FN five-seven vs Keltech PMR-30

[repeter1977]

I would like to get a 5.7 FN myself. Have not seen many for sale around the NWI area, unless you want them to order one for you. I would like to see how it feels etc before plunking money down on something. So, if you do get one.... Just let me know, haha. Anyway, I have not heard many good things on any of the Keltecs as well.

 

[223 Gunner]

I have a post recall PMR 30, just found it a couple weekends ago at the stout field gun show. I took it out the next weekend, it ran great with no issues. I only fired 2 different kinds of ammo thru it. It does come with a little slip of paper that says to only use U.S. manufactured ammo, and gives 3 brands to avoid, I can't remember them off hand, but I ran Hornaday Critical Defense, and CCI TNT Explosive with no problems what so ever.
Having said that, I am in the market for a FN 5.7, but I never thought about comparing them. Is it just the capacity of the mags, that made the OP think about comparing the two? I priced 5.7 ammo at stout field and it was $25.00 for a box of 50, compared to the two brands of ammo that I purchased, the Critical Defense was $15.00 for 50 rounds, and the TNT Explosive by CCI was $13.00 for 50 rounds. I am very happy with my PMR 30, and for the guys wanting them, I would say hold off on paying for the over priced ones on-line, apparently I dealt with a very honest dealer, he knew what they are going for and what he could get. But he kept his usual mark-up, and let me have it for $381 out the door. Really nice people, him and his wife. I think they are becoming more available. Just be patient.

 

[223 Gunner]

In my above post, just to be clear, the 3 brands of ammo to avoid are not U.S. mfg'd ammo, it is all foreign ammo, which you should not be buying anyway.

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

I love the FN 5.7, and have no experience with the Keltec PMR-30, so while I would choose the FN 5.7 - I withhold my vote based on bias and lack of experience.

I have read on numerous occasions how the 5.7 round often tumbles because of its length and weight. Can anyone yield any information that confirms or denies this claim? Unfortunately, punching holes in paper has not granted any experience with this claim.

The .223 is similar in diameter to a .22, but the round acts very different based on the shape of the bullet, weight, and velocity. I would imagine the 5.7 vs .22 comparison to be similar, and would love to see more information.

 

[Panama]

I have been lucky to have been able shoot them both and to me it is the old saying, "You get what you pay for".

The KelTec PMR30 shot just fine, not tight groups, but acceptable, and it ran fine on all the ammo we feed it foreign and domestic. But it does have the feel of a $300.00 pistol.

The FN 5.7 shot like a dream, tight groups, fit and finish is what you would expect for a $900.00 pistol, the biggest drawback to me is limited ammo manufacturers and cost.

The KelTec's owner had some keyholeing issues with Hornady Critical Defense, even though it is a post recall pistol? We didn't have any when I shot it.

One is a plinker, the other is a fine pistol.

 

[williamnewman1]

ill play , ammo costs alone , id say PM30 (more shooting time) , but im not a 22mag guy , so if cost or ammo was not the issue then of course the 5.7

 

[the only Qualk]

I would like to get a 5.7 FN myself. Have not seen many for sale around the NWI area, unless you want them to order one for you. I would like to see how it feels etc before plunking money down on something. So, if you do get one.... Just let me know, haha. Anyway, I have not heard many good things on any of the Keltecs as well.

Blythes in Valpo had a couple FN 5.7 last time i was there

 

[308jake]

The 5.7 is the winner for me just because it shares ammo with PS90. Winner winner 50 rounds of hotness.

 

[Mr. FiveseveN]

I wouldn't trade 10 PMR 30's for my 5.7mm. Don't listen to the internet hype about the PMR's they are junk. A friend owns one, and has sent it back the Kel-Tec a few time and they still can't get it right... The first round he fired out of the gun rendered it inoperable.

 

[Mr. FiveseveN]

No contest... The PMR is a cool idea, the 5.7 is a work of art.

 

[nucone]

I voted for the 5.7 and do have one. It is expensive to buy and expensive to shoot but it has been 100% reliable and accurate. I personally feel the FsN is overpriced and should be down in the $600 range but with essentially no competition, it costs whatever the market will bear. I am doing research on reloading this round to reduce cost of shooting the FsN based on info that broom_jm posted some time back. I am getting closer but, I am not quite comfortable with doing this yet.

I have never shot a PMR-30 but have held them and the quality does not appear anywhere close to the FsN as would be expected for a pistol less than half the cost. My experiences with rimfire semi-automatic pistols (.22lr) has been that most all of them are very picky about ammo and even using the right stuff is no guarantee of reliability. I doubt the PMR-30 would be an exception given the video that Keltec put out on how to load a magazine to avoid feed failures. Keltec should get real - if a company has to do that to get a weapon to function, then they should go back to the drawing board.

