FNX/FNS Owners

J

Jacket67

New member
I'm looking at potential options for a first handgun and occasional carry. I live with my girlfriend and she has claimed she would be a lot more comfortable with a gun that has a manual safety. While I don't think it's a big deal to have only passive safeties (ex: Glock), I'd prefer her to be more comfortable using it as well.......

Anyway, I like these two guns... and then again I don't. I've seen reviews of the FNX with a very flimsy magazine well (guy nearly made the sides touch), and then another where the hammer wouldn't fully decock or even fire when the trigger was pulled. Does anyone have experience with either of these guns, and if so, what has been your experience?


**I am considering other options heavily, but please, for the sake of this post, stick to these two firearms. Thank you.
 
I own an FNS, and it is a solid pistol. I have not seen any issues with flimsy plastic when it is hot. It is accurate, and the trigger is decent.

I say give the FNS a good look. Their price is attractive, so I understand the interest.


As far as a safety, that can be a big hill to climb due to a inherent misunderstanding of how firearms work by the average person.

Do not push it too hard, but simply iterate the simple facts... any pistol in active use has the safety disengaged anyway, and a striker pistol is designed to make it impossible (or extremely unlikely) for the mechanism to release and fire without the trigger being pulled, so if it is just sitting there untouched, it is just as safe as a pistol with a safety. For the typical hammer fired pistol, if the pistol is in your hands for use in defense or the range, the safety is off. The safety is only used during administrative tasks like holstering, storage, when loaded and in the hand but not in the ready to fire position, or when not in use but is loaded.

On a striker design (and many modern hammer fired pistols)... There is a block that stops the pin from hitting the primer should it manage to release without the trigger pulled, and the striker is blocked from releasing in the first place, even from things like bumps, jars, or drops. In the case of a glock, when the trigger is at rest, the trigger bar and what basically equates to a sear, is physically blocked from moving downward so the striker can fall.

Partial tension striker designs like the glock and FNS have an extra layer of safety, in that when the trigger is at rest, the striker does not have enough tension to drive forward with enough force to ignite a primer.

If after learning how the system works, your other half still has reservations, then I suggest you acquiesce to her wishes. As comfort levels grow with the presence of a firearm, you can push more for a safety less design.


If you have questions about other models, feel free to ask.
 
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FNS is a solid pistol. Also look at the CZ P07 and P09. They can have a decocker or safety, and you can switch them out.
 
I like the trigger on the FNX better than the FNS; but if you like the Glock trigger, the FNS compares favorably. Both are accurate with good ergos. The manual safety on the FNX is about a thousand times better if you plan to actually carry it. The FNS reminds me of the old tiny Hi-Power safety.

Having said all that, when I considered both to replace my Hi-Power, I decided not to exactly because I was concerned about longevity on a shooting schedule of 6,000 rounds a year or so. I was looking for some significant maintenace gains over the Hi-Power and just didn't feel like either pistol was going to deliver.
 
I own the FNX tactical, and it is a fun gun to shoot. Tried squeezing the magazine well with both hands on mine and do not have the problem that other person had. In my opinion if you hands are small the fnx tactical might not be to your liking. My brother got rid of his because handle was to bulky.
 
The concern about flimsy polymer seems to have been based on ONE particularly badly made FNX. I've seen no other examples cited or complained about. Many FNX users on the FN Forum haven't complained of or seen anything like that problem gun.

There isn't presently much in the way of after-market parts for FNH weapons, but I've not seen much need for them. There is rumors of things like the APEX trigger kits coming in the not-too-distant future. And some parts are hard to get IF you don't send the gun in for service... I expect that to get better, but it only so-so, now. (Glock is first rate in that respect.)

I've had a bunch of different guns over the years. I like Glocks, and love the Glock 34. But I prefer the FNS line to Glocks if only because the grip design suits me better. I've had Glock 35s and S&W M&P PROs in .40 and couldn't shoot either well, but find the FNS-40 shoots beautifully for me. (My greatly updated S&W M&P Pro in 9mm -- lots of Apex upgrades -- is simply outstanding!!)

The CZ P-07 and P-09 are also great choices, if you prefer the hammer-fired guns, but everyone I've talked with who has FNX guns love them too. And the FNX 45 seems to be held in particulary high regard.
 
Training, practice and gaining experience with any pistol will help your girl overcome her preference for one over the other.
Eventually she will discover that the gun is the least of it.
I did spend an afternoon with the striker fired version.
It was just fine, in all regards.
No better or worse than a lot of others, but just as good.
No reason not to choose it.
 
