The 5.7x28mm is a small-bore, bottlenecked, rimless centerfire cartridge firing a nominal .224-inch (5.7mm) bullet, developed by FN Herstal of Belgium in 1990 for its P90 personal-defense weapon and later chambered in the Five-seveN pistol, and loaded today by FN, Fiocchi, Hornady, Speer and others for personal defense, duty, training and range use in pistols such as the FN Five-seveN and Ruger-57 and in the FN PS90 carbine.
This guide charts six loads from FN, Fiocchi and Hornady, each with the figures that maker publishes for one item number. Only Hornady publishes anything past the muzzle, so the downrange and drop sections rest on a single load. The last section sets the cartridge against the 9mm Luger using SAAMI, and says plainly where SAAMI has nothing to say about the 5.7x28mm.
5.7x28mm ballistics chart
Each row is one load, identified by the maker’s own item number, with the figures that maker publishes for it. Read across a row rather than down a column, because the test barrel changes from row to row: FN’s figures are for its Five-seveN pistol, Hornady’s are for a 4.8-inch test barrel, and Fiocchi publishes no test barrel and no muzzle energy, only a velocity. FN’s own pages also list separate figures for the PS90 carbine, which are not in this table. The Maker’s application column is the maker’s own wording for what the load is for. None of the three makers publishes a ballistic coefficient for these loads, so the table has no column for one.
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Load | Item no. | Bullet weight | Bullet | Muzzle velocity | Muzzle energy | Maker’s application | Test barrel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FN Jacketed Hollow Point | 10700030 | 30 gr | Jacketed Hollow Point | 1,894 fps | 239 ft-lb | Personal defense, DFNS line (SS200), FBI-protocol terminal testing per FN | FN Five-seveN pistol |
| FN Full Metal Jacket | 10700031 | 40 gr | Full Metal Jacket | 1,700 fps | 257 ft-lb | Training / range, GUNR line (SS201) | FN Five-seveN pistol |
| Fiocchi Jacketed Frangible | 57JF35 | 35 gr | Jacketed Frangible | 1,700 fps | Not published | Self-defense / indoor range, Hyperformance Defense line | Not published |
| Fiocchi Full Metal Jacket | 57FMJ40 | 40 gr | Full Metal Jacket | 1,700 fps | Not published | Target shooting, Range Dynamics line | Not published |
| Fiocchi Full Metal Jacket | 57SUB62 | 62 gr | Full Metal Jacket | 1,025 fps | Not published | Subsonic / suppressor-friendly target shooting, Range Dynamics line | Not published |
| Hornady V-MAX | 90001 | 40 gr | V-MAX | 1,810 fps | 291 ft-lb | Varmint / personal defense, V-MAX Black line | 4.8″ test barrel |
Velocity and energy downrange
Only one of the six loads comes with velocity and energy past the muzzle: Hornady’s 40 gr V-MAX, published at 100, 200 and 300 yd from a 4.8-inch test barrel. Each cell gives velocity, then energy. FN and Fiocchi publish nothing past the muzzle for the loads charted here, so there are no rows for them rather than estimated ones, and 300 yd is as far as any figure on this page reaches.
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Load (test barrel) | Muzzle | 100 yd | 200 yd | 300 yd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornady 40 gr (4.8″ test barrel) | 1,810 fps / 291 ft-lb | 1,383 fps / 170 ft-lb | 1,095 fps / 106 ft-lb | 947 fps / 80 ft-lb |
Bullet drop, with the zero range stated
A drop figure means nothing without its zero range, so the zero is stated in the row. Hornady’s table is for a 100 yd zero and gives inches above or below the line of sight. It is again the only load with published drop figures, and the 0 in at 100 yd is the zero itself rather than a measure of how flat the bullet flies.
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Load (zero) | 0 yd | 100 yd | 200 yd | 300 yd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornady 40 gr (100 yd zero) | −1.5 in | 0 in | −17 in | −62.9 in |
What the numbers mean for a shot
Start with what the muzzle table cannot do, which is rank these loads. FN’s 30 gr Jacketed Hollow Point is the fastest at 1,894 fps, Hornady’s 40 gr V-MAX follows at 1,810 fps, and three loads are listed at exactly 1,700 fps: FN’s 40 gr Full Metal Jacket, Fiocchi’s 35 gr Jacketed Frangible and Fiocchi’s 40 gr Full Metal Jacket. Fiocchi’s 62 gr load is the slow one at 1,025 fps, and it is the one the maker lists as subsonic. A shared velocity does not make a shared load. Two of those three are both 40 gr Full Metal Jackets, one from FN and one from Fiocchi, and only FN says which barrel and which energy go with its 1,700 fps; the third is a 35 gr frangible. The makers’ stated purposes differ as well: training and range for FN’s, self-defense and indoor range for Fiocchi’s frangible, and target shooting for Fiocchi’s Full Metal Jacket.
