mattitude's Blog

I think Winchester was contracted then Fiocchi came on board. I have heard rumors for a while (over on the fiveseven board) that Wolf was going to try their hand with the 5.7 round. Rhineland Arms had the AR57 in the works for almost 2 years and I believe that they had another 5.7 caliber rifle...don't remember if it was a bolt gun or not but it did look good. I do have some empty brass if anyone wants go try their hand with reloading for this round. I have a little over 20k rounds of .22LR, but due to my disabilities it will be a L-O-N-G time before I can put a dent in that so even the thought of a new gun and new loads to mess with is out of my reach at the moment.

That's a lot of hostility to load on a lovable little caliber Mat, I've run hundreds of rounds through my PS90 and think the only thing neater might be the same cartridge in a nicely made bolt gun.

-tom-the-impaler

Tom, I've done my fair share loading the 5.7 and I have experienced some of the pitfalls with this cartridge. The laquered cases is a big one as once it is removed enough it causes extraction problems as well as split case necks. The case capacity is small (6gr. of Power Pistol almost fills it up), so when you are wanting a variety of projectiles...or even the choices of them, problems will arise when it comes to not only performance but operation and safety as well. The round is what it is, but IMO the .22 caliber realm is saturated enough.

I only have a .22 suppressor now (Tactical Innovations Stratus) and LOVE IT!!! It doesn't have the highest sound reduction, but it still is very effective and I wanted the user disassembly feature as well. I've been shopping for a 45 ACP suppressor and would like to know some first hand experience with different cans.

How does the Impulse perform? I've seen them advertised on CCA's site and was thinking about one for my USP Tactical.

Imagine this... a CZ 527 Carbine in this caliber, with a suppressor on it... shooting Hornady V-Max bullets.Tell me you couldn't find some urban application for that tool.

-madogre

I can see it used for a (limited) suppressed application as the diminished case capacity & using a 55gr. or 62gr. projectile it is very easy to load a subsonic round...BUT the energy generated isn't much more than a .22LR 40gr. slug and the LR would actually give better bullet performance as the thicker & heavier jacketed rounds will be struggling to perform. The 5.7 loaded hot is a real zipper, but the benefits aren't truly possible unless the round is loaded to the user's purpose as the current factory ammo is either tactical (SS195) or semi-target/semi-hunting (SS197). Another thing is that all of the (limited) handloading data that has been tested for this round is out of either a handgun or a 16" carbine. It is still to be seen how/if a slower burning powder will perform in a 18"-22" rifle barrel as the case capacity is so small that the user would possibly be running into compressed charges. Would I buy a CZ in this chambering? Only if I can get it for 500.00 or less as for me I can do with a .22 Magnum for about the same money.

Heh...I load for a few rounds that I need either bulk, accuracy or knockdown for hunting. IMO anyone would do (much) better with a .223/5.56 bolt gun...but with guns it's not just about need, it's about pure wanting as well and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

How many people have the time to reload ammunition? Getting out to the range is hard enough.

-khorne

Sometimes it's not all about the time to do it...and in this case with a very limited selection of factory ammunition it is what you have to do if you want the best accuracy, consistancy and bullet performance that you need for your particular rifle. The PS90, Five-seveN and AR57 aren't "precision" arms so what you feed them doesn't really matter. The SS195 is a 28gr. non-expanding hollow point and the SS197 is a 40gr. fragmenting ballistic tip...and that is all that is available. If you want/need a fragmenting 30gr. Berger projectile pushing 2800-3000fps then you need to load it yourself. If the 40gr. ballistic tip is only giving you 1" through your bolt gun but you want better, then you need to load it yourself.

The 5.7 is more novelty than a "real" serious cartridge as of course you can do the same thing with a number of the other small bore choices. I've reloaded it and the good thing is that it takes all of the various .224 projectiles...the bad thing is a very small case capacity and the laquer coating on the cases. You can't tumble the cases because once that factory laquer coating is gone or even "damaged" enough you will run into severe extraction issues and even encounter split cases. If you are shooting out of an autoloader, you MUST use the small base resizing die otherwise you will run into chambering problems. I'm not going to tell you to not get or support the round...all I am saying is don't lose your mind over it and fall for the hype. It is what it is.

I bought my wife one of the early Mosquitos for Christmas last year. It's a decent plinker and a good trainer if you have/want a 226 or a 229. The DA trigger is a handicap for any serious shooting and the barrel comes loose after a brick or 2, so you might want to keep an eye out for some barrel wobble. I picked up the Gemtech barrel so I can use my suppressor. SIG was hit & miss with the early Mosquitos so I hope you did get a good one. My wife's is very ammo sensitive. I myself shoot with glasses and it does take some time getting used to, but stick with it and if possible get a lesson or 2 from an instructor. If you find someone who knows what they are doing then you won't believe how much you really don't know about proper shooting. There are a lot of "armchair quarterbacks" out there so it might take some research but it will be more than worth it.

Between those 2, as much as I like the M&P I would take the XD. It's built like a little brick shithouse, excellent handling and extremely reliable. The M&P does have nice lines and contours which is great for all day shooting, but the XD is a bit more compact and even with your experience you were right on target during rapid fire and that is exactly what you want in a carry gun. Fitting like a glove takes second to putting the lead exactly where you want it because when it comes down to saving your ass hitting the "light switch" is what will get the job done. BTW, are you up in MA? That would really reduce your handgun selection...