From FN America . . .

Catering to the requests of shooting enthusiasts and FN brand fans alike, FN America, LLC is pleased to announce the release of new flat dark earth (FDE) offerings in both its FN Five-seveN® and FN 503® line-ups, available at authorized retailers soon.

“Today’s gun buyer is looking for variety and options, not just with accessories but with color variants that stand out in unique and noticeable ways,” said Chris Cole, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for FN America, LLC. “FN’s all-FDE models certainly stand out and we feel that these new releases in our signature color give  consumers greater options to further customize, and personalize, their gun and gear setups.”

FN Five-seveN FDE

The original FN Five-seveN®, often imitated but hardly duplicated, has two decades of trusted service with allied armies, global law enforcement and civilians.

Extending its groundbreaking design is a new, all flat dark earth frame and slide. With improved range and accuracy over common pistol cartridges, the NATO-standardized 5.7x28mm, developed by FN, is fired from the chrome-lined cold hammer-forged barrel.

Pinpoint accuracy and minimal felt recoil is standard issue. Equipped with an internal hammer, the smooth trigger with a predictable break further enhances accuracy.

This new all-FDE model, available with 10-rd or 20-rd magazines, replaces the existing two-toned FDE and Black. Existing California-compliant Five-Seven models remain unchanged.

FN 503 FDE

The latest update to FN’s micro compact 9mm pistol, now available in flat dark earth, is inspired by the company’s legendary reputation for battle-proven quality. Setting a new standard in concealed carry handguns, the 503 is more controllable and accurate thanks to a full-height grip stippling and a best-in-class trigger breaking cleanly at approximately 5.5-lbs. The FN 503 is a discreet and comfortable gun that conceals easily thanks to its slim profile. The snag-free all-metal 3 dot sights deliver an instant and crisp sight picture.To learn more about these latest offerings or explore FN’s full product line, please visit www.fnamerica.com.

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Carry the Future.® | FN America, LLC, the U.S. subsidiary of Belgium-based FN Herstal, S.A. provides U.S. military, law enforcement and commercial customers with a complete range of state-of- the-art, groundbreaking solutions developed around small caliber firearms and associated ammunition under the FN brand name.

FN Herstal is the Defense & Security entity of Herstal Group that also includes a Hunting & Sports Shooting entity (Browning and Winchester Firearms’ brand names) and operates globally.

FN product lines include portable firearms, less lethal systems, integrated weapon systems for air, land and sea applications, remote weapon stations, small caliber ammunition, as well as modern and cutting-edge solutions to provide enhanced combat, logistics, maintenance and communication capabilities.

For more information on FN’s latest products, visit us at www.fnamerica.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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40 COMMENTS

  1. Tactical peanut butter, eh? Good description. Every time I see one of these FDE things, I wonder whether it’s wax or caramel or something. You like them, then more power to you and buy a truckload, but I would not feel comfortable depending on one.

    • What makes them any less reliable than any other gun with a more “orthodox” color?

    • I Cerakoted my wife’s Glock slide and controls hot pink. It’ll still put a hole in your forehead.

      • “It’ll still put a hole in your forehead.”

        Or *your* forehead, if you ever step out on her, I suppose… 🙂

    • Don’t get me wrong fellas, I wouldn’t want to be in front of one regardless of the color. It’s just that I have a “sweet tooth” and my wife likes stinky candles, and my first thought, every time I see one of these things, is, is it soft and sweet? Where’s the wick? My second thought is, no, duh, idjit, it’s a gun. Can’t shake that first thought and it takes only a split second, but I wouldn’t want to deal with that in a situation when, as we are wont to say, the cops are minutes away. So you see, the firearm is not defective. I am.

    • “Looks like a Reese’s candy bar to me.”

      An old girlfriend of mine called ’em “Reese’s Feces”… 😉

  3. Dear FN, Thanks for a 3rd Cosmetic Option, well done. Pat yourselves on the back.

    How about giving all the Five-Seven and PS90 owners what we want and need. Obviously, the main thing is always ammo, we don’t need all the magical choices we have, just SS198LF as loaded today and in the future maybe 200 FPS Faster like EA’s S4M, which uses your bullets, with a thicker stronger case, you know you can do it. I know you say, “but SS198LF is “Law Enforcement Only”, maybe that help LE sales, but $800 for 500 rounds for civilians just sucks and its available from price gougers everywhere.

    Yeah and Blah, Blah, Blah, the BATFE won’t let you sell SS190 to the public, so we have to pay $6 a round for this 100% civilian legal ammo, I get it, government contracts are nice and we don’t want to piss them off, etc. How about some full velocity 7075 Aluminum Core civilian bullets, just the same as SS198LF with greater Brinell Hardness for a stronger core??? There is zero point to low velocity 40 grain loads, so stop putting out that junk, we need cheaper prices, same as 5.56 please. Based on the lower material costs, this should be something you could do???

