There’s another review of the FN FiveSeven on the site here, that covers the version of the pistol with the standard adjustable sights. I had one of those guns for about six years and carried it daily. I sold it to help cover expenses for my trip to Scotland last summer, having shot over 20,000 rounds through it with only a few malfunctions from a bad ammo lot early in it’s ownership, and two due to a failing magazine catch (I wore it out from use!) The new owner, a friend of mine, is still shooting it regularly and without issue.
I was looking for the version with the C-More fixed sites — I prefer fixed over adjustable for a reason I can’t really qualify, but suspect it’s because the rear site groove tends to be more spacious in fixed sites, allowing for faster target acquisition. For whatever reason, I shoot better with fixed, low-profile sites. (I prefer the old, no-dot, barely-there ones on the 1911A1…so there!)
Delivery of my FiveSeven was yesterday, and I took her out to the range 250 rounds to break her in. The new pistol has the fixed sites and they are much better for a pisto you intend to conceal — they are low-profile — especially the front site, which you could dig trenches with on the older model. Mine is also, apparently, a limited-edition Davidsons-distributor only version with the controls — usually a dove gray against the matte black pistol — in black.
The all-black look looses the toy-like quality I’ve heard some people describe for the FiveSeven. It’s still very light, has 20 rounds in the magazine (unless you live someplace crappy like California or New Jersey), has almost no recoil and is very accurate.
As you can see, the front sight is less blade-like, and low enough to lessen chances of catching on clothing while drawing. Blackhawk makes the excellent Serpa holster for the FiveSeven; I usually got with the paddle Serpa so that I can get the holster on and off fast, without having to take off my belt. The push-button retention allows for very fast release of the gun.
This is the site pattern of the new pistol:
The rear channel is wide ad allows fast taret acquisition. I found the FiveSeven shoots about an inch low out to 7 yards, and about 3 inches low at 10-15 yards with the SS197 blue-tipped hunting rounds. The SS195s should hit on target out to 7 yards, and drop an inch or so in the 10-15 yard range.
To be fair, I’ve shot an FN a lot over the last half decade, so my muscle memory for the handgun is pretty tight, but I found that I could more quickly bring the sites online with my target than I could with the old version of the FiveSeven. My first round of the day, at 7 yards, snap-shooting was dead center of the bullseye over the heart of my silhouette target I was firing on. A magazine of 20, fired without a rest and with deliberation gave me a 1.5″ group at 10 yards, with two flyers. No malfunctions for the entire outing, and none were expected. The reliability of the FiveSeven is equal to anything I’ve shot.
The gun run about $1200 in a store in the Southwest, and the prices vary by $200 depending on where you are. I picked up the new in box FN for $930 on Gunbroker. It’s worth every penny, and is an excellent self-defense gun — light (so you’ll take with you!), accurate and powerful enough to drop an assailant. I don’t know that I’d use it for anything above varmint hunting, and it doesn’t take the place of my 10mm Tanfoglio as my “bike gun” (where you need to stop an inanimate object; something the 5.7x28mm round isn’t suitable for.)
The Black Campbell 