Transcription
The FN57 is a weird gun. Not weird like hipster AR builds weird. Granted, 12 years ago, I literally called the FN57 a hipster gun. You know, I hate to say it, but the FN57 is a hipster's wet dream. I mean, it's weird. Like, this thing was cooked up in a Belgian lab to solve a problem most people didn't even know existed. "If I don't innovate, somebody else will. You are acting like we are engaged in some kind of mad science, but we are doing what we have done from the beginning." It's a full-size pistol that fires what looks like a tiny rifle round, holds 20 of them in a flush magazine, and recoils like a caffeinated 22, and is easily one of the most unique looking modern handguns on the planet.
But the FN57 wasn't designed to look cool. It was designed to solve a problem. No, it wasn't built for the movies. It was built for moments where the bad guy isn't just wearing a hoodie. He's wearing body armor. And to understand this thing, you got to start with this thing, the 5.7x28mm, the bullet that started it all.
Picture this. It's 1989. The Cold War is cooling down, but the threat landscape is changing. NATO's been relying on the same 9mm round for decades, but soft body armor, that's getting better. And 9mm, well, let's just say it was starting to feel like showing up to a gunfight with a typewriter. So, NATO writes up a wish list. They want a new round that's flat shooting, low recoil, high capacity, effective at longer ranges, and ideally one that says, "I want all the smoke to soft body armor." Basically, they asked for a unicorn bullet. FN Herstal said, "Say less." And in 1990, they dropped the 5.7x28mm, a bottleneck cartridge that was short, fast, and light and effective. You see, at 200 yards, a 9mm starts dropping like a rock. But the 57, with its much flatter trajectory, didn't have those problems. It was meant to give you the upper hand in moments where milliseconds matter.
The round was built for FN's new P90 PDW, a top-fed, high-capacity brick of Belgian sci-fi energy. But the engineers at FN didn't stop there. They thought, "Hey, if this round is the future, maybe the sidearm should be, too." And that's when the FN57 came into focus.
So, it's the late 90s. The Berlin walls of memory, CD burners are a thing, and FN drops the 57, a polymer frame pistol firing high-speed rounds. To some, it looked like a space gun with a weird safety. To others, it looked like the future. It came out of the gate with the IMO model, individual officer model. It had adjustable sights, trigger lock, and a double-action only trigger. Basically, it was FN's version of a blind date your friend swears has a great personality. Then came the USG model. Same sci-fi silhouette, but with a better trigger, improved controls, and an accessory rail. That's the one that stuck. US law enforcement started paying attention. Secret Service, Federal Protective Service. If your job meant you had to stop someone in armor before they got to the principal.
And then 2004 happened, the assault weapons ban expired. FN looked at the American market and said, "The 57 is weird, expensive, overbuilt, and niche." Yeah, those Americans are going to eat this up. And we did because the FN57 didn't try to blend in. It looked like a Glock that joined Daft Punk. It looked like it should beep when you holster it. And that, that weirdly worked.
Now, let's talk about the real main character. The ammo. Not all 5.7x28 is the same. Some are locked in government vaults. Some are legal. Some are just really expensive plinking rounds that hit like a high-velocity beast. Here's the breakdown. The SS190 is the armor-piercing stuff, and you can't get it unless you're military or LEO. Then there's the SS195 LF and SS200. Those are the hollow points. You can get those. Then there's the SS197SR and SS201. Those are the fancy blue tip B-Max versions and plinking rounds from FN. These are the most common civilian round and the one that gets mentioned in all of the rap lyrics, which is ironic because they're the least effective for self-defense. But FN bullets with the blue tips sound sexier than SS195. Lastly, there's the SS198 LF. These are the lead-free and they're faster, but available only for the LEO and military.