    Make all the rounds 27 or 31 grain (just pick one) and launch at the same velocity and therefore hit at the same point of impact. This makes sense, we aren’t hunting anything with these, so heavier bullets are not necessary.

    Lack of good affordable ammo is keeping the 5.7x28mm guns from being more popular. These should be chambered in bolt action rifles and other platforms instead of 22 mag or Hornet, etc. Heck Ruger should be making a 57/22 semi auto rifle. Ammo is keeping people from buying these guns and hurting your profits.

    Also, Time for FN Five-Seven 2.0, no manual safety please and a “Glock Type” trigger safety. Yes we need a dedicated RMR cut machined into the actual slide too, as standard. If people want to cheap out, they can buy a HoloSun that will fit, the rest of us want a dedicated RMR, no plates please, as we don’t need 20 different optic choices, RMR cut gives you the choice of the Best or an Affordable alternative. While you’re at it, the adjustable sights pretty much suck and are too tall, as most aren’t going to mount a suppressor. A fixed, blacked out rear sight and a Hiz Viz Fiber Optic or a optional Tritium front sight should be the only choices and please use Glock dovetails. This polymer framed, blowback pistol should not cost more than a locked breach 9mm FN pistol.

    Rant Off – I love your stuff, fix these issues and we will love you more, buy more of your stuff and make you even richer. Or just keep doing the same thing and get the same results.

    • I agree with Mauser6863.
      Except the FN 5.7 round is really just a weaker, rimless copy of the .22 Hornet. Despite being developed in 1990, the 5.7 is still less powerful than the .22 Hornet which came out in 1930. The 5.7 ammo also costs more than .22 Hornet and is harder to find.

      I get that semiautos prefer a rimless round (despite the many .22 rimfire semiautos and the Desert Eagle’s ability to fire rimmed .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, and .44 Magnum), but in every other way, the .22 Hornet is better than the FN 5.7 cartridge — unless you’re firing armor-piercing ammo, which civilians can’t buy anyway! And because the .22 Hornet is considered a rifle cartridge, not a handgun cartridge, legally they could make armor-piercing ammo for the .22 Hornet and it would be legal for civilians, because the law only bans amor-piercing ammo designed to be used in handguns.

      (Or is the ban on armor-piercing ammo that “can be” fired in handguns, rather than ammo “designed to be used in” handguns? If it’s AP ammo that “can be” fired in in handguns, then it covers everything, because people have made handguns in EVERY rifle caliber, including .30-06 and .50 BMG, so if the ban is on AP ammo that “can be” fired in handguns, that bans all calibers, including rifle calibers!)

    • A 5.7×28 rifle would be nice. I’ll take one with a 16in barrel. Making it work with existing mags would be great.

    • I don’t get the desire for a 5.7 rifle. Isn’t the point of this case (if it has one) the fact that it is proportioned correctly for the amount of powder that would burn fully in a pistol or short PDW?
      As Stuck said, Hornet is better if you have a carbine; and 5.56 is better still.

      The cartridge that really deserves more attention is .22TCM – which does everything 5.7 does, but faster, and from normal-sized handguns / magazines.

    • “Lack of good affordable ammo is keeping the 5.7x28mm guns from being more popular.”

      It’s the same story for niche rounds like .300 Blackout.

      The less ammo of a particular caliber produced in an ammo plant, the more it’s gonna cost because setup time is factored into the total price charged for the production run.

      Shoot more of it, people, and the price will eventually drop…

      • Had the same amount of .300 for 2 years now. It’s pretty much worth more than gold.

  4. Ditto on 5.7x28mm ammo cost. It is the only reason I have not bought a pistol in the caliber.

  5. I won’t be buying anything in this silly-assed color. I don’t care if that color is what somebody had in the military in the desert or not. It’s ridiculous. Black isn’t that obvious in the desert. Colors don’t matter when most of the enemies of what’s left of the free world is developed enough to have thermal scopes anyway.

    • All my handguns are full black except one of my Glocks I custom built in full FDE. Love it.

      TEHO

    • GRA said: Black isn’t that obvious in the desert. Colors don’t matter when most of the enemies of what’s left of the free world is developed enough to have thermal scopes anyway.

      Rebuttal: Your statement is incorrect.

      Black is very obvious in all conditions except with a black background. It’s about contrast. In the desert, black weapons were 10x easier to acquire and identify than a weapon painted or coated to blend in with the environment. It is the same theory as camouflage.

      This holds true with unaided observation, Image Intensification Systems (aka, night vision) and Thermal Systems (aka, FLIR). The unaided and night vision reasons are obvious, but what we found was that the black weapons would absorb light/heat throughout the day and when laid next to FDE weapons, the black weapons emitted greater heat, thus being easier to acquire and identify.

