FN
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I haven’t seen or heard of any. FN to me is a underrated brand. I have several all in different calibers and love them. They are reliable and shoot any Ammo you put in it. They are also priced fairly for such a reliable firearm.
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Can't speak to their other products but the Browning Hi-Power, as built by FN, is arguably the best military side arm ever designed...(Before the flaming starts, I'm a die hard 1911 fan too). Aside from its anemic caliber (flame on 9mm lovers), the venerable P-35 is justifiably famous. Best regards, and YMMv, Rod Here's an example.
Walt Sherrill
New member
Current production FN semi-autos...
The hammer-fired FNX line is well thought of by those who use them, and the FNX-45 Tactical, which is set up for sight systems and suppressors has earned raves from many shooters. The FNX 9mm and .40 models share magazines and barrels with the FNS line, addressed below.
The hammer-fired FNP, now discontinued, had a number of fans -- the FNX line has replaced it.
The striker-fired FNS line and the relatively new FN509 are great handguns. I have had a number of different .40s over the years, including CZs, SIGs (both metal and polymer), Glocks ( 2, 23,), and S&Ws Third Gen and M&Ps, etc.
I now have three FNS semi-autos and like the two .40s better than any of the numerous .40s I've owned -- except a CZ-40B which I foolishly let go some years ago before I really became comfortable with .40s. I have a FNS-40 (which is roughly the size of a Glock 19, a FNS-40L, which is about the size of a Glock 17, and the FNS9c. I'm not as enthused about the compact model which is only slightly smaller than the full-size models (smaller grip length), but it's the same basic design. Unlike some polymer-framed guns, the FNS guns seem to feel like a metal-framed gun in my hand. I was surprised to find out that the FNX and FNS lines can share the same barrel and magazines. (My FNS-40 9mm conversion barrel will work in a .40 FNX model, for example, and the mags work either way.)
The striker-fired FN509 seems to be a slightly modified version of the FNS design, with tweaks put in place for the recent U.S. handgun competition. It looks as though the FN509, currently available only in 9mm may replace the FNS line, so we might see a sub-compact version of that mode in the near future, and it may eventually be available in 9mm, .40 and .45. The FN509 is a nice gun, but not nice enough for me to get rid of my FNS guns.
The FN Five-Seven which fires the 5.7x28mm round. It was designed to shoot the same round as one of FN's many long guns, and it fires a light, very fast round. (I couldn't find performance specs for the various rounds available for the Five-SeveN, but the light bullet travels at speeds over 2,000 fps.
Recoil is said to be comparable to a .22 magnum round. The round is, of course, more impressive when fired from the FN PS90 and AR57 (an upper for the standard AR15.) This weapon is apparently used by 40 different military and higher-level (state, federal) police forces around the world.
I've only shot one once, and enjoyed it -- but the gun is a bit pricier than I was comfortable buying.
FN's problem, I think, is that they make so much of their income from military weapons, they've never HAD TO learn how to sell to the civilian market, at least not here in the U.S.. They're starting to do that better in the U.S., but still have a lot to learn.
The hammer-fired FNX line is well thought of by those who use them, and the FNX-45 Tactical, which is set up for sight systems and suppressors has earned raves from many shooters. The FNX 9mm and .40 models share magazines and barrels with the FNS line, addressed below.
The hammer-fired FNP, now discontinued, had a number of fans -- the FNX line has replaced it.
The striker-fired FNS line and the relatively new FN509 are great handguns. I have had a number of different .40s over the years, including CZs, SIGs (both metal and polymer), Glocks ( 2, 23,), and S&Ws Third Gen and M&Ps, etc.
I now have three FNS semi-autos and like the two .40s better than any of the numerous .40s I've owned -- except a CZ-40B which I foolishly let go some years ago before I really became comfortable with .40s. I have a FNS-40 (which is roughly the size of a Glock 19, a FNS-40L, which is about the size of a Glock 17, and the FNS9c. I'm not as enthused about the compact model which is only slightly smaller than the full-size models (smaller grip length), but it's the same basic design. Unlike some polymer-framed guns, the FNS guns seem to feel like a metal-framed gun in my hand. I was surprised to find out that the FNX and FNS lines can share the same barrel and magazines. (My FNS-40 9mm conversion barrel will work in a .40 FNX model, for example, and the mags work either way.)
The striker-fired FN509 seems to be a slightly modified version of the FNS design, with tweaks put in place for the recent U.S. handgun competition. It looks as though the FN509, currently available only in 9mm may replace the FNS line, so we might see a sub-compact version of that mode in the near future, and it may eventually be available in 9mm, .40 and .45. The FN509 is a nice gun, but not nice enough for me to get rid of my FNS guns.
