Who is FNH anyway?
OK, so I decided that I had to get a pistol made by FNH as my next purchase. Now here is the thing, I didn't know anyone that actually shot one, much owned one. (Our SimHQ member Sim does in fact own this very pistol! More later)
Why FNH? Well, Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal - or more commonly FN, has been making arms since 1889. They are a located in Herstal, Belgium. Now in 1897 they formed a partnership with John Moses Browning, the designer of the 1911 Pistol, the M2 Machinegun, the BAR Rifle, and the HiPower Pistol, which they own the patents to those.
Also, in South Carolina, FN makes over 70% of the US Militarys weapons: The M16, the M249 and M240 LMGs and the M2 Browning .50 cal.
They also make the newer SCAR rifle, along with the P90 used by Secret Service and many SWAT departments.
So, you are probably thinking "Oh, that FN company." right about now.

OK, back to review. Originally, FN produced the FNP pistol, and that design was improved on with their newer FNX model.
And I decided that I wanted to get the FNX 9mm. So let the research begin!
Knowing no one that I knew personally that has actually shot this pistol, I turned to my local gun forums and the trade magazines. Now pistol Trade Mags are all about the "sale of the sizzle" so you have to take that with a grain of salt. But the forum reviews were consist with several endearing comments: "Accurate", "Shoots everything", "No failures" "Love it!"
Ooook. So I could find no negative comments, but remember, I can't find that many comments to start with.
But I figure that with FN being around as long as they have, and making the latest and greatest platforms out there, the "I Want" was hard to resist. I went to a local gun dealer and held the pistol in my hand. Oh, it was perfect....I was smitten.

SIMHQ FTW!
I somehow stumbled across a thread where Sim says he OWNS a FNX-9. Awesome! So I fire off a bunch of PMs and we discuss it.
He affirms the positive things I have read, and suggests that I go rent it first to see if I like it...
I'm starting to really like this pistol.

To the Gun Show!
So I found out there was a Gun show this weekend and waited to see if I could get the best deal there. Usually, the Shows will beat the local guys (even though most of the vendors are THEM selling at the show) by $25-$150 dollars. It is well worth the time to go around the vendors and look for what you want.
So here I am in an area larger than 2 Wal Marts put together, and I could swing a dead cat and hit at least 2 Glock dealers, and if I kicked said cat it would hit a Springfield XD Table! Guess how many FNX pistols I found? 2!!! Are you kidding me? Two? THOUSANDS of firearms in the place, and they have two. And one was a .40 Cal. Nope. And the other was a USED FNX-9. Crap.
So I bought a knock-off Eotech holo sight for my .22 rifle, kicked the dead cat out of the way, and left.

The Wifey consoles me
I call the Wife and she says I should try and rent this gun before I order it. I protest at first, because usually rentals are very expensive. But I listen to her and say 'what the heck' and end up calling an indoor range that rents firearms.
He says he has a FNX-9, and by golly this weekend they are renting them free with Range fee and ammo purchase. Ok, usually they charge range fee (given), $15-25 for gun rental, and you have to buy the ammo from them. Marked up at 200%! "So, its free, eh? How much for the ammo?" $14 a 50Rnd box he says. "See you in a hour!" I reply. And as I am hanging up, he says "Oh yeah, we are running a special on the FNX pistols this weekend too. Maybe you might buy one." HA I think to myself...

This thing sucks
I get there later and rent the gun with 100 rounds of ammo.
I spend some time working the controls on the pistol, trying to get comfortable.
I shoot. What the!?! The impacts are all over the place. I finally shoot enough to determine that the gun is shooting 3 inches left, and 1.5 inches low. I am starting to wonder about this pistol. It "shoots" really nice, but the accuracy is UNacceptable. I don't shoot 14" spreads. HA! But it bugs me that the gun is nothing like what I have heard about it...

You're kidding, right?
I decide to take a chance. I felt that the sights had been smacked hard enough to be off, and with the ammo they gave me is "bargain brand" which means that accuracy was not part of the cost factor. So I decide to push forth and purchase the firearm. So I go to their gun counter. They have only 1 showing. Its the Bi-Tone FNX-9, like I want. And it is on sale for LESS than the Show price, and $100 less than any dealer in Dallas. WOOT! "Is that the correct price?" I ask. Yes, Smiling Salesman replies. "You take cash or Credit cards?" HA!

Are you still reading?
The FNX is a polymer pistol. It comes standard with 3 17-round magazines. It also has 4 backstraps, that you can interchange until you get the best grip on the pistol. The controls are Ambidextrous, so you can shoot comfortably in right or left hand. The safety is also a decocker, when pushed all the way down. It is a "Hammer fired" pistol, so it is a Dual Action/Single Action mechanism. This means that in Dual Action, as you pull the trigger, the hammer is cocked backwards, then released. In Single Action, the hammer is already back (2nd and successive shots) and when you squeeze the lightened trigger, it simply releases the hammer. The great thing about Hammer Fired pistols (opposed to Striker Fired Glock and XD pistols) is that should you have a misfire, you can pull the trigger again and again to see if it will fire the round. On Striker fired, once you pull the trigger, if it doesn't fire, you are forced to rack the slide to rearm the trigger.
This pistol allow you to have the Safety ON, and drop the magazine and rack the slide to clear the chamber. Nice. It also allows you to carry the pistol in "Condition One" or "Cocked-and-Locked", with the round chambered and the hammer back. Yes!
It has very aggressive stippling on the frame. The bore axis is low-centered, so the weight is even and low in your hand.
Fit and finish is excellent.

C'mon already! Pictures or it didn't happen!

The molded case is nice, and gosh darn it I really like that FN logo.



You can see how the gun fits well in my hand. Sorry for the awkwardness, I am trying to take a picture with my left hand. Ouch!



OK, so first rounds downrange! I am using a man-sized silhouette target, (B-27 Pro_G), and I am shooting two-handed standing at 30'
This is about 30+ rounds of Winchester White Box.
Notice how there are "strings" where they impact holes are touching, and in a line?
You shoot "strings" when you are looking at the target for your last shot before you take your next shot.
Obviously, you should not be doing this.

Note the 2nd Grey "8" ring. I was having a hard time keeping the range gun in the "8" ring!






Oh Yeah, that is what I am talking about
OK, so now I am feeling comfortable with the pistol and the trigger. I freshened the target, and ran it out to 25', my favorite shooting range (most all gun fights are 6'-10' in distance. And shooting at someone 50'-75' away puts you in Lawyer Territory)
I am sorry, but I can't remember exactly, but this was 22-27 rounds of Winchester White Box. I was loading between 12-14 rounds at a time.
I shot the first round. Most likely that one that is 11 o'clock to the "X". I look at it. Yes. And promptly shoot that Flyer at the bottom 8 o'clock. ARGH. Ok, no more looking after each shot, just focus, squeeze, reset, repeat.
I stopped and reloaded, and fired the second magazine.
I know see why some owners had referred to this pistol as "dead nuts accurate" out of the box.
I put the Quarter up there for scale comparison.







Conclusion and Final Thoughts
I packed up everything, and PM'd Sim to call me. I was giggling like a schoolgirl that had been asked to her first prom.
He got probably 5 words in over the next 15 minutes. Heheh. Basically I told him he way under-represented this firearm.
It is light when loaded, fits well in the hand. Recoil is negligible, and you can hardly feel it. Proof? look at the amount of "touching" holes in the first target, when I first shot this gun. That is staying right in there. I did a few more targets, and had several 3-1 hole shots. Outstanding! This gun did not hiccup, even with my limp-wristing left handed shots.
This gun is flying way under the radar. It is not well known, and it is hard to find. Both those that have it, love it.
I am impressed all around with it. Did I mention that they give a 3rd magazine? Glock and Sig do not, normally, and that is another $45 right there.
I am probably going to kick my Sig.40 SAS to the curb, and use the money from its sale to get the FNX's big brother, the FNP-45

And one more thing. I still have the hots for the FS2000 Rifle below. Just don't know if I want to pay that much for a 'Starship Trooper' weapon.

Very nice, good grouping too. It sounds like you are enjoying the FN,lol. Nicely done sir.



Bullet

Nice shootin' there, Tex!

Looks like a good pistol, and it all worked out, with the gun show starting the process off with a disappointment.

Nice gun Bill.


Wheels

Nice gun.

It's amazing how effective the recoil management is with the latest crop of pistols, despite their light weight. How's the trigger reset on that badboy?

BLASPHEMY!!!

How could you possibly talk about FN, without any mention whatsoever of the greatest battle rifle in the history of man?!

(no, not the M-14...not the M-1 Garand either...)


The FN FAL!

Also known as the SLR in Commonwealth nations like Canada, South Africa, India, Australia and any other country that matters! Hey even the US Marines have them, thought they call them T.48's...

Great writeup Bill!

Personally I'd have gone retro with a HiPower, but I guess I'm more 'oldschool' than I thought!

Rick,
Sorry my friend, I did not mention either the FAL or the MiniMi, both excellent products from FN, used in multiple countries combat groups.
I just didn't realize how vast FN was in terms of front line weaponry. And its all Shan2's fault! He had to keep on about the SCAR, and I started looking into it... hehheh.

Crane, the trigger is surprisingly smooth. The long pull of the DA is to be avoided, but the SA shots are nice. Reset is short on the trigger. I love that you can carry it cocked and locked. Seriously, one of the easiest shooting pistols I have used.

Rick,

The SCARs were pricing in at $2300 each at the Gun Show, and the Range I went to.
At the first gun shop I went to, to handle the FNX for the first time, I found myself staring at the Class 3 Wall.
Nothing on that wall was less than $15,000. HK's and the AUG were $19,999. The HK 21 was $25,000.
I asked for a drool rag. ha!

Spotted a FS2000 on the opposite side, the More Reasonable And Legal Wall. Asked "how many have you sold?"
None was the answer, to the best of their knowledge. Everyone loves to hold it, but no serious takers as of yet.

Hell ya



Nice gun though, I've heard good things about them.

FN Herstal, one of the pride of our country! They're making some real nice gun there, and it's been the same for a long time now. SAFN, FAL, FNC, Minimi, MAG (or M240 as you know it in the US), SCAR, ...

Bill, that's a really nice looking pistol you got there. Never "knew" someone who had one of those babies before, and from what you're saying, I may have to have a look at one of these.