Ruger-57 pistol (USA)

The Ruger-57 pistol was introduced by well-known US gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co in late 2019. This new pistol is one of the very few guns that are designed to fire 5.7x28mm cartridge, originally designed during 1990s in Belgium by FN Herstal. 5.7x28mm round was originally intended for military Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) role, offering longer range, flatter trajectory and more penetration compared to 9x19mm Luger pistol round, while being noticeably lighter and smaller than 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge. Originally there were only two weapons to fire 5.7mm cartridge, FN P90 submachine gun and FN Five-Seven pistol, both made in Belgium by FN Hesrtal. New Ruger-57 handgun is clearly aimed to compete with FN Five-Seven, primarily on American civilian market, which is much bigger than any possible military or LE market in the world. New Ruger 5.7mm pistol, while offering more or less same ballistics, magazine capacity and size as its Belgian rival, is noticeably cheaper: early 2020 MSRP for Ruger is US $799, while MSRP for FN Five-seven is US $1435.

Ruger-57 pistol

The 5.7mm round has certain appeal for civilian shooters due to its soft recoil (its recoil impulse is about two times less than recoil impulse of 9x19mm Luger), flatter trajectory and smaller case diameter, allowing for slightly bigger magazine capacity. However, 5.7mm round is noticeably longer than 9×19, making traditional pistols in this caliber less comfortable for people with medium or smaller hands or short fingers. Ballticitically wise, 5.7mm is nothing to sneer at – depending on the maker and projectile weight, its 1.8 – 2 gram (30-40 grain) bullets can reach velocities of 2200 fps / 650 m/s, and that’s form a pistol barrel.

Ruger-57 pistol

Ruger-57 pistol is delayed blowback operated gun. Its barrel can recoil against the polymer frame for a short distance. Special lever, mounted in the frame below the barrel, interacts with an angled surface on the bottom of the barrel lug, and with cuts on the underside of the slide. Pistol is equipped with internal hammer fired trigger system, which Ruger calls “Secure Action” and which appears to be a sort of single action with ambidextrous, frame mounted safety levers and added automated trigger safety. Ammunition is fed from double stack, double feed magazines that can hold 20 rounds each. Pistol is equipped with adjustable rear sight and has fiber optic insert in front sight. Top of the slide is cut and tapped for easy installation of various micro Red Dot sights. Picatinny rail on the frame, below the barrel allows simple installation of accessories such as tactical flashlights or laser pointers.

Ruger-57 pistol, partial disassembly