The FNX/FNS is a really under rated handgun. I've had time behind both, and they are remarkably similar in fit, finish, feel, etc. Very accurate. I shot a 2" group at 10 yards with my first magazine, and the guy who had handed it to me asked 'you have one of these?' (I don't.) It's just an easy shooting handgun. The FNX has one of the smoother DA/SA setups around. There is very little 'stacking' of the trigger, the increase of tension as you near the sear, as you find on a lot of other triggers. The reset is a little longer than I like, and less positive (my Glock 19 has an extra power trigger spring to improve the reset, and the Sig P-series with a short reset trigger is a kind of gold-standard for amazing reset) but still very shootable.

I'd not hesitate to own either the FNX or the FNS, though I'd probably lean towards the FNX personally. The safety/decocker takes a bit of training to get a handle on, and the worst case scenario is that a swipe of the safety will decock the weapon, rendering it fireable, albeit with a longer pull. The honest truth is that you'd have to be gorilla-handsing it to manage that, as the decocker doesn't engage until relatively deep in the swipe of the safety/decocking lever.

The FNX allows you to train with both methods of carry, which is honestly far more complicated than just picking one method (striker or DA/SA vs Manual Safety, cocked-n'-locked). For a new shooter, I'd strongly recommend picking one system and sticking with it.
 
What part of the world are you in?

I know here just outside DC we have at least one range with both models in their rental pool.

You might see if a range near you offers the same.

My FNS 9 had been my primary handgun for a few years before work made me start using a Glock 19.

I'm trying to get approval to carry the FN, or i should say i'm trying to talk my wife into letting me buy another FNS because I have the stainless with a safety, and work requires all black no safety...
 
When I let a friend talk me out of my Glock 21 I replaced it with an FNX-45. It is a great gun and I have been extremely happy with it. What caliber of gun are you looking to get? The 9mm and 40S&W guns are smaller than the 45 versions.
 
I've had a fnx 9 for over 4 years it's sees regular use in my local club matches and has accompanied me on two desert biathlon shoots. The gun has been nothing less than outstanding. The trigger is very easy to actuate the single action is short and light. The da pull is smooth and the decocker has never failed. The gun has seen about 6 to 7 thousand rounds. I replaced a recoil spring as a precaution. In that time the gun has never jammed despite being shot almost exclusively with reloads. I can't reccomend the gun highly enough.

I now own a fns 40 long slide as well that gun is new only about 6 months and a thousand rounds or so. So far no problems I can't complain the ergos are very similar besides the trigger. I actually prefer the trigger of the fnx though I learned to shoot with da/SA triggers so I'm a bit biased.
 
My FNX-45 is excellent. I cant say anything bad about it, just understand that it would be difficult to conceal. Its a duty sized pistol. Its rock solid reliable, and very accurate. At 10 yards, it will "one ragged hole" all day long.
 
The FNX-45 is a great gun. It might be the highest capacity .45-caliber handgun on the market and it nicely accommodates different carry styles, from "cocked and locked" to traditional DA/SA. They are solidly designed, despite feeling like a toy when empty. I think that feeling is a side effect of being such a large polymer gun with polymer controls. I was actually skeptical when I first held one but after a few thousand rounds, I was convinced. I wouldn't worry too much about flexing an empty mag well. It feels fine with the magazine. Speaking of, I think the gun comes with three magazines and that's a nice touch.

Of course, it really is a big gun. Holsters for it seem less common too. Those can be important factors when deciding on an all-day carry gun. The FNX-45 might be more of an outdoors gun. I imagine that the 9mm and .40 S&W models are built on a smaller frame but I've never seen one up close.
 
Also you might look at a Bersa thunder 9mm a very good gun for the money and not over priced safety decker 2mags 17rd around 500 or less very accurate and will shoot any thing and keep on ticking
 
I had a FNS 40. I liked it except for the fact that it was a 40 and did not have the manual safety. Had it been a 9mm with the safety I would probably still have it. It was very accurate. I just prefer a thumb safety and don't care for 40 cal.
 
I have an FNS 40 (with a Sig 357 barrel), a FNX 40 (some times it has the Sig 357 barrel) and an FNX 45.

All three are exceptional weapons.

I purchased them explicitly for the external safety and the decocker. I have over 3000 rounds through each and they are very accurate ...... better than me :D.

I like the .40 S&W.

I also recently purchased a Glock 27 and it is a good weapon, but not my favorite.

Of all the semi automatics the FNH weapons are, to me, superior to other handguns that I have including a Sig P938....but the Sig is in my pocket most times. This time of year when wearing heavier outer wear, the FNH pistols are with me for owb carry.

Did I mention that I like .40 S&W. ;)
 
The Ruger American can be had with ambidextrous thumb safeties, nice big 1911-like ones, not little hard-to-swipe ones like most other safety-equipped polymer pistolas.

The safeties are available on both the full and compact Americans. I went for the Compact with the safeties. I can recommend this pistol.

Bart Noir
 
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