Just received my new Five-seveN pistol, and thought I'd put up a pic with a few first impressions...
Packaging wise, it's a decent little case...Clearly not as robust as the current Glock Pistol cases, but what the heck, it comes with. Inside, are the instruction manual, accompanied by a warning label regarding original Five-seveN mags not working in current IOM or USG pistols...
Kit has the pistol, three magazines (10 round of course), a nice little cleaning kit, and tools to adjust the sight and convert the magazine release to the opposite side of the grip frame for left handed shooters.
The mags are the dedicated 10 round versions, with the different bases, not just a pinned mag. They insert very smoothly into the magwell, and eject with considerable authority... almost jumping out of the gun. This is due to a very strong mag spring...with the slide locked to the rear, and an empty magazine in the pistol, it's quite difficult to press down on the slide stop lever. This isn't a concern for me, as I rack the slide forward, and don't use the "slide stop" as a "slide release"...
The safety is interesting in that it's located above the trigger on both sides of the pistol. It's very easy to access using your trigger finger when it's off trigger, and high and away on the frame of the gun, or with your support hand thumb when shooting with a thumbs forward grip (my preference).
Sights are tall for my liking, but nicely made. Rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation, and on the pistol I received, incorporated 3 white dots for easier pickup.
The pistol itself is very light. Lighter than my Glock 22, and only slightly longer in the barrel (maybe the thickness of my tiny index finger). The stippling on the grip is robust, and not as invasive or destructive as I've seen on some of the more recent Glock pistols. The grip geometry is also a little more vertical than the angle found on the Glock, but it still very comfortable. My hands are not large, yet I had easy access to all the operational controls on this pistol.
The entire body of the gun is plastic. The metal slide is encased in the stuff, and the frame has minimal metals in it... as well, there are no metal inserts in the magazine (unlike Glock), so if you hate polymer, this may not be the pistol for you... On the other hand, if your a freak for innovation like myself, you may appreciate some of the design, engineering and integration that went into this gun.
Field stripping the gun is very similar again to a Glock pistol, with the exception that you don't have to ride the slide along the rails for the full length of the frame. Once unlocked, the slide moves forward about one inch, and lifts straight off. The recoil spring is captive to the barrel - no guide rod as this role is performed by the barrel itself. So when field stripped for cleaning, there are only 3 parts - Frame, Slide, and Barrel. Neat idea...
Internally it does not look much like a Glock, contrary to popular belief. It's trigger seems a little more refined, and on dry firing, feels more crisp. The Five-seveN does incorporate a magazine disconnect, and will not fire unless a magazine is inserted - love it or hate it (I'm on the fence on this one), but that's the way it is. It also has a nice little loaded chamber indicator that protrudes from the slide on the left side. It's visible in daylight, and very easy to feel in low light conditions either with your support thumb, or index finger (right or left handed respectively).
Overall, I like the pistol, and can't wait to take it to the range and do a little testing (velocity accuracy etc...). I don't expect it to perform much differently than the original Five-seven Tactical model I used several years ago, but we'll see once the rounds go downrange.
I've had a number of people ask me about ammunition for the 5.7x28, and it's scarcity... For those looking, many members of CGN have factory rounds for sale, you just have to be diligent in your search. And once you have brass, it's relatively easy to reload this cartridge... you just have to pay particular attention to detail, as for most loads, less than 1 grain of powder separates starting loads from max pressure loads...Lyman's new reloading book has good information on this round, as does wiki....
I'll post more photos that are of higher quality than the camera phone pic above once I take it to the range.
Cheers all...
M
Couple more pictures before I take it out tomorrow...
The loose rounds would be what the pistol would hold in happier times... Alas, I must practice mag changes twice as much now...
Packaging wise, it's a decent little case...Clearly not as robust as the current Glock Pistol cases, but what the heck, it comes with. Inside, are the instruction manual, accompanied by a warning label regarding original Five-seveN mags not working in current IOM or USG pistols...
Kit has the pistol, three magazines (10 round of course), a nice little cleaning kit, and tools to adjust the sight and convert the magazine release to the opposite side of the grip frame for left handed shooters.
The mags are the dedicated 10 round versions, with the different bases, not just a pinned mag. They insert very smoothly into the magwell, and eject with considerable authority... almost jumping out of the gun. This is due to a very strong mag spring...with the slide locked to the rear, and an empty magazine in the pistol, it's quite difficult to press down on the slide stop lever. This isn't a concern for me, as I rack the slide forward, and don't use the "slide stop" as a "slide release"...
The safety is interesting in that it's located above the trigger on both sides of the pistol. It's very easy to access using your trigger finger when it's off trigger, and high and away on the frame of the gun, or with your support hand thumb when shooting with a thumbs forward grip (my preference).
Sights are tall for my liking, but nicely made. Rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation, and on the pistol I received, incorporated 3 white dots for easier pickup.
The pistol itself is very light. Lighter than my Glock 22, and only slightly longer in the barrel (maybe the thickness of my tiny index finger). The stippling on the grip is robust, and not as invasive or destructive as I've seen on some of the more recent Glock pistols. The grip geometry is also a little more vertical than the angle found on the Glock, but it still very comfortable. My hands are not large, yet I had easy access to all the operational controls on this pistol.
The entire body of the gun is plastic. The metal slide is encased in the stuff, and the frame has minimal metals in it... as well, there are no metal inserts in the magazine (unlike Glock), so if you hate polymer, this may not be the pistol for you... On the other hand, if your a freak for innovation like myself, you may appreciate some of the design, engineering and integration that went into this gun.
Field stripping the gun is very similar again to a Glock pistol, with the exception that you don't have to ride the slide along the rails for the full length of the frame. Once unlocked, the slide moves forward about one inch, and lifts straight off. The recoil spring is captive to the barrel - no guide rod as this role is performed by the barrel itself. So when field stripped for cleaning, there are only 3 parts - Frame, Slide, and Barrel. Neat idea...
Internally it does not look much like a Glock, contrary to popular belief. It's trigger seems a little more refined, and on dry firing, feels more crisp. The Five-seveN does incorporate a magazine disconnect, and will not fire unless a magazine is inserted - love it or hate it (I'm on the fence on this one), but that's the way it is. It also has a nice little loaded chamber indicator that protrudes from the slide on the left side. It's visible in daylight, and very easy to feel in low light conditions either with your support thumb, or index finger (right or left handed respectively).
Overall, I like the pistol, and can't wait to take it to the range and do a little testing (velocity accuracy etc...). I don't expect it to perform much differently than the original Five-seven Tactical model I used several years ago, but we'll see once the rounds go downrange.
I've had a number of people ask me about ammunition for the 5.7x28, and it's scarcity... For those looking, many members of CGN have factory rounds for sale, you just have to be diligent in your search. And once you have brass, it's relatively easy to reload this cartridge... you just have to pay particular attention to detail, as for most loads, less than 1 grain of powder separates starting loads from max pressure loads...Lyman's new reloading book has good information on this round, as does wiki....
I'll post more photos that are of higher quality than the camera phone pic above once I take it to the range.
Cheers all...
M
Couple more pictures before I take it out tomorrow...
The loose rounds would be what the pistol would hold in happier times... Alas, I must practice mag changes twice as much now...
Last edited:
