Will the 7.5㎜ FK go anywhere?

[R3dundantC]

I have no idea why ruger made a 5.7 , although I do "get" why folks are buying that pistol.

5.7 has a future, I think. The L.E. ammo has become more available and there are some extremely viable/effective boutique loads on market. Also, 5.7 was officially standardized by NATO this year so we should see more production or contract overruns

 

[GWS]

My .02


I have no idea why ruger made a 5.7 , although I do "get" why folks are buying that pistol. It's half the price of an FN.

I think you answered your own question there. They're making them because people want them
Ruger making that 57 is like Colt making the Delta Elite and Glock making the 20.
They both saved a caliber. The success of the 57 caused a lot of other makers to reconsider making guns in that caliber CMMG, Kel-Tec and at least one other outfit have released firearms or announced guns in that caliber I'd say Ruger has a real winner with that 57. Just try finding 5.7x28 ammo anywhere

 

[41mag]

The advantages vs cost of maintaining a relationship with an exotic non-psycho girlfriend come to mind....

 

[Deerhurst]

I too don't understand why ruger did a 5.7 pistol. I hear all this praise for 5.7 but when you really look into it it's a fairly niche caliber that isn't particularly good at anything. It pokes holes but doesn't transfer energy. Makes around the same energy as 9mm but is light and fast an narrow. Why stuggle to find projectiles, struggle to load it and pay the costs when something like 9mm is (usually) so readily available and cheap?

I think the brno round will be the same but maybe more limited. It's fast and flat but does it actually do anything better than the stuff that's been around for decades?

 

[Knobgoblin]

I think you answered your own question there. They're making them because people want them
Ruger making that 57 is like Colt making the Delta Elite and Glock making the 20.
They both saved a caliber. The success of the 57 caused a lot of other makers to reconsider making guns in that caliber CMMG, Kel-Tec and at least one other outfit have released firearms or announced guns in that caliber I'd say Ruger has a real winner with that 57. Just try finding 5.7x28 ammo anywhere

I really don't see 5.7 going much further. (Pun?)
It's original, military purpose is a niche already. A tiny round capable of penetrating midgrade body armor that was controllable in full auto.
I'd like to see sales figures for that ruger pistol, and I bet they are decent. Lots of folks always wanted an FN but wouldn't drop the coin. Are they feeding them is the question.
I still want a glock in .357sig being well aware that I'll never buy a full case of ammo for it.

 

[GWS]

I really don't see 5.7 going much further. (Pun?)
It's original, military purpose is a niche already. A tiny round capable of penetrating midgrade body armor that was controllable in full auto.
I'd like to see sales figures for that ruger pistol, and I bet they are decent. Lots of folks always wanted an FN but wouldn't drop the coin. Are they feeding them is the question.
I still want a glock in .357sig being well aware that I'll never buy a full case of ammo for it.

The caliber is very much like the .22TCM in that it is fast, accurate, noisy as hell and has a big muzzle flash. I kinda find that fun. IIRC, the .22 TCM was designed to compete with the 5.7.
When the 57 came out there was a lot of ammo around and being an inveterate hoarder I bought a bunch before everything went to hell. BiMart gets it in once in a while and so does Sporting Systems so it is available. It's just a matter of luck to be at the store when they get it. I believe/hope/pray that the ammo frenzy will burn out before too long and ammo will reappear on shelves in quantity. I just wish I could say when.
As for the 7.5? Lousy timing IMO, launching that caliber in the midst of the pandemic with hard to find guns and even harder to find ammo. Bad luck for the civilian market. They should relaunch once this plague has passed and use the interim time to build stocks of guns and ammo. Then they might have a winner.

 

[Deerhurst]

We keep calling it a "pandemic" but I was hoping this plague would work out better.

I think the 5.7, the 7.5 and 357sig are all calibers just trying to be different and not much more. Very few militaries use 5.7 because while it may poke holes in armor it doesn't really do much to the squishy thing inside. The FA is mild but you need it to be or you would never eliminate a target. I've read reports of needing 30+ rounds to stop a soft target with 5.7. What's the use of a caliber when you need 60% or better of your mag capacity to stop one soft target?

The 357 sig is not new. It's basically a cartridge from the 30s we know as 7.62x25 Tokarev. It's specs for speed and energy are very similar. Tok is easier to get.

 

[User 1234]

The 5.7 did some horrible damage to the victims at Fort Hood.