Muzzle energy is published for three loads only: 239 ft-lb for FN’s 30 gr at 1,894 fps, 257 ft-lb for FN’s 40 gr at 1,700 fps, and 291 ft-lb for Hornady’s 40 gr at 1,810 fps. The two FN figures come from the same pistol, so they compare cleanly: the heavier, slower bullet carries more energy than the lighter, faster one, because energy depends on bullet weight as well as on the square of its speed. Hornady’s 291 ft-lb is published for a 4.8-inch test barrel, so it should not be ranked against FN’s pistol figures; the tables do not say how much of the gap comes from the load and how much from the barrel.
Downrange, the only evidence is Hornady’s 40 gr V-MAX. It leaves the barrel at 1,810 fps and 291 ft-lb, is at 1,383 fps and 170 ft-lb at 100 yd, 1,095 fps and 106 ft-lb at 200 yd, and 947 fps and 80 ft-lb at 300 yd, the furthest range Hornady lists. Nothing here says what FN’s or Fiocchi’s bullets do at any range past the muzzle, and this page does not guess.
Drop follows the same pattern. On Hornady’s 100 yd zero the bullet is 1.5 in below the line of sight at the muzzle and level with it at 100 yd, then lands 17 in below the point of aim at 200 yd and 62.9 in below at 300 yd, so the fall steepens quickly once you are past the zero. Because no maker publishes a ballistic coefficient for these loads, there is no published figure to feed a ballistic calculator; for a different zero, distance or barrel, treat the table as a starting point and confirm on a range.
Twist rate, chamber and pressure
SAAMI publishes a maximum average pressure, a test barrel and a twist rate for each cartridge it standardises, and the 5.7x28mm is not among them: FN and CIP specify it instead. That is why the comparison table further down shows no SAAMI pressure, barrel, twist or groove figure for it, and why none is quoted here. Do not borrow the figures printed beside that blank: the 35,000 psi ceiling (38,500 psi for +P) and the 1 turn in 10.00 in twist in that table belong to the 9mm Luger, not to this cartridge.
The practical rule is the ordinary one, and it matters more when no SAAMI figure exists to lean on. Fire the 5.7x28mm only in a firearm marked for it, such as the FN Five-seveN, the Ruger-57 or the FN PS90 carbine, match the cartridge named on the box to the chambering marked on the firearm, and follow that firearm maker’s guidance on ammunition.
5.7x28mm vs 9mm Luger: what SAAMI does and does not compare
Two makers’ catalogue tables cannot be set beside each other honestly. Each maker tests its own load in its own barrel, and the muzzle table above shows how far that varies: a Five-seveN pistol for FN, a 4.8-inch test barrel for Hornady, and no stated barrel for Fiocchi. A gap between two boxes may be the barrel and not the load. SAAMI is the one shared basis, because for every cartridge it standardises it fixes the test barrel, the twist and the pressure ceiling and lists reference loads whose velocity is taken the same way, so the comparison below is built from SAAMI’s figures alone.
One side of it is empty as a matter of fact, not omission. The 5.7x28mm does not appear in ANSI/SAAMI Z299.3 Centerfire Pistol & Revolver (2022); FN and CIP specify it instead, so there is no SAAMI figure to place beside the 9mm Luger. The two load rows are the 9mm Luger’s 115 gr and 124 gr reference weights, with nothing listed for the 5.7x28mm beside them.
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| SAAMI specification | 5.7x28mm | 9mm Luger |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | None | Z299.3 |
| Maximum average pressure | No SAAMI figure | 35,000 psi |
| Maximum average pressure, +P | No +P standard | 38,500 psi |
| Standard test barrel length | Not standardised by SAAMI | 4.000 in |
| Test barrel twist rate | Not standardised by SAAMI | 1 turn in 10.00 in |
| Test barrel groove diameter | Not standardised by SAAMI | .3550 in |
| Light reference load | Not listed | 115 gr — 1,135–1,210 fps / 329–374 ft-lb |
| Standard duty weight | Not listed | 124 gr — 1,030–1,170 fps / 292–377 ft-lb |
Read the 9mm Luger column first, because it is the only one with numbers. SAAMI sets its maximum average pressure at 35,000 psi, or 38,500 psi under the separate +P standard, and measures it in a 4.000 in barrel with a 1 turn in 10.00 in twist and a .3550 in groove diameter. The 115 gr light reference load is listed at 1,135–1,210 fps, computed at 329–374 ft-lb, and the 124 gr standard duty weight at 1,030–1,170 fps, computed at 292–377 ft-lb. Each is a range because SAAMI lists more than one reference velocity at those weights, and the energy is computed from velocity and bullet weight because SAAMI publishes velocity and not energy.
