Originally Posted By redfisher: with such a short barrel my guess is that the P90 is a VERY CQB weapon. As such what value are optics at that range? Plus what does the 5.7 x 28mm round relate to in lay terms? comparable to what- rifle cartridge, handgun cartridge? |
In semi auto fire the gun is still very accurate, and in full auto its very controllable because of the small round. The optics are not to increase its accuracy per se, but to provide for faster sighting in a CQB situation. If you've ever used an EOtech or Aimpoint you'll understand. There is no zoom on the factory optics, they are there to help you aim faster, not necessarily more accurately. Newer versions of the gun dispose of the factory optics altogether and you can put a CQB optic of your choice on the top picatinny rail. All versions have factory ambidextrous iron sights anyway. The cartridge feels alot like shooting a .22 magnum, its barely even there in terms of recoil. Of course, .22 mag doesn't go through ballistic vests.
I think for armored threats the cartridge is great, and for unarmored threats it is a poor choice. Once the round punches through the armor it deforms, yaws, or even splinters and wound trauma is dramatic, but without armor I think it tends to make a big temporary cavity but really just drill a .22 caliber hole in you. Of course you can make the exact same criticism of a G36C or AR15 shorty CQB setup with a 10 inch barrel and 5.56 NATO ammo, since the ammo doesn't reach enough velocity to fragment with such a short barrel (again, unless it hits armor first). It should be noted that a comparable AR15 or G36 setup will not be as controllable, will not be as compact, and will not have more than 30 rounds at the ready unless you opt for the heavy, bulky and sometimes tempermental Beta C mag.
I think the P90 is a good tool to add to the toolbox. It is not a wonder gun that can do all things, nor is it a useless pile of crap. Metaphorically its alot like that fancypants socket extension in my toolbox that I use to get to the exhaust bolts deep in my car's engine. It can't do as many things as a good old crescent wrench (AK47 perhaps?), but for certain situations it does get the job done faster and with less risk of damaging my car. If I could only have one tool it wouldn't be the socket extension, but it still fulfills a necessary need in my garage.
P.S. Here's a 5 minute MS Paint job of what a 16" barrel might look like on a possible civilian legal P90. Potentially I don't think it would look dumb at all.
And here is a vid taken from a recent Missouri Defensive Carbine Club shoot. You'll have to right click and save the file to your harddrive for the video to work.
www.imagestation.com/video/view.html?id=4195601179&dl=1
You can hear us laughing in the background because MODCC rules for that shoot required 10 rounds of ammo only in the first magazine, so everyone would have to reload somewhere during the course of fire. Because of the rate of fire, John only gets to light up one target before reloading. Note that with practice the reload really isn't that bad (he insists that he flubbed this reload but I don't think so, it looks quick to me). Also, you'll notice that the last target John engages is a white "pepper popper" steel plate at about 20 yards away. You engage the falling plate last; when it falls, that signals the scorekeeper to stop the time for the round. This time the plate did not fall, but it had four 5.7 mm holes drilled right through it. I believe the plate was made of three-quarter inch mild steel. So the whole part about the round being armor piercing is certainly not bullshit.
Note the absolute controllability in full auto fire. You might be able to dispute the stopping power of one round of 5.7 ammunition, but in real life CQB I don't think many "tangos" would get off so easily. 10 rounds to the head will put down anyone.
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