Just a quick report on some fn 5.7x28 rounds vs some handloads I did.
I've been trying my hand at reloading some 5.7 brass and the results so far are very encouraging, but they also speak poorly of the fn rounds I'm afraid.
I got some fresh fn factory loads 40 gr vmax bullets w whatever powder fn uses.
Holy moly... the brass that the fn factory rounds produced were filthy... (I catch my brass) and boy did they stink. Serious powder stains on the mouth, and neck of the rounds. And there was visible smoke from the shots.
Accuracy was meh... but I'm worried I got a bad batch or FN is cutting corners.
Conversely the shots from my handloads were superlative and the best 5.7 I've ever shot.
Specs:
once fired fn brass, simple green wash and resized and setting done with lee dies on challenger press.
40 gr hornady v-max .224 bullets.
7.0 gr accurate #7
federal premium small magnum pistol primers
1730 fps - 1827 fps variation
and accurate as heck!!!
Every shot I took with the hand loads went precisely where I wanted it to go. And I mean that... precisely. I was joking with my friend and said I was going to aim for and hit the nose of the target (zombie type target) we had down range, and took aim expecting it to be a bit off. Pow... right on target. It was the difference between using an axe to cut something... and a scalpel. The hand loads were supremely precise.
And here's the interesting thing.
If you use accurate #7... it's impossible to double charge your 5.7 rounds. Why you ask? Because you can't fit two charges of #7 into a 5.7x28 casing. There simply isn't room. it will overflow the case. So, so long as you measure each charge yourself... impossible to overload the case.
So if you are interested in trying your hand at 5.7x28 This is a winning combo in my opinion.
But back to the FN batch. rounds were not tightly grouped at all no matter how I tried at 30 or 40 meters. I took extra care in fact with the FN rounds. Breathing out on the shot, gentle pressure, pausing to aim, good stance. relaxed. nothing helped.
But it's the junk on the brass that bothers me. The rounds were easily able to be seen as dirtier than the rounds I loaded. This is an honest to god disgrace for FN. These are expensive rounds... I actually feel cheated by the quality they provided.
I've been trying my hand at reloading some 5.7 brass and the results so far are very encouraging, but they also speak poorly of the fn rounds I'm afraid.
I got some fresh fn factory loads 40 gr vmax bullets w whatever powder fn uses.
Holy moly... the brass that the fn factory rounds produced were filthy... (I catch my brass) and boy did they stink. Serious powder stains on the mouth, and neck of the rounds. And there was visible smoke from the shots.
Accuracy was meh... but I'm worried I got a bad batch or FN is cutting corners.
Conversely the shots from my handloads were superlative and the best 5.7 I've ever shot.
Specs:
once fired fn brass, simple green wash and resized and setting done with lee dies on challenger press.
40 gr hornady v-max .224 bullets.
7.0 gr accurate #7
federal premium small magnum pistol primers
1730 fps - 1827 fps variation
and accurate as heck!!!
Every shot I took with the hand loads went precisely where I wanted it to go. And I mean that... precisely. I was joking with my friend and said I was going to aim for and hit the nose of the target (zombie type target) we had down range, and took aim expecting it to be a bit off. Pow... right on target. It was the difference between using an axe to cut something... and a scalpel. The hand loads were supremely precise.
And here's the interesting thing.
If you use accurate #7... it's impossible to double charge your 5.7 rounds. Why you ask? Because you can't fit two charges of #7 into a 5.7x28 casing. There simply isn't room. it will overflow the case. So, so long as you measure each charge yourself... impossible to overload the case.
So if you are interested in trying your hand at 5.7x28 This is a winning combo in my opinion.
But back to the FN batch. rounds were not tightly grouped at all no matter how I tried at 30 or 40 meters. I took extra care in fact with the FN rounds. Breathing out on the shot, gentle pressure, pausing to aim, good stance. relaxed. nothing helped.
But it's the junk on the brass that bothers me. The rounds were easily able to be seen as dirtier than the rounds I loaded. This is an honest to god disgrace for FN. These are expensive rounds... I actually feel cheated by the quality they provided.