There is an ambidextrous 1911-style thumb safety that blocks the movement of the trigger: up for Safe, down for Fire. The safety can be engaged when the hammer is not cocked, and the long lever, while narrow, is easy to work with your thumb. There is also a safety lever on the trigger to prevent impact-related accidental discharges.
This pistol appears stretched because it sports a 4.94-inch barrel to get as much as possible out of the bottleneck high-velocity cartridge. Why 4.94 inches? Ruger says it's because the slide has a recessed breech face, so the distance between the breech face in the slide and the tip of the barrel is actually 5.0 inches."
"The Ruger's slide forward of the rear sight is drilled and tapped for an optic adapter plate, available separately at ShopRuger.com. Currently, the only plate available fits Burris and Vortex red dots."
"Current 5.7x28mm loads offer bullets between 28 and 40 grains in weight, running between 1,650 and 2,000 fps out of a handgun-length barrel. Most 40-grain loads will do roughly 1,700 fps."
Cartridge Comparison:
"The .22 TCM is meant for 1911-style guns, and it's basically a very shortened .223 case loaded with truncated 39- or 40-grain bullets. Out of pistol-length barrels, 40-grain bullets will do more than 1,900 fps.
The .22 WMR is a long rimfire round originally designed for small game rifles, but numerous pistols have been chambered in this cartridge. Loads offer bullets between 30 and 50 grains. This cartridge performs better out of rifle-length barrels, but in handguns you can expect to send 30-grain bullets downrange approaching 1,600 fps.
In terms of power, the 5.7x28mm fits between the .22 TCM and .22 WMR. However, there are other considerations.
As I mentioned, the .22 TCM is a proprietary cartridge, and Armscor/Rock Island Armory is the only company making ammo for it, and there are currently only two loads offered. Ammo for the .22 WMR is made by a number of companies, can be found all over and is the least expensive of these three calibers."
"Ballistically, it's more than suitable for small game. Hornady's V-Max bullets, available in several different 5.7x28mm loads, are designed to excel on small game. As a defensive pistol, you have merely to turn on your computer to hear the screeching of people proclaiming the 5.7x28mm cartridge is unsuitable for defensive use—never mind the fact that it was specifically designed for anti-personnel use. While the number of actual shootings involving this cartridge is low, it seems to have proven itself roughly as effective as a standard handgun round while providing less recoil, more magazine capacity, but more muzzle blast.
In ballistic gel block testing, these bullets, when fired out of handguns, vigorously fragment, and the bases penetrate 12 to 18 inches."
" With great sights, a long sight radius and an excellent trigger, shooting this pistol accurately and at speed is easy, whether you're hunting, plinking steel or training a new shooter. Currently, the only downsides are the availability of ammo and its cost."
What, Exactly, Is a ‘Cop-Killer’ Gun? (Updated) | Danger Room | Wired.com:
"News reports on the Fort Hood rampage say that the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, used an FN Herstal Five-Seven pistol — described in some reports as a “cop killer” gun.. . .
The Five-Seven is chambered for the 5.7 x 28mm cartridge, ammunition originally developed by FN Herstal for the FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon. The P90 was conceived as a compact, powerful weapon that could be carried by aircraft crews, vehicle drivers and other troops who needed a weapon that was smaller than a carbine but larger than a pistol.
. . .
Gun control group The Brady Campaign says it bought and test-fired a Five-Seven, and that it successfully penetrated a police vest. That said, it doesn’t seem quite accurate to call the Five-Seven a pocket-sized assault rifle. Its barrel would give it a lower muzzle velocity than a PN90; likewise, it strikes me as unlikely that it would give a shooter much more accuracy and effective range than a standard pistol. And plain-vanilla pistol round can be devastating enough: Think of the Virginia Tech shooter, who used a Glock 9mm and Walther .22.
We don’t know at this point a lot of the details: Exactly what kind of ammunition the shooter used; how many shots in total were fired; and at what range. That will take a lot of police work, and a lot of patience.
Still, the tragedy at Fort Hood seems likely to renew debate: Both on gun control, and on the kinds of measures to protect troops while they are on base, and unarmed.
UPDATE: Hasan bought the gun on August 1st — less than a month after he was transferred to Ft. Hood, a law enforcement official tells Newsweek’s phenomenal new Declassified blog. “At the same time, Hasan also bought several high capacity 20 round magazines that allowed him to rapidly fire off multiple rounds during the attack without reloading, the official said."