FN is having some striker-related problems right now with their FNS line and the FN509 lines. FN-American issued a non-mandatory recall due to of the rare chance of an accidental discharge if either of two very rare types of slide movement occurred. FN modified the striker -- paid shipping both ways and did a very quick upgrade. (My three FNS semi-autos were gone about two weeks.) Unhappily, a few of the updated strikers have failed, but that may have been just a bad lot of parts.) Apex has also developed a new heavy duty striker and trigger system for the guns, and EFK Firedragon has an array of replacement, conversion or threaded barrels for the FNS line.
Note: I reviewed this a while after posting, and noticed that I had neglected to mention another unique FN handgun:The FN Five-Seven which fires the 5.7x28mm round. It was designed to shoot the same round as one of FN's many long guns, and it fires a light, very fast round. (I couldn't find performance specs for the various rounds available for the Five-SeveN, but the light bullet travels at speeds over 2,000 fps.
Recoil is said to be comparable to a .22 magnum round. The round is, of course, more impressive when fired from the FN PS90 and AR57 (an upper for the standard AR15.) This weapon is apparently used by 40 different military and higher-level (state, federal) police forces around the world.
I've only shot one once, and enjoyed it -- but the gun is a bit pricier than I was comfortable buying.
FN's problem, I think, is that they make so much of their income from military weapons, they've never HAD TO learn how to sell to the civilian market, at least not here in the U.S.. They're starting to do that better in the U.S., but still have a lot to learn.
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sevt_chevelle
New member
Walt, I thought the FNX and FNS mags are the same in 40 but are different in the 9mm.
I do like my FNX 40.
I do like my FNX 40.
dontcatchmany
New member
I have the FNX and FNS 40 as well as the FNX45.
The only problem I ever had with with either was bad ammo the first time I shot the FNX 45.
Several thousand rounds through each gun and not a problem.
With the 40s I have a 9mm barrel with appropriate magazines and a 357 Sig barrel with extra magazines.
All calibers are very accurate in each gun.
I wish FN would make a FNS 45 in the compact model. I would purchase one in a finstant.
The only problem I ever had with with either was bad ammo the first time I shot the FNX 45.
Several thousand rounds through each gun and not a problem.
With the 40s I have a 9mm barrel with appropriate magazines and a 357 Sig barrel with extra magazines.
All calibers are very accurate in each gun.
I wish FN would make a FNS 45 in the compact model. I would purchase one in a finstant.
Walt Sherrill
New member
dontcatchmany said:
You're right. I misinterpreted some comments I read on the FN Forum. In rechecking my source, I found that a couple of FN Forum members say that the FNX-9 mags, while a little bit loose in the grip frame, will function in the FNS9, but the FNS-9 mags won't fit in the FNX-9 grip frame. My error.
(I've had the same "loose" experience with standard CZ mags when used in the CZ P-07. They work, but are loose enough that you might worry about them dropping out. They never have dropped out for me, but that doesn't mean they can't or won't in another gun.)
Because the FNS-40 mags work in the FNX-40 and FNS-9, but the FNS-9 mags don't work in the FNX-9, it make me wonder whether the FNX-9 mags might NOT work in the FNX-40 -- i.e., too loose? I haven't seen that addressed anywhere either, and I don't have access to an FNX9 or FNX40.
The FNX and FNS barrels are interchangeable. (EFK Firedragon offers a variety of barrels for a number of gun lines, including FN pistols. Their website shows the same barrel for the FNX and FNS guns. (I had an EFK Firedragon barrel for a Browning Hi-Power, and it shot as good as the factory barrel without any gunsmith fitting, and I have one of their 9mm conversion barrels for my FNS-40. It shoot well and is a very attractive barrel. Had they had a conversion barrel for the FNS-40L when I bought that barrel, I would have gotten the conversion barrel for the FNS-40L instead.)
Seems like FN missed the boat on mag interchangeability.
I've also been told (by someone who has both), that the frame of the FNS40c is a bit beefier than the FNS9c frame, and I don't really know whether those mags are interchangeable within the FNS line, but would assume they are, because I have an FNS9c and the .40 mags fit and function in the FNS9c.) There is no FNX9c.
Some brands of 9mm hollow point being fed from a .40 magazine into a 9mm conversion or stock 9mm barrel will cause the round to hit the feed ramp at a slightly different angle, as some hollow point "mouths" (the jagged opening) can dig into the feed ramp and cause a jam. Hardball will generally feed fine, but sometime less smoothly than a .40 round when being fed into a .40 barrel. But the gun will still run.