The 5.7x28mm column is where the table stops helping. With no SAAMI entry there is no pressure ceiling, test barrel, twist, groove diameter or reference load to set against those, so the table cannot say which cartridge is more powerful, or by how much. It also says nothing about bullet shape or ballistic coefficient, because SAAMI publishes neither.
None of the 5.7x28mm loads charted above states a 4.000 in test barrel, so setting their muzzle figures beside this column would mix measuring bases. Compare them with one another instead, and within one maker’s table where you can.
We stock the other side of this comparison too: 9mm ammo.
5.7x28mm ballistics questions
Is the 5.7×28 more powerful than the 9mm?
Not on any basis this page can measure. SAAMI has no 5.7x28mm entry, so the comparison table has the 9mm Luger’s figures (a 35,000 psi maximum average pressure; 115 gr at 1,135–1,210 fps, or 329–374 ft-lb) on one side and no SAAMI figure on the other. The 5.7x28mm muzzle energies the makers publish come from their own barrels, not SAAMI’s 4.000 in barrel, so putting them next to the 9mm column would not be like-for-like. “More powerful” can also mean speed or penetration; the tables give velocity and energy only, with no penetration figures.
What caliber is the 5.7×28 comparable to?
The tables cannot name an equivalent. The 5.7x28mm fires a nominal .224-inch (5.7mm) bullet, and the loads charted here run from FN’s 30 gr up to Fiocchi’s 62 gr, against the 115 gr and 124 gr 9mm Luger reference loads in the SAAMI table, whose test barrel has a .3550 in groove diameter. The makers list these loads for personal defense, training and range use, target shooting and varmint use, and the cartridge is chambered in pistols and in the FN PS90 carbine. For a number-for-number comparison with another cartridge you need that cartridge’s figures from a test barrel matched to the one behind the 5.7x28mm row you are reading.
What is the 5.7×28 round good for?
The makers’ own application notes in the muzzle table answer it load by load. FN lists its 30 gr Jacketed Hollow Point for personal defense, with FBI-protocol terminal testing per FN, and its 40 gr Full Metal Jacket for training and range use. Fiocchi lists its 35 gr Jacketed Frangible for self-defense and indoor range use, its 40 gr Full Metal Jacket for target shooting, and its 62 gr load for subsonic, suppressor-friendly target shooting. Hornady lists its 40 gr V-MAX for varmint and personal defense. What the round suits depends on the load, not only the cartridge.
How does the 5.7×28 compare to the .223 Remington ballistically?
The tables here do not include the .223 Remington, so they cannot answer that, and none of the makers’ figures charted here is set against it. What they do give is the 5.7x28mm’s own record: 1,894 fps and 239 ft-lb at the muzzle for FN’s 30 gr from the Five-seveN pistol, and 947 fps and 80 ft-lb at 300 yd for Hornady’s 40 gr V-MAX from a 4.8-inch test barrel. A fair comparison needs the .223 Remington’s figures from a test barrel of the same length as the one behind the 5.7x28mm row.
What is the bullet drop of a 5.7x28mm bullet at 100 yards?
Only Hornady publishes a drop table for these loads, and it is for the 40 gr V-MAX with a 100 yd zero, so its drop at 100 yd is 0 in. That figure is the zero itself, not a measure of how flat the bullet flies. The same table has the bullet 1.5 in below the line of sight at the muzzle, 17 in below at 200 yd and 62.9 in below at 300 yd. FN and Fiocchi publish no drop figures for their loads, so their drop at 100 yd is not published.
Is the 5.7×28 more powerful than the .22 Magnum?
No .22 Magnum figures appear in the tables, and none of the makers’ figures charted here is set against that cartridge, so this page cannot rank them. The 5.7x28mm’s own muzzle energies, where a maker publishes them, are 239 ft-lb (FN, 30 gr), 257 ft-lb (FN, 40 gr) and 291 ft-lb (Hornady, 40 gr, 4.8-inch test barrel); Fiocchi publishes velocity only. Set those against a figure for the other cartridge only if it comes from a test barrel of the same length, and treat any such comparison as approximate.
Where to buy these loads
Every load in the tables above is stocked at Hilltop Armory. Browse the full 5.7×28 ammo range, which carries makers beyond the ones charted here — the tables are limited to loads whose manufacturer publishes figures that could be verified, not to everything on the shelf.
