Ruger LC Carbine in 5.7x28

[JaySmith]

The 5.7 round does not peter out after 10.4 inches. The faster 5.7 goes, the more energy it delivers, and it can use all the speed it can get. I never understood why anyone who was serious about running 5.7x28 for HD in a PS90 cut the barrel down to the 10.4 inch length of the P90. It might look cool and fulfill some sort of Stargate cosplay fantasy, but you are sacrificing 300-400 fps of velocity (depending on ammo choice), and you gain very little in terms of tactical advantage. If you can't navigate your house with a PS90, you need to take a class. Also, if you're not running at least SS198, you're doing it wrong. SS197 is for plinking. Elite Ammunition S4 or T6-B or Vanguard Outfitters' Black Fang are even better options, albeit very expensive ones.

Fired from the longer 40.74 cm (16.04 in) barrel of the PS90, the muzzle velocity of SS195LF is roughly 60 m/s (200 ft/s) faster, and the muzzle velocity of SS197SR is roughly 45 m/s (150 ft/s) faster.[51] Fired from the shorter 12.2 cm (4.8 in) barrel of the Five-seven pistol, the muzzle velocity of SS195LF is roughly 90 m/s (300 ft/s) slower, and the muzzle velocity of SS197SR is roughly 60 m/s (200 ft/s) slower.

Sure if you want to fill a 50 round magazine with EA S4 for $5 per round, go for it. VO black fang barely exists anymore, it's basically unobtainable. So In reality, your main options are SS195LF and SS197SR. If you want to run high end ammo, I get it, but practice with what you carry. My EDC is a ruger 57 with EA S4 for a reason, I have a fair amount of it, and I train with it.

So if your SS197SR hits 1950fps at 10.4" and 2100fps at 16", i would say that's pretty much blown it's load in the first 10.4". And SS195LF at 2550fps vs 2750fps for 10.4" and 16" respectively, yeah.

I'm not an expert on 5.7, but I have been working with it for a while now, across multiple platforms. If you have different experience with ammo availabilities, I'd love to hear it. I'm always looking to increase my 5.7 cache.

[Ronin]

Sure if you want to fill a 50 round magazine with EA S4 for $5 per round, go for it. VO black fang barely exists anymore, it's basically unobtainable. So In reality, your main options are SS195LF and SS197SR. If you want to run high end ammo, I get it, but practice with what you carry. My EDC is a ruger 57 with EA S4 for a reason, I have a fair amount of it, and I train with it.

So if your SS197SR hits 1950fps at 10.4" and 2100fps at 16", i would say that's pretty much blown it's load in the first 10.4". And SS195LF at 2550fps vs 2750fps for 10.4" and 16" respectively, yeah.

I'm not an expert on 5.7, but I have been working with it for a while now, across multiple platforms. If you have different experience with ammo availabilities, I'd love to hear it. I'm always looking to increase my 5.7 cache.

Faster is still faster, and like I said, 5.7x28mm needs every drop of speed it can get to be effective. I see no point to spending the money to cut down the barrel of a PS90. Would sooner put that money into buying ammo. I don't base anything performance-wise on SS197 or AE5728a. They are just too slow to be decent HD/SD rounds. I can get better performance from Underwood Xtreme Defender or Liberty Civil Defense in 9mm, and I have more gun options.

I stocked up on EA S4, ProtecTOR I and III, and T6B long before prices went through the roof. But even 10+ years ago it was expensive compared to SS197. I have plenty on hand for HD purposes. I did all my practicing with it when it was quasi-affordable and obtainable. When I plink it's usually SS197 or AE5728a. Occasionally I will break out SS198 for new guns. T6B is only for my PS90, with SS198 as my backup. Jay at EA says that he doesn't recommend S4 for the PS90 or the Ruger 57. I've had no problems running it in my PS90. Never shot it through the Ruger. It's not a HD/SD gun, so no point to wasting ammo. Jay also doesn't recommend any of his ammo in the Kel Tec P50. I have one that I had to send back to Kel Tec to upgrade the internals because the chamber wasn't to spec, and it was ripping the case neck off of the brass. Pretty sure that's what Jay was seeing and why he recommended against shooting his ammo through it. I like mine, but it needs a brace or a stock (registered SBR). Still waiting on the brace ruling to decide if I'm going to add one or SBR it. Either way, I'll probably run T6B through it, provided it doesn't blow up, along with SS198 for backup.

VO Black Fang is still available. You just have to keep an eye on their site. They just released a bunch of ammo using their own brass. I bought Black Fang back in June. Haven't shot any, but according to Buffman, it's an exact copy of T6B.

And on the ammo front, PSA is supposed to be releasing their 5.7x28mm ammo this Nov. No idea what the pricing will be, but I'm hoping it will be lower than current AE and FN SS197. Would be nice if it was pre-2020 prices, but that ain't happening, lol.

[JaySmith]

Faster is still faster, and like I said, 5.7x28mm needs every drop of speed it can get to be effective. I see no point to spending the money to cut down the barrel of a PS90. Would sooner put that money into buying ammo. I don't base anything performance-wise on SS197 or AE5728a. They are just too slow to be decent HD/SD rounds. I can get better performance from Underwood Xtreme Defender or Liberty Civil Defense in 9mm, and I have more gun options.

I stocked up on EA S4, ProtecTOR I and III, and T6B long before prices went through the roof. But even 10+ years ago it was expensive compared to SS197. I have plenty on hand for HD purposes. I did all my practicing with it when it was quasi-affordable and obtainable. When I plink it's usually SS197 or AE5728a. Occasionally I will break out SS198 for new guns. T6B is only for my PS90, with SS198 as my backup. Jay at EA says that he doesn't recommend S4 for the PS90 or the Ruger 57. I've had no problems running it in my PS90. Never shot it through the Ruger. It's not a HD/SD gun, so no point to wasting ammo. Jay also doesn't recommend any of his ammo in the Kel Tec P50. I have one that I had to send back to Kel Tec to upgrade the internals because the chamber wasn't to spec, and it was ripping the case neck off of the brass. Pretty sure that's what Jay was seeing and why he recommended against shooting his ammo through it. I like mine, but it needs a brace or a stock (registered SBR). Still waiting on the brace ruling to decide if I'm going to add one or SBR it. Either way, I'll probably run T6B through it, provided it doesn't blow up, along with SS198 for backup.

VO Black Fang is still available. You just have to keep an eye on their site. They just released a bunch of ammo using their own brass. I bought Black Fang back in June. Haven't shot any, but according to Buffman, it's an exact copy of T6B.

And on the ammo front, PSA is supposed to be releasing their 5.7x28mm ammo this Nov. No idea what the pricing will be, but I'm hoping it will be lower than current AE and FN SS197. Would be nice if it was pre-2020 prices, but that ain't happening, lol.

I have no problems running S4 through the ruger, I have not run it out of a 16" ps90 though, ss198lf seems hot enough.

And yes, speed matters for 5.7, but there's a threshold of 2200fps that once crossed, sees diminishing gains as far as tissue damage. Federal + FBI paired up for research a few years ago to figure out the critical difference between pistol wounds vs rifle wounds. At 2200fps, the temporary wound cavity becomes the permanent wound cavity, so anything after 2200fps is just the size of the temporary wound cavity. And yes, 150fps is 150fps, but as long as you're above that 2200fps, the extra damage is done. And S4 is 2500fps out of the ruger 57, which accomplishes that goal.

I want a p50, but I'll wait until there's some decent brace options, so far I haven't seen them.

I'd like the PSA 5.7 to be good. But with the AE issues compared to FN, and they're made in the same damned fiocchi plant, I'll wait until some others can do some testing first. Unless it's $25 a box, which then I will hoard it like a dragon.

[raxar]

The last five Rugers I've bought have run just fine.

No, he has a point. I ended up getting a stainless Vaquero as a warranty replacement for my Wrangler after 2 replacement Wranglers they sent me all had the same key holing problem. And I had to polish the ejector rod housing because a burr was only letting the rod come out half way. It makes me wonder if they even bothered test firing it, because I can't see how that wasn't noticed otherwise.

[Ronin]

I have no problems running S4 through the ruger, I have not run it out of a 16" ps90 though, ss198lf seems hot enough.

And yes, speed matters for 5.7, but there's a threshold of 2200fps that once crossed, sees diminishing gains as far as tissue damage. Federal + FBI paired up for research a few years ago to figure out the critical difference between pistol wounds vs rifle wounds. At 2200fps, the temporary wound cavity becomes the permanent wound cavity, so anything after 2200fps is just the size of the temporary wound cavity. And yes, 150fps is 150fps, but as long as you're above that 2200fps, the extra damage is done. And S4 is 2500fps out of the ruger 57, which accomplishes that goal.

I want a p50, but I'll wait until there's some decent brace options, so far I haven't seen them.

I'd like the PSA 5.7 to be good. But with the AE issues compared to FN, and they're made in the same damned fiocchi plant, I'll wait until some others can do some testing first. Unless it's $25 a box, which then I will hoard it like a dragon.

The study you're referencing also looked at bullet weight. Something 5.7x28mm is lacking. The reason 5.7 needs the speed is because it's a very light projectile. It does not deliver enough energy to its target at slower speeds. More speed = more energy = good.

Any picatinny brace will work with a P50 with a picatinny brace adapter. The one that's high on my list is the SB Tactical Triangle Brace. I already have the Rehv Arms adapter for the P50. If braces become an NFA thing, then I'm just going to SBR it and go with the Midwest Industries Side Folding AK Stock.

I have shot thousands of rounds of AE through my PS90, MPA 5700, Five-seveN (when I had it), Ruger 57, and KT P50. I have never had one problem. Not one. I know others who have, so I'm not saying others haven't, but my experience has been nothing but positive. I'm not worried about PSA's offering. So far their AAC ammo has been well received, though I did see one review where someone had trouble running 9mm through their Kriss Vector. It looked more like a problem with the Vector than the ammo. At this point we need more high volume producers of 5.7 in order to bring the price down. There are lots of 5.7 gun owners that will buy decent ammo for the right price. And lots of people on the fence about getting into 5.7 waiting for the same.

[Ronin]

No, he has a point. I ended up getting a stainless Vaquero as a warranty replacement for my Wrangler after 2 replacement Wranglers they sent me all had the same key holing problem. And I had to polish the ejector rod housing because a burr was only letting the rod come out half way. It makes me wonder if they even bothered test firing it, because I can't see how that wasn't noticed otherwise.

I bought two Ruger Wranglers last year that I run in SASS matches. Both have been great.

[DavidH]

Looks like a Kel-Tec wearing slutty makeup.

I like it!

But doesn’t fold as small, only 20rds, and costs a LOT more. Yeah, sign me up! I saw “War”… Get me some of dem Titanium cases & DU bullets ammo! Yeah man!

[Emptymag]

[Ronin]

Tanner's has one on GB for $799.

[jthrelf]

No, he has a point. I ended up getting a stainless Vaquero as a warranty replacement for my Wrangler after 2 replacement Wranglers they sent me all had the same key holing problem. And I had to polish the ejector rod housing because a burr was only letting the rod come out half way. It makes me wonder if they even bothered test firing it, because I can't see how that wasn't noticed otherwise.

Stainless vaquero? Not a shabby upgrade to soothe the pain of going through that process.