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I am in total agreement that the FN Hi Power is the most widely used pistol in the free world and rates along with the 1911 as the best pair of pistols to be issued to military units. I have seventeen HP’s in my safes and each one, from first year of production to a mid nineties Capitan tangent sight, shoots true and is totally reliable with the 124 gr Speer Lawman ammunition I shoot in great abundance.
Are the new FN offerings as good? Others are reporting on them so I will stick with the pistols I know.
Are the new FN offerings as good? Others are reporting on them so I will stick with the pistols I know.
MisterCrabby
New member
FN Herstal makes high quality firearms including pistols. They may be best known amongst US military service members and vets for its M249 squad automatic weapon, the M240 machine gun and the SCAR.
I carried a SAW for about a year in the 82nd Airborne. Never had it go down, put a lot of rounds accurately down range but it was a bitch to clean.
Others here have covered the Hi-Power which is well regarded by civilian and military firearms enthusiasts world wide.
A lot of the firearms for the US market, military and civilian, are manufactured in Virginia and South Carolina.
Highly likely you will be pleased with the quality of design and manufacture.
I carried a SAW for about a year in the 82nd Airborne. Never had it go down, put a lot of rounds accurately down range but it was a bitch to clean.
Others here have covered the Hi-Power which is well regarded by civilian and military firearms enthusiasts world wide.
A lot of the firearms for the US market, military and civilian, are manufactured in Virginia and South Carolina.
Highly likely you will be pleased with the quality of design and manufacture.
Walt Sherrill
New member
Ibmikey said:
I've been unable to find any production figures for the Hi-Power, but appreciate that companies in Argentina and Israel also built licensed copies of the HP for a number of years, while FEG and ARCUS built unlicensed copies. Do you have production figures?
CZ makes the "most widely used" claim about their 75-based models, but they apparently count every small police department in every country in the world to make that claim, and "widely used" isn't the same as "most used." I'm a big CZ fan, but suspect marketing hype when I see cliams like that.
I agree that the Hi-Power is a great design, but seriously question whether it's the most-widely used pistol in the free world....
The last figures I saw (several years ago) was that there had been more than 10 million Glocks produced in the free world (with about a million or so more being produced every year). And I would note that the Glock design is basically the same regardless of caliber. Glock continues to revise and upgrade. One of the last major militaries still using the Hi-Power -- the British Army -- phased out their Hi-Powers a couple of years ago. They now use Glocks.
Glocks have apparently metastisized throughout the U.S. military:
While Specialized units can use a wide range of weapons, as are appropriate for the tasks at hand, it seems that Delta is now using 9mm Glock 17s, 19s, 22s, and 34s. The 75th Ranger Regiment and a number of other Special Operations and Special Forces units use M9A1s and Glock 19s. And Seal teams have apparently also switched from SIG P226s and 228s, to Glock 19s.
The U.S. bought almost 1.9 million 1911s for WWII, and they already had some in service from WWI! A number of manufacturers from big companies (Tanfoglio, Colt, SIG, S&W, Bul, RIA/Armscor, Springfield, TISAS, Taurus, etc.) are still cranking them out, as are smaller companies and custom shops. And the USMC was still buying high-end 1911s for some of it's elite specialized units just a few years ago. Only a few smaller companies are bothering with Hi-Power clones or close copies.
Beretta has sold at least 600,000 M9s to the U.S. Department of Defense, and was still buying them just a few years ago. And a lot of NATO militaries jumped on that bandwagon after the U.S. splurged, big time.
The U.S. Army may buy as many as 500,000 SIG (320) M17s/M18s, and it's hard to guess how many other NATO units will convert to that model in the coming years. (There are a lot of SIG 320s already in civilian hands. I have one.)
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In the modern years, the FN Forty-Nine comes to mind, at least in terms of "poorly designed or executed." The heavy DAO trigger was a disaster with light primer strikes and broken parts, the overall balance was awkward, and the grips had very little texture.
It came and went so fast in the early 2000s that most folks have forgotten about it entirely. The best thing to come out of it was that FN went back to the drawing board to design the FNP.
Certainly one of the most prolific and a very good pistol. But far from the best IMHO.
Every time I pick up one of mine, I'm reminded of all the small details that keep it just shy of being truly great, at least in its stock (military-issue) configuration. Things like the magazine safety, poor trigger feel, hammer bite, lack of a positive safety detent, inability to be truly safe when carried with a chambered round (prior to the addition of the firing pin safety), etc.
