5.7×28 FN Accepted By SAAMI: The Little Cartridge That Could [NEWS]

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) announced that the 5.7×28 FN has been accepted! If you’re unfamiliar, SAAMI is the firearm industry organization that standardizes cartridges. 

In a nutshell, SAAMI specs are the most official standards for how a cartridge should be made. Exact dimensions, pressure averages, pressure max, etc. If a manufacturer wants to make a standard cartridge, they follow the SAAMI specs. This is how we get 9×19 Parabellum which is standard across dozens of manufacturers. 

What may surprise you is that until now 5.7x28mm developed by FN wasn’t a SAAMI cartridge, even though multiple brands like FN, AAC, Federal, and Hornady manufacture it.

Normally, major manufacturers don’t dive into non-standardized calibers. But 5.7×28 was an exception since it gained NATO standardization in 2021 and has been around since the early 1990’s. 

Developed by FN in ‘89-90 after a NATO request for a new and improved pistol and carbine cartridge, the 5.7x28mm was designed with the intent of defending Europe from invading Soviets if the Cold War ever turned hot.

With the fall of the USSR in late 1991, the Cold War ended and the dream of mass adoption of the little cartridge faded. 

Over the decades, many police and even some special forces units have adopted the 5.7x28mm cartridge along with the FN P90 SMG and FN Five-seveN pistol. It wasn’t until 2021 that NATO finally officially adopted the 5.7×28 FN cartridge. 

Does SAAMI acceptance mean anything to you? Probably not. While 5.7×28 has gained a lot of popularity in the past few years, and there are a lot more options for pistols and carbines, and the price of ammo has never been lower, SAAMI acceptance isn’t likely to trigger a mass of manufacturers to produce more than they already do now.

But we can hope.

If you’re interested in more 5.7×28 content, stay tuned because we have some fun stuff coming soon…

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