Now, was the original design meant to defeat body armor? Sure. Is that what the civilian ammo does today? No. But that didn't stop the little anti-gun groups from screaming bloody murder about the round. In 2005, the Brady Campaign, one of those little anti-gun groups that hates the Second Amendment, went all in. They called it a cop killer. They demanded it be banned. The media ran with it. But then the ATF and independent labs ran their own tests. And guess what? Those civilian rounds weren't piercing anything but the budgets of gun owners because those rounds ain't cheap. FN never marketed the civilian rounds to pierce armor. But in the eyes of the media, that didn't matter.
Meanwhile, in another universe, Call of Duty, Rainbow 6, Counterstrike, even rap songs, the 57 became a statement. Not a practical one, but a cultural one. It became a pistol with clout, or a clout pistol if you're one of those tactical killjoys who hates any gun that isn't a Gen 3 Glock 19 and costs $500. You know who you are.
For a long time, the FN57 was a one-man show. It was niche. It was expensive and had rare ammo. It had all the hallmarks to make the tactical hype beasts of the world gush over it. I'm one of those tactical hype beasts. Then something happened. The optics world exploded. And FN said, "Okay, let's modernize." In 2023, they dropped the 57 MRD. Now with a milled slide, red dot compatibility, updated grip texture, better serrations, and a trigger that finally feels like it belongs in this decade. Now, the original trigger actually wasn't that bad. It's just that this one feels that much better. Functionally, it still shoots the same, but now you can slap a red dot on it and feel like you're tagging targets in a VR simulator. Ammo's still kind of pricey. Still not at every gas station counter, but the formula works. Low recoil, high speed, big mags, handgun bullets that look like rifle rounds, and weird but undeniably cool looks. If Rick Owens carried a gun, it would be a black FN. A black FN 57.
Now, one thing I will say about the 57, it's got a loud and punchy report. Not obnoxious, but distinct. It's firing a tiny high-speed rifle-shaped round, so it makes sense. That's exactly why I never shoot it without my AKT-1 Blackout in-ear hearing protection. You see, most hearing protection is what I like to call dumb hearing protection. Sure, it protects your ears if you wear it right, but that's all it does. You can't hear your surroundings. You can't hold a conversation. And if your phone rings, forget it. You're pulling ear pro out just to take a call. But the AKT1 Blackouts aren't dumb. They're smart. I actually helped beta test them for years before they dropped. They give you six times hearing enhancement so you can hear range commands, talk to the person next to you, and still get 25 dB NR of active noise protection. Want more than that? Pair them with the AKT1 ear muffs, and you're at about 30 dB NR. They've also got active Bluetooth. So, if you want to shoot and vibe to music or take a call mid-range session, I can. 10-hour battery life, slim profile, simple tap controls. These things are legit. I don't just use them, I look forward to using them. So, if you agree we shouldn't still be using caveman ear pro in 2025, hit the link in the description section to check out the AKT1 Blackouts. And while you're there, grab some new Defend America merch from shop.mmrcolon.com. And we got the hats, the shirts, the drinkware. You know the drill.
At the end of the day, the FN57 isn't trying to be everything to everyone. It's a full-size pistol built around a cartridge that was designed to answer a military question that most civilians thought they'd never have to ask. It doesn't fit in every holster. It doesn't shoot the cheapest ammo. And it's definitely not what you'd call mainstream in the gun world, so to speak. But that's exactly the point. The 57 was never built to play by the rules. It was built to bend them and even troll them a little bit. FN took a weird little round, threw it into a space-age frame, and said, "Let's see what happens." And what happened was a gun that earned a cult following that crossed into pop culture and actually outlived the hype. Is it different? Absolutely. Is it overkill? Maybe. But is it forgettable? Not a chance in hell.
One thing's for certain, and two things are for sure. Politicians and tech giants don't want gun content to be recommended to you. And we're all fighting this culture war together. Now, you can help do your part by liking, commenting, subscribing to the channel, but most importantly, sharing this video with at least one person. Together, we can stop the suppression of our 2-way rights. And don't forget to click the link in the description section of this video for the products that I mentioned in this.