I know some will argue me on these things, and many can be addressed with modifications, but I find that they all add up to keep this pistol from being the "best."
"...the Browning Hi-Power, as built by FN..." It was actually designed for European police use. Hence the daft mag safety. The mag safety was not in J.M.'s original design. Supposedly 1,500,000+ produced.
Everybody forgets that the 1911 was a first generation American pistol. The BHP was a second generation European pistol. The 1911 was designed for use on horse back. The BHP was not. And ALL military pistols are primarily status symbols. They are not a primary weapon except for Military Police.
"...hammer bite..." Is caused by gripping too high. Easily fixed with the round hammer too. And all military issue firearms have 'poor' triggers. The sights are worse. Target pistols they ain't.
Everybody forgets that the 1911 was a first generation American pistol. The BHP was a second generation European pistol. The 1911 was designed for use on horse back. The BHP was not. And ALL military pistols are primarily status symbols. They are not a primary weapon except for Military Police.
"...hammer bite..." Is caused by gripping too high. Easily fixed with the round hammer too. And all military issue firearms have 'poor' triggers. The sights are worse. Target pistols they ain't.
Browning died in 1926. The pistol he was working on was eventually completed in 1935 by Belgian designer Dieudonne Saive. The gun produced by FN and sold as the Browning Hi Power is more than a bit different than the prototype Browning was working on when he passed.
According to "legend" the magazine disconnect (I refuse to call it a safety) was added to the design at the request of the French. And, after getting the gun redesigned the way they wanted, the French never bought any.
its all VERY European.
According to "legend" the magazine disconnect (I refuse to call it a safety) was added to the design at the request of the French. And, after getting the gun redesigned the way they wanted, the French never bought any.
its all VERY European.
Unless you have a statement from the designer, its always speculation when one says what the gun was designed for. Bottom line, guns are designed to work, and to be sold, the rest is mostly marketing.
While the police are always a potential market, I doubt the Hi Power was designed with police as the primary market in mind. Generally, European police forces used smaller caliber guns, until after WWII. Then they began using military service class pistols. I doubt a 9mm built in 1935 was aimed at the European police market, though I'm sure they would happily sell them as many as they wanted. Trouble was, in those days, the police didn't want them.
later on, they did...
Walt, Please insert “military” and “ free world” in my widely used statement, not indicative of today’s issue but still held it’s status until about fifteen years ago. Today it is in ever declining use or totally abandoned by military units through out the Countries which had once adopted the Hi Power. If it were not for the idiots in the UN demanding surplus weapons be destroyed we would see lots of pistols for sale here (thank you Israel for ignoring the UN’s dictate).
We used to say the FAL was "the free world's right arm" and that goes for the Hi Power as well. FN went back into the international arms trade almost as soon as the Nazis got kicked out and they could sweep out the factory...
If you weren't supplied by the US, or the Combloc, and didn't have your own arms industry to support, you went shopping, and FN was a big candy store, who would sell you either well made examples of battle proven designs or their newest stuff, today...once your check cleared.
I had a 70's commercial Hi Power. Nice gun, loved the feel of the grip. 13 shots was amazing. HATED the trigger, it took 3 men and a boy to pull it. The magazine disconnect was an irritation, and the small tab on the safely left me less than thrilled, particularly compared to the 1911A1s I was used to. Sights were good, rear was adjustable, and the gun was accurate.
But the 9mm then wasn't the 9mm now, and so I wasn't a huge fan, and eventually traded it for something else I wanted at the time, forget what, now...
FN has been making fine examples of Browning designs for a long time, widely respected for their quality. Some if their more modern designs have done very well, others less so.
If you weren't supplied by the US, or the Combloc, and didn't have your own arms industry to support, you went shopping, and FN was a big candy store, who would sell you either well made examples of battle proven designs or their newest stuff, today...once your check cleared.
I had a 70's commercial Hi Power. Nice gun, loved the feel of the grip. 13 shots was amazing. HATED the trigger, it took 3 men and a boy to pull it. The magazine disconnect was an irritation, and the small tab on the safely left me less than thrilled, particularly compared to the 1911A1s I was used to. Sights were good, rear was adjustable, and the gun was accurate.
But the 9mm then wasn't the 9mm now, and so I wasn't a huge fan, and eventually traded it for something else I wanted at the time, forget what, now...
FN has been making fine examples of Browning designs for a long time, widely respected for their quality. Some if their more modern designs have done very well, others less so.