FNH FNX-45 Tactical Review

In the world of the .45 ACP, steel is king. Always was, from the inception of the cartridge, to now. 1911 owners constantly decry striker fired, polymer handguns chambered in the “Lord’s Caliber” partly because of the striker guns’ triggers not stacking up well against a good, crisp 1911 trigger. Magazine capacity is often sacrificed by those opting for a better trigger. But…..what if you could have modern duty weapon capacity, combined with a light single action trigger, and a plethora of other goodies? You can….

Enter the FNX-45 Tactical, by FNH. This is a full sized, rough and tumble, no holds barred, battle ready handgun. 15+1 round capacity in freedom loving states, 10+1 in commie places. Suppressor ready with a threaded barrel, suppressor height night sights with contrasting yellow dot tritium in the rear, green dot up front. The gun comes in a zippered soft case with 3 beefy 15 round magazines, interchangeable backstraps, an accessory pocket conveniently sized for most common .45 suppressors.

Let’s talk about some specs:

– Weight is 33.3 OZ unloaded. This is not a lightweight carry gun.

– Double action trigger pull is listed as 8.8-12.1 lbs by FNH

– Single action trigger pull is listed as 3.96-5.06 lbs by FNH.

– 6.4″ sight radius

– MSRP on this pistol is listed as $1,349.00

Perhaps the origins of this powerhouse should be explained. In the early 2000’s, the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) began soliciting offerings for their U.S. Joint Combat Pistol program. FNH submitted the FNX’s predecessor, the FNP. Though the program was later gutted, FNH made some tweaks to the FNP and gave us the FNX. It was designed as a handgun to be wielded by our most elite warfighters, and it is helpful to view many features and aspects of the sidearm in that context.

Let’s discuss the most noticeable aspect of the gun: it is huge. This thing takes 15 round, double stack .45ACP magazines. It is a handful, to put it mildly. I have somewhat larger hands, so the grip diameter is not really an issue for me. The pistol does come with some different backstrