The FN FNX pistol is a series of semi-automatic,

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

- framed

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

s manufactured in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, by FN America (branded ''FNH USA''), a division of Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal.FNX pistols are made in Columbia, SC, although marked with "Fredericksburg, VA" on the slide, indicating not the place of manufacture but the registered location of FNH's Federal Firearms License.

History

The FNX was introduced in 2009 as the successor to the FN FNP.

Design

Operation

The FNX is a short recoil operated pistol, much like many other centerfire pistols on the market. Its difference lies in the distance the barrel and the slide travel prior to the barrel dropping and unlocking. The FNX barrel and slide travel up to twice the distance of some other semiautomatic pistols before separating. This helps to reduce the felt recoil of the pistol by allowing the spring to absorb more momentum from both the barrel and the slide. The pistol is hammer fired, as opposed to striker fired; this allows the pistol to be fired in either

single action A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a tr ...

double action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. *Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action ...

mode. Its safety mechanism is based on the safety found on a

M1911 The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early hist ...

. It is possible to cock the hammer to the rear and engage the safety simultaneously to carry the weapon "cocked and locked". The safety lever acts as a

decocker Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties generally can be divided into subtypes suc ...

when pushed downward. Field stripping is accomplished by locking the slide to the rear, rotating the takedown lever clockwise ninety degrees and releasing the slide stop while carefully allowing the slide to be pushed forward out of the frame. The barrel and recoil spring then separate from the slide to complete the disassembly procedure. All FNX pistols (save some law enforcement models that are decock only) include ambidextrous safety/decocking levers,

magazine release A magazine, often simply called a mag, is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holdi ...

s, and

slide stop A slide stop, sometimes referred to as a slide lock, slide release, slide catch, or bolt hold open, is a function on a semi-automatic handgun that both visually indicates when it has expended all loaded ammunition Ammunition, also known a ...

release levers. All variations also include a

Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...

, tritium night

sights A sight or sighting device is any device used to assist in precise visual alignment (i.e. ''aiming'') of weapons, surveying instruments, aircraft equipment, optical illumination equipment or larger optical instruments with the intended target. ...

, and a

loaded chamber indicator Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties generally can be divided into subtypes su ...

on the right side.

Ammunition

The pistol is chambered for the

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...

, .40 S&W, and

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After su ...

cartridges.

Accessories

New models are sold in a plastic hard case with three magazines, and two interchangeable backstraps. As of 2012, new models include 4 interchangeable backstraps rather than two. One is shipped on the handgun and three extra are in the case. The backstraps are two different thicknesses and two different patterns (a cross-hatch pattern similar to the sides of the grip, and horizontal lines similar to the front of the grip).

Variants

As of the beginning of October 2012, the only variants of the FNX 9 and FNX 40 pistol were purely cosmetic: both the FNX-9 and FNX-40 are available with the slide finished in matte black or stainless steel.

FNX 45

The FNX 45 was released at the beginning of October 2012. It is currently available in Black, Stainless, and FDE (flat dark earth). The FNX 45 has magazines that come with 12 witness holes, numbering from 4 to 15, enabling the shooter to more accurately gauge the number of rounds left. This is in contrast to the original FNX having a hole marked 5, 10, and 14, for the FNX 40, or 5, 10, 15, 17 for the FNX 9.

FNX Tactical

The FNX Tactical was released in .45 ACP shortly after the initial production runs of the FNX 45. It features a threaded barrel, Suppressor height tritium night sights "rear yellow front green" and a milled slide to install optics like a micro red dot sight. Is available in flat dark earth (FDE) and black color options.

Users

* **

Law enforcement in the United States Law enforcement in the United States operates primarily through governmental police agencies. There are 17,985 police agencies in the United States which include list of largest local police departments in the United States, local police depart ...

References

External links

* * —FNH USA
Owner's manual
{{FN Herstal firearms FN Herstal firearms 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols .40 S&W semi-automatic pistols .45 ACP semi-automatic pistols Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2009 Semi-automatic pistols of the United States Semi-automatic pistols of Belgium