5.7x28

[Brassmonkey]

So I've got 1000 loaded rounds under my belt, 800 of them on a single stage press and SS will be how I load these. The more I read the more that lil voice speaks up because everything is DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!, well danger's my middle name baby.

all jokes aside I've got quality scales, an undisturbed environment and quality components. Will be shooting these in a ruger 57

Any advice or links for stuff to read? .3 grains is supposedly the diff between min and max also seating depth is critical, Do I need a crimp die? I know not to strip the coating off the brass. what am I missing?

[MrWolf]

So you have already loaded 1,000 rounds of the 5.7? I plan on reloading them also so still in the research stage. Not sure if the SS is referring to you cleaning them with the pins as everything I've read said to not mess with the "laguer" coating as it causes ftf's, jams, you name it. There are a few examples of folks testing the various cleaning methods on the cases and the results. I have it bookmarked on my laptop (I am on tablet) if you want me to find it. Yes the powder used and grains are extremely important with the round but not much more than we would do with other calibers, just more of a chance for an issue. I am wondering if some spray on case lube or silicon spray on the brass after .owning would take the place of the coating but again I am not at the actual reloading stage. I do have dies, supposedly once fired brass that was not cleaned, and some pulled FMJ bullets but have not found any factory ammo at a reasonable price. Good luck.
Ron

[Conditor22]

From my reading -- The cases are cleaned only with simple green, by hand. Yes, due to the size of the case and the speed of the load's tolerances are very tight.

My question is if you've already loaded 1000 rounds, why are you just now asking questions.

Have you tested any of the rounds you loaded? Run them over a Chrono?

After doing research I decided not to help a friend load this round.

[jim147]

When this round first came out the big problem seemed to be using heavy bullets. I loaded a few when my brother had an AR upper but we kept it mild.

[Brassmonkey]

From my reading -- The cases are cleaned only with simple green, by hand. Yes, due to the size of the case and the speed of the load's tolerances are very tight.

My question is if you've already loaded 1000 rounds, why are you just now asking questions.

Have you tested any of the rounds you loaded? Run them over a Chrono?

After doing research I decided not to help a friend load this round.

The 1000 rounds I've loaded were .308 30.06 7mm-08 9mm and .223

I have not loaded any 5.7 as I just got the dies in from a member here.

[Burnt Fingers]

I'll be honest.

If your entire reloading experience is 1000 rounds you're not ready to load this round.

I've loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds and after careful research I decided the 5.7 wasn't something I wanted to mess with.

[Conditor22]

Do as much research as you can and be careful/precise. a minor error could be really bad with the tight tolerances of this caliber.

Ever Wonder why he sold you the dies.

[MrWolf]

Make sure you weigh each charge. Read the articles from the various folks who have done testing on the brass and related the rounds. Good luck.

[Brassmonkey]

Do as much research as you can and be careful/precise. a minor error could be really bad with the tight tolerances of this caliber.

Ever Wonder why he sold you the dies.

Cause he's a shooting sports supply salesman?

I am very meticulous when needed, will hand weigh each charge as I have for every SS loaded round I have done. I have a pretty good feel for the press and the brass I'm running through it and don't hesitate to breakdown and scrap rounds that don't meet quality standards.


SS meaning single stage press.

[roysha]

An acquaintance has the FN P-90 in that caliber. When he first got it the ammo was rather difficult to come by. After he had accumulated a bit of brass he started to reload it. Nothing but problems. Totally turned me off that cartridge. He fought the coating and when it was finally removed he had nothing but malfunctions in the P-90. Finally solved it by spraying the ammunition, after it was loaded, with HOR case sizing lube spray. My opinion, all nonsense.

When I was able to acquire a 22 TCM I jumped on it and didn't look back. I am firm believer in never saying never, so I won't say I'll never own one, but it will be a cold day somewhere before I ever own a 5.7.

[Conditor22]

Not saying never, saying be VERY CAREFUL and do a lot of research.

the lacquer coating is required to help the case grab the chamber when fired and take recoil pressure off the bolt.

People who don't clean all the lube off their cases after sizing put extra strain on the bolt because the brass no longer grabs the chamber when fired.

I wouldn't shoot cast in that gun/caliber.

My 2¢

[jaguarxk120]

How does the extra strain on the bolt happen?
Is there greater force on the locking lugs?

[Conditor22]

It's my understanding that -- when fired, the brass expands, filling the chamber and "grabbing" the chamber walls eliminating much of the force-directed on the bolt/locking lugs.

you remove the lacquer on the 5.7 or leave lube on other calibers thus reducing/eliminating the "chamber "grabbing ability of the case putting more strain on the moving parts of the gun.

[roysha]

"FN's 5.7×28mm cartridge cases are covered with a special polymer coating for easier extraction with the PS90 carbine due to the high chamber pressures and lack of case tapering. In addition, this coating ensures proper feeding and function in the magazines."

The P90 is a straight blowback action, therefore no locking lugs.

[JRD]

I have a little bit of experience with 5.7 and decided not to mess with reloading. Let me give you some information.
The PS90 carbine is a straight blowback are the 57 pistols (from FN or Ruger) are delayed blowback. The lacquer applied to the cases is to prevent them from sticking in the chamber. The lacquer application is a reason why major ammo manufacturers were staying away from the 5.7 for some time.