 

[richardraw316]

I voted for the 5.7 and do have one. It is expensive to buy and expensive to shoot but it has been 100% reliable and accurate. I personally feel the FsN is overpriced and should be down in the $600 range but with essentially no competition, it costs whatever the market will bear. I am doing research on reloading this round to reduce cost of shooting the FsN based on info that jm_broom posted some time back. I am getting closer but, I am not quite comfortable with doing this yet.

I have never shot a PMR-30 but have held them and the quality does not appear anywhere close to the FsN as would be expected for a pistol less than half the cost. My experiences with rimfire semi-automatic pistols (.22lr) has been that most all of them are very picky about ammo and even using the right stuff is no guarantee of reliability. I doubt the PMR-30 would be an exception given the video that Keltec put out on how to load a magazine to avoid feed failures. Keltec should get real - if a company has to do that to get a weapon to function, then they should go back to the drawing board.

the only reason they have to tell people how to load the mag is because 22 mag is a rimmed ammo. rim lock is very easy to do on accident and the the weapon will no longer operate.

i also like the 5.7. but it does need to be cheaper, or another company should come out with their own version of it, and under cut fns' price.

the pmr 30 just looks like a fun plinking gun. not really meant to be taken seriously. and thats good. for around 300 brand new, i have no problem with that.

last but deffinetly not least. more ammo makers need to jump on the band wagon of the "not normal ammo", and start produceing it in large quanties.
5.7x28
7.62x25
9x18
380
yes i know the last one is mass produced, but going by the price, it is hard to tell.
if i have forgot your favorite ammo, please add it.

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

...both are relatively new designs. polymer, dao.

The FN 5.7 pistol was developed in the mid-90's and has been commercially available since 2000 (though only since 2004 for civilians). That is not relatively new vs. the 2009 introduction of the PMR-30.

Further, the current 5.7 pistol is not DAO. The original gun was designed with a DAO trigger, but the version legal for sale to civilians is SAO.

Finally, the PMR-30 is also SAO. Plus, since it is a rimfire, it should probably not be carried cocked and on-safe. Making it of little use for self defense.

Never mind that using a rimfire semi-auto of any type for self defense is a terrible idea, but I digress.

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

In terms of ballistic performance, it is not contest. .22 mag out of a six inch barrel maxes out at about 1600 fps (.22WMR/Magnum Velocity Tests (28,30,45gr) - XDTalk Forums - Your XD/XD(m) Information Source!), which gives a max energy of 170 Lb-ft. The PMR 30 has a 4.3 inch barrel, so it will perform a tiny bit worse.

In comparison, the slowest 5.7 round will produce at least 255 lb-ft of energy, which smokes a .380 and even gets close to some 9 MM loads.

 

[223 Gunner]

I wouldn't trade 10 PMR 30's for my 5.7mm. Don't listen to the internet hype about the PMR's they are junk. A friend owns one, and has sent it back the Kel-Tec a few time and they still can't get it right... The first round he fired out of the gun rendered it inoperable.

So far mine has been great, but I only have about 80 rounds down range.
So we will see, but it really is nothing more to me than a plinker, I would never have it for self defense.

 

[95wrangler]

What if the pmr30 was built in a .17hmr? center fire to centerfire. I would consider a pmr30 in 17hmr. 22mag is over priced and under reliable especially from keltec.

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

What if the pmr30 was built in a .17hmr? center fire to centerfire.

The .17 HMR is rimfire not centerfire. Also, the best velocity figure I could find in a pistol length barrel (6.375" in this case*) was 2100 fps with a 17 grain bullet. This would yield 166 lb-ft of energy and in a 4.3" PMR barrel, it would be less. That yields performance similar to the .22 WMR, but still dramtically worse than than the 5.7 round.

Also, I am not aware of anyone who makes a .17 HMR round with a faster burning powder optimized for a pistol barrel.

* Smith & Wesson's .17 HMR Model 647 Offers High Quality & Incredible Accuracy

 

[nucone]

Excel Arms makes a 17HMR pistol but based on reviews I have seen, there are a lot of bugs that need to be worked out before I would even consider it. Here is the mfg link; New .17 HMR and .22WMR Accelerator Pistol

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

Excel Arms makes a 17HMR pistol but based on reviews I have seen, there are a lot of bugs that need to be worked out before I would even consider it. Here is the mfg link; New .17 HMR and .22WMR Accelerator Pistol

Yeah...I saw that. Looks interesting, but I would probably pass. If I were going to buy a pistol in .17 HMR, it would be for hunting or maybe silhouette shooting and I would get a revolver.

 

[MACHINEGUN]

FN, enough said!