 

[Koda]

The gun is beautiful looking and these new cartridges are impressive but my only thought is the cartridge isnt doing anything different that semi auto pistols haven't been doing already within the capability of most pistol needs. The idea of more power in a semi auto pistol is limited to the design intent of a pistol, close range, I dont think many people care or want to shoot a defensive pistol at 100yds.
Though this might be a great caliber choice for the "one gun" philosophy..... but we know how that works out.

 

[STONER_63]

I can't find a whole lot to disagree with in these posts. Yes, the 7.5 FK is a cool pistol. No, there probably isn't much of a future for it, especially in a world where some genuinely useful pistol calibers (not only 5.7, but .40 S&W and .41 Mag) ended up in obscurity through no fault of the designer. The best 'niche' guns provide shooters with a tailored solution to a problem, whether tactical or otherwise. Does the 7.5 do that? I guess the jury is still out, but I would bet not.

 

[CountryGent]

In early developments I would have said no way. The origin was a very specific requirement from a military organization to have rifle-like ballistics out of a, roughly, service-sized pistol, with decent controllability. The originally offering was a pistol that retails for over seven thousand dollars per unit. At that rate, at absolute best, that would remain very niche indeed. Maybe acquired by other small military units, some small number of law enforcement agencies, or wealthy private hunters and collectors. None of which is going to result in widespread adoption.

Now they come out a with another offering that is a tad more costly compared to other handguns, but still quite reasonable. And they offer an easy barrel swap to .40 S&W/10㎜ Auto or 9x19㎜. The aforementioned .40 S&W/10㎜ Auto variant requires just a barrel change between the systems, so the shooter has all three cartridges readily available. Not bad. Enough to make a lasting impact? I like it, but am still skeptical of any lasting impact. (And if I wasn't pretty much "meh" on new acquisitions/experimentation these days, I'd likely give the variant shown in Karl's video a spin.)

If a Glock or a Ruger or some other big player put out a solid piece in said, then maybe so. Pretty big "if" at the present, but who knows what the future will hold.

 

[The Heretic]

FYI - per PH, the 9x19 barrel requires a different spring and mag? Also, std pressure ammo is not recommended, +P is. Maybe a weaker recoil spring would work with std ammo?

Interesting that they offer the 9mm & 10mm barrels - I did not know that. Would be nice if they also offered .40 S&W.

If the ammo were more popular/available, I would see this being a more popular pistol, but at this point it is probably going to be a niche gun like the 5.7 & .22 TCM. What might save it would be the ability to also shoot 9 & 10 mm, but the cost is high for both gun and ammo.

 

[po18guy]

Military contracts will make or break it. Bottleneck pistol cartridges have a history of smooth feeding. That said, the world, OK a couple others and I, are clamoring for a semi-auto pistol in .30 Carbine that does not begin with "K" - Kimball or you-know-who.
To avoid the 'Coonan effect', grip length would be manageable via a striker system or a Charles Petter-type hammer (mainspring inside the hammer). Double stack, why not?

 

[CountryGent]

Interesting that they offer the 9mm & 10mm barrels - I did not know that. Would be nice if they also offered .40 S&W.

They do.

 

[Flymph]

Well, they do offer a stocked variant with the Field Pistol, so kind of Broomhandle-esque.

View attachment 797600

If this didn't cost an extra $200 I might be all over this!

 

[P7M13]

The recoil on that is impressive when you look at the shock his body takes with each shot.
While he may poo-poo his accuracy offhand at 100 yards, I say, with a pistol, the mf'er is dead and he's having a good day.

 

[R3dundantC]

Update on my FK PSD. I took my out to shoot today and found that 5/6 of my mags have had the floorplates rust on them. No other mags in the bin they are in are rusted and these are kept in a climate controlled room. Luckily no rust on the bodies, springs, or lockplate. And 2 of those mags have never left the house. Really disappointed.

Sent FK USA an email to see about getting new floor plates and to alert them to the problem. Probably going to strip these down and have them cerekoted.

 

[Flymph]

Update on my FK PSD. I took my out to shoot today and found that 5/6 of my mags have had the floorplates rust on them. No other mags in the bin they are in are rusted and these are kept in a climate controlled room. Luckily no rust on the bodies, springs, or lockplate. And 2 of those mags have never left the house. Really disappointed.

Sent FK USA an email to see about getting new floor plates and to alert them to the problem. Probably going to strip these down and have them cerekoted.

View attachment 1335949

Probably not a bad idea to get the whole mag done in cerakote, but you could easily blue the base plates on your stove... just a hunch.

 

[arakboss]

How is 7.62x40WT doing out there?