Also bear in mind that a bottle neck case in a blowback action results in a blown out shoulder. Take a look at the shoulder in fired 5.7 brass. If fired in a straight blowback, I bet the shoulder is .06-.09" forward of where it started and with a rounded profile. In the delayed blowback pistol the shoulder will move less, maybe .03-.06".

If you are going to reload this cartridge you will need to resize the brass including the shoulder back down to correct dimensions. I'll suggest that up to .09" shoulder bump is well beyond what is normal in reloading bottleneck cases.

In my opinion, given the lacquer requirement and known case shoulder deformation, the designers of this round did not have reloaders in mind.

If you fired the 5.7 in a locked breech gun, these factors would be irrelevant, but in blowback or delayed blowback semi autos, they are very real considerations.

Proceed with caution.

[Brassmonkey]

Well fellas, I appreciate the concern, But ima do it anyway! Decapped 748 cases this morning, al FNB HS. Now to separate those with crimped primer pockets, simple green wash and low temp dry. Resize and so on.

Also picked up a Lyman 1200 DPS 3 from a retired shooter to help me out.

How to get pics to load?

[Curly James]

Hi Brassmonkey.

I have reloaded several thousand rounds of 5.7. Clean the cases with simple green. Start at 10% below maximum for the powder charge. I prefer True Blue if you can find it. Pay particular attention to the seating depth of the bullet, use the specs in the loading manual and stay with 40 grain and under bullets. Your magazine is a good guide, seat the bullet just deep enough to feed from the magazine. Also, you will need to trim every case after sizing or run into issues that will cause pressure spikes. I typically get 3 loading from a case before I get nervous and toss them. I use a simple Lee Precision trimmer system to trim and it has been consistent. Caution in reaming the crimp from the primer pocket and don't overdo it. There is not a lot of metal down there. You know most of this already, just repeating it for safety's sake.

[country gent]

Keep in mind on small charges .1 grn is way more variance than on the bigger charges. IE if you set up mid point on .3 gr charge from starting to max +/- .1 grn is from min to max in itself.
Then the lacquer coating wear. I would suspect the flex and pressure from sizing may also have an effect on its life. Bumping he shoulder back as much as was stated above will create a lot of flex in it. I suspect these are steel cases also.

Your going to really need to watch the details with this one, and one of the newer jewelers scales that read to .02 grns may be a big plus here.

[Wis Tom]

I just hope ammo comes back soon. I have dies and still have 500 factory rounds, but can't find powder, yet, but I still am second guessing reloading this at all. Let us know how they shoot. I know one guy that reloaded 5.7 and wrapped a soft body armor plate around his arm, to test his loads. Just be careful, as not much wiggle room, in this cartridge.

[fixit]

A friend of mine is on his second ps90 ,due to his first going to pieces after a bullet lodging in the barrel during a rapid fire exercise. He is an experienced handloader, and the event has never been fully figured out. What he does know is there had been more than one failure to feed, head separation on the first reloading and beyond, and severe relocation of shoulders. Bottom line, it's a very finicky round and it requires much research and experimentation to get consistent, safe reloads with it. If I were to buy a hi velocity semi auto handgun, it would he a 22tcm...... just less finicky by nature!

[Wis Tom]

This past posting has me wondering how Brassmonkey made out, with his reloading of this caliber? No follow up?

[Brassmonkey]

This past posting has me wondering how Brassmonkey made out, with his reloading of this caliber? No follow up?

I cleaned and sized 700 cases, loaded 50 ruined about 15. Sold the gun, brass and dies. Currently torturing myself loading .25acp similar pia just less risky.

[JRD]

I wonder if anyone has tried reloading 5.7 for the new S&W gas operated locked breech pistol. That doesn't deform case shoulders like the blowback FN's and Rugers.

[Texas by God]

I’d be all over that cartridge in a petite bolt action rifle. Like .221 Fireball Lite or rimless .22 Hornet.
My nephew has the FN FiveSeven pistol and I’m not impressed with it.


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[35remington]

Gents, buy a locked breech Smith and Wesson and watch your loading problems disappear. No coating needed, no radical change in the position of the cartridge shoulder. All good.

[engineer401]

I’d be all over that cartridge in a petite bolt action rifle. Like .221 Fireball Lite or rimless .22 Hornet.
My nephew has the FN FiveSeven pistol and I’m not impressed with it.


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Preferred Barrels will make a rifle barrel in that caliber. It’s tempting.

[Brassmonkey]

I wonder if anyone has tried reloading 5.7 for the new S&W gas operated locked breech pistol. That doesn't deform case shoulders like the blowback FN's and Rugers.


For me, the Brass was just too thin. It didn't seem to be intended to be used more than once I'd get crumpled shoulder after crumpled shoulder.

[FergusonTO35]

We have all three 5.7 pistols under the glass at my local shop. The FN does not look or feel like $1300.00, if you removed all the markings from it I would assume it was a Kel-Tec. The S&W seems to be the best of the bunch, at least to my eyes.