but I'm not sure if it offers any value for civilian concealed carry.

Jim T.

Awesome, thanks for the info both of you. Yeah, it is kinda large for a concealed carry, but as I said, it will more than likely by my service pistol when I become a state trooper, and I would like to get used to carrying it, as well as the characteristics of the gun. I definitely don't need the 20 round mags, but if they come with it anyway, it's nice to have. It is somewhat expensive, but with the extras that come right out of the box (case, 3 mags, cleaning kit) I think it's definitely a value, especially since the P226's in .40S&W my brother was looking at before he got the 9mm even factory refurb's were `$600-$650, which is about what the FN itself will end up costing only a little bit more, the really expensive part will be the ammo, but you gotta pay to play.

Really I'm not too worried about the concealed part of the carry as I won't be carrying it into stores or anything, I'll just be getting a leg holster with a good retention system for every time else and other than that, hopefully the only place I'll have to fire it will be at the range.

uh... when I used to buy weapons I pressed b, then 1, then 3 (or 4) for a desert eagle

Haha, Counter-strike much? Actually, that game is where I first learned about and got interested in the Five-SeveN, I used to destroy with just that pistol and some flashbangs.