Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm Pistol 4 in. 20+1 Tan Optic Ready – Superbly High Capacity

Description

The Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm holds twenty rounds in a single-stack grip, which sounds like a contradiction until you remember how small the 5.7 cartridge is. The magazine sits in the grip the way a rifle magazine sits in a rifle – straight, narrow and deep – and the result is a pistol that carries a duty gun’s round count in a grip a small hand can reach around.

Four-inch barrel, optic-ready slide, tan frame and slide with a black barrel, and Kel-Tec’s usual approach of solving a problem in a way nobody else has tried.

Part number PR57TAN, UPC 640832010244. Deep stock.

What the Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm is

• 5.7x28mm, 20+1 capacity in a single-stack magazine
• 4-inch black steel barrel
• Tan optic-ready slide with serrations
• Tan polymer frame with an aggressively textured grip
• Compact frame size
• Striker fired

What 5.7x28mm actually does

• The Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm fires a small, very fast bullet – typically 40 grains at around 1,700 to 2,000 feet per second from a pistol barrel, which is roughly twice the speed of a 9mm and a third of the weight
• Recoil is genuinely light. Less than 9mm, noticeably, which makes fast follow-up shots easy and makes the pistol pleasant for shooters who struggle with a full-size service round
• Muzzle blast and flash are the other side of that. Small case, fast powder, short barrel – it is loud and bright
• Terminal performance divides opinion honestly. It penetrates well and defensive loads are now much better than the early ones, but it does not make a large hole the way a bigger, slower bullet does
• Ammunition costs more than 9mm and fewer shops stock it. Check your local supply before you commit to the cartridge – we stock it, but you should know what you are signing up for

Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm specifications

• Manufacturer part number: PR57TAN
• UPC: 640832010244
• Calibre: 5.7x28mm
• Capacity: 20+1, single stack
• Barrel: 4 inches, black steel
• Slide: tan, optic ready, serrated
• Frame: tan polymer, compact
• Grip: textured
• Action: striker fired

Twenty rounds in a single stack

The Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm magazine is the part worth understanding before you buy. Most twenty-round pistols are double stacks, which means a wide grip that small hands cannot reach around properly. The 5.7 cartridge is narrow enough that Kel-Tec could stack twenty of them in a single column, so the grip stays slim front to back and side to side.

The trade is grip length. The magazine is long, so the grip is tall – it will print at the bottom under a shirt the way any full-length grip does. As a duty, truck or home pistol that is irrelevant. For deep concealment it is a real consideration.

Ammunition

We stock Fiocchi 5.7x28mm 40gr FMJ in quantity, which is the practice load this pistol wants. As with any pistol you intend to rely on, run a box of your chosen defensive load through it before you trust it. 5.7x28mm is standardised by SAAMI.

Other 5.7x28mm guns we carry

Kel-Tec also make the R50 rifle in the same cartridge, which shares ammunition and gets considerably more velocity out of a sixteen-inch barrel. The Ruger LC Carbine is the other 5.7 long gun in the range.

Why the Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm earns its place

• Twenty rounds in a grip a small hand can actually hold
• Light recoil, which makes it easy to shoot well and easy to shoot a lot
• The Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm is optic ready from the factory
• Nothing else on the market solves the capacity-versus-grip-size problem this way
• Deep stock, so no waiting

Buy this if the grip circumference of a double-stack pistol is a problem for you, or if you want high capacity with very little recoil – it is genuinely excellent at both. Small hands, arthritic hands, new shooters and anyone who simply wants twenty rounds without a fat grip.

Do not buy it expecting 9mm ballistics in a smaller package, because that is not what 5.7 is. It is a different trade: speed and capacity and low recoil in exchange for a light bullet and expensive ammunition.

And Kel-Tec designs are unconventional by intent. If you want a pistol with a thirty-year service record and a holster on every shelf, this is not it. If the idea interests you, the Kel-Tec PR-57 5.7x28mm is one of the more genuinely original handguns on sale. MAG5 Firearms ships to your FFL.