I saw this ad in the March 2010 issue of GUNS Magazine:
Two things immediately struck me as odd:
- It is being marketed as a good gun for home defense
- The ad is targeting women
Maybe FN Herstal re-thought this advertisement after it was printed, because http://www.fnhusa.com/FIVESEVENhomedefense6 does not go to any sort of relevant product page.
I don’t consider myself a ballistics expert by any means, but just like every other cartridge, I believe 5.7x28mm has its purpose. In my opinion, close range home defense is not one of them. I’d much rather have a bigger and slower round (9mm, .45 etc..) for that purpose, over a tiny fast one any day. The way I look at it, is the bigger the wound(s) you create, the faster the fight is going to be over.
There is a common misconception that all 5.7x28mm rounds will penetrate body armor. Although there are variants of the cartridge that will, they are not available to anyone outside of law enforcement. In January of 2005 the ATF released a letter to the public outlining the capabilities of commercially available 5.76x28mm ammo.
The only relevant reason I can see for targeting women in this ad campaign is the fact that the 5.7x28mm round has less recoil than other popular home defense rounds. The manageable recoil would allow for more accurate follow up shots.
The FN Five-Seven MSRP is $1317.19 (ouch!)
