[darkwriter77]

Anyone here ever owned/played with an FNX45? I dunno why, but FN's in general have always been kinda under the radar for me. I've never heard anything bad about them - far as I know, they're a pretty reliable brand in general, and they've been around forever - but their looks and all have always just been pretty "meh" to me. But, y'know, I'm always looking for the weird and unusual, and one thing they do have is one of the highest-capacity .45 ACP pistols around in a practically-sized package (grip isn't a 2x4 like a Glock) with a 15+1 capacity, which is kinda nice. The whole ability to tack on a light, optic, and suppressor are completely wasted upon me - never had a need or want for any of that junk - and I'm not wild about DA/SA triggers, but this one still does seem kinda nifty.

Thoughts? Experiences? Even close to being worth the price tag? (I'm more inclined towards the non-Tactical model, if it's available.)

 

[darkwriter77]

Well ... dang it ... I just proved myself wrong about the whole "I can't find any other guns to be interested in." And also proved that I am an impatient fool.

Didn't make it to the range today because I had to do some unplanned household plumbing work (rebuilding another toilet's insides and swapping on new shower valve handles). Instead, I swung by the favorite LGS, traded in my pimped-out Turkish 1911 (Tisas Regent R200S - I took off most of the added-on goodies first, of course), and came home with one of these:

Would have preferred the two-tone silver upper/black lower version, or even an all-black one, but I don't think I've ever seen either of those locally in the non-Tactical version. Nevertheless, it's still stainless (black nitride-coated) and USA-made, and it's something I'll actually carry (mostly in late fall/winter/early spring). It's definitely a handful in terms of size, but somehow it doesn't feel quite as fat as the Glock 21 or even my Glock 40 MOS. Grip texture is ... ehhhhh ... I can't decide if it's too aggressive or just right. If it starts chewing up my torso when I carry it, then I'll probably look for some rubberized Talon Grips for it, or just use a slip-on grip (or bike inner tube). But the trigger is surprisingly very good for a DA/SA, doesn't feel all mushy like those usually do, The decocker safety is easy to reach and use, it has a GREAT trigger reset and super positive CLICK you can definitely feel, and it points/aims very easily (the HUGE front dot helps). Curious to see how well it handles the recoil, since it has a so-so bore axis - not too high, but also not exceptionally low.

EDIT: Girlfriend's already referring to it as "the baby-poo brown gun."

 

[Gearhead364]

My buddy has a FNX 45 that I've got to play with. shoots super smooth and very controllable. I've enjoyed shooting it everytime I've gone out with him.

 

[Shady]

love my fnx 45 tactical

Very smooth and accurate out of the box.

 

[darkwriter77]

I've read a few threads about how, at least in the past, they had some problems with the magazine. Something about the magazine release or the slide stop rubbing/wearing against the front of the magazine follower and causing the slide to not lock back on the last round and/or preventing the magazine from dropping free. Not exactly a HUGE issue to me, really, if such a thing ever does come up with mine, since having to pull a mag out to reload instead of just dropping it out isn't exactly what I'd call a major malfunction (unless the mag is just plain seized up in there).

Otherwise, I haven't really seen anything else on these guns as potentially common problems. Have either of you ever experienced any such issues with yours? Or any other malfunctions?

 

[haertig]

A friend of mine had an FN-something-or-other. I don't know what the model was. And I don't even remember if it was a 9mm or a .45auto.

The only thing I remember about the gun was the trigger. It felt like it was full of sand. It was by far the most gritty trigger I've ever encountered. Really really bad. I don't recall anything else either good or bad about the rest of the gun, because that trigger immediately focused my attention on how unacceptable it was. My friend was a very new gun owner at that time, and he didn't know any better. I guess he just through triggers were supposed to be like that. I made mention of how I hoped his trigger might smooth out a bit with use, but didn't come right out and tell him how horrid it actually was. Never in a million years would I have bought a gun with a trigger like that.

Maybe his gun was a fluke. It probably was, because I can't see any manufacturer being able to continue selling a gun model with such an atrocious trigger.

 

[darkwriter77]

I dunno. Mine seems pretty smooth in DA mode - maybe not Kahr- or S&W-smooth, but at least Ruger revolver-smooth - and in SA there's an unusually tiny amount of takeup. My only real gripe about it is there's no real "wall" to the trigger before it breaks, so it's kinda tricky to figure out where/when it will break. The reset is really, REALLY good for a DA/SA trigger, though, in terms of how positive and short it is. The thing sort of kicks forward with the click when it resets, much like a Glock or other striker-fired pistols and not like a hammer-fired pistol.

 

[haertig]

Mine seems pretty smooth in DA mode - maybe not Kahr- or S&W-smooth, but at least Ruger revolver-smooth - and in SA there's an unusually tiny amount of takeup.

That's good to hear. Nowhere near like the experience I had with my friends gun. So his must have just been a fluke. Who knows, maybe he DID drop it in the sand or something.

 

[darkwriter77]

Could be. FWIW, Colion Noir did a review on the FNX-45 and also raved about how smooth the DA trigger is on it:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbayzx-nx7o[/ame]

 

[sargecol115]

After much research on high capacity .45's, I purchased this FNX-45 about 2 years ago. It is my night-stand weapon. I have fired 225 rounds of various FMJ and defensive ammo. Not one malfunction. It is highly accurate, and I trust it implicitly. I also had concerns about the rough texture of the grip, but after breaking it in, there was no need to cover any part of it. It is a GREAT pistol.

 

[darkwriter77]

Got out to the range today. Long story short ... I freakin' love the FNX-45. Shoots accurately, recoil is amazingly soft for a .45, texture was surprisingly effective at holding it in-place in my hands without tearing up my skin or anything at all - was about to order some Traction Grips stick-on rubber grips, but I'm loving it as-is - and not a single malfunction whatsoever in the initial 100 rounds. Front sight's easy to pick up and it points and shoots as easy as my 9mm's. TOTALLY a keeper.

Just wish it was the silver/black color combo like the one pictured above. But still ... I dig it.