      There is a reason that warfighters camouflage their gear, including weapons. FDE weapons or weapons camouflaged in an appropriate coating will make acquisition and identification harder for the enemy.

      This information comes to you from years of combat experience in the desert as well as specific testing with numerous optic systems and weapons in numerous environments. Bottom line: black weapons are easier to see.

      • REBUTTAL …

        Well … figure something else out then because if your crayon color models don’t sell they’ll go back to black, gray, and the rest of the black/gray scale of colors. This is true business and working reality which comes from years of experience both in the military, working the streets of the USA and elsewhere, and simple common sense.

      • And NO … black weapons aren’t “easier to see” in the desert or anywhere else. There will be far more combat and problems in urban areas in the future than deserts anyway. Black is far more universal and blends in to more environments urban or rural. There are still far more black Glocks sold than any other color they produce while their green and gray models sell much faster than does their FDE model. The firearms companies don’t seem to agree much with you neither.

  6. Is it too much to ask a company as large as FN to get the pigments on the slide and frame to match, so the product doesn’t look like it was assembled out of a grab bag?

    • This! ^
      How can they say, “all flat dark earth frame and slide,” when the frame and slide are two different colors? Or judging by the photos, they’re using four different colors:
      1) FN Five-seveN frame color
      2) FN Five-seveN slide color
      3) FN 503 frame color
      4) FN 503 slide color

  7. Maybe I am not understanding something. Why is it that FN only sells their 5 and 7 for military, commercial, and LE use, but the Ruger 57 is available to anyone who passes the government’s NICS infringement quiz?

    • Actually, my sister-in-law bought an FN57 here in SoCal just last year. Available to us civvies…we just have to use standard ammo.

    • That’s an easy one. Ruger is a better company and wants to encourage us common citizens to buy their products.

  9. The gunm manufacturer’s must think gunm buyers are fools.
    Would you buy ammunition if you didnt have a gunm to put it in?

  11. “Today’s gun buyer is looking for variety and options, not just with accessories but with color variants that stand out in unique and noticeable ways,” said Chris Cole, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for FN America, LLC.

    I do not want my gun to “standout” or to be “noticeable”. I applaud the FDE option, just not for those reasons.

    • If he wants to satisfy gun enthusiasts he needs to get his as out of the Romper Room crayon box and in to the machine shop and start cranking out some USA-made upper receivers for the FAL they once produced in Herstal and sold to 94+ countries as that’s where they’ll make some money. There’s as many if not more folks that want those instead of some of these new Gucci-guns they’re cranking out now.

  12. 22Cyclone x 36 (0.220″)
    5.56mm x 55 (0.223″)
    7.62mm x 150 (0.308″)
    9.0mm+P x 124 (0.356″)
    38Special+P x 125 (0.356″)
    357Magnum x 158 (0.356″)
    45-70Magnum x 405 (0.454″)

    Why does anyone need anything else?
    Good enough for muh daddy, good enough for me…..

    A lot of the newer Fancy Schmantzy crap is good for people that love color match and/or weird oddball ammo, just to be the first on the block.

    Besides, Fabrique Nationale needed Browning to develop what they did in Belgium, starting in the late 1800s.

  13. Fudds are strong on this one…..
    It’s best you s o b s don’t buy guns or ammo you don’t understand…. this ain’t “muh daddy’s or grand pappys” weapons……FN makes cutting edge weapons for the discriminating enthusiast…. DEF NOT for billy bob or ghetto jerome….. so…..I guess class is really a thing…. some people have it, some don’t lol

  14. FN said” “-…FN makes cutting edge weapons for the discriminating enthusiast…. DEF NOT for billy bob or ghetto jerome…”

    I am in company of five discriminating billy bob enthusiasts. S&W leads the pack, with Ruger and Taurus close behind in choice of guns. None have any FNs.

    Just checked FN, S&W, Ruger, Taurus, Beretta and Kimber websites.

    FN guns look kinda blah, compared to the other five. I guess utilitarian has it’s place in the pecking order somewhere…I happen to like either heavy shiny objects, or heavy total blackouts.

    ALL of my guns are one or the other. Additionally, none of us have any ammo problems. We use common caliber ammo and between us five, 80k+ rounds

    My personal favorites are the Marlin 45-70 shooting the 405 grain Buffalo bore Magnum and the Model 60 S&W shooting a 357 Magnum.
    We are billy bobs in flyover country, though none of us are “ghetto jeromes”, and we’re not very worried about violence like the big city folk.

    Final verdict: Fabrique Nationale is fine for them there fancy dandies in Belgium and France. Of course, not too many of them own guns, so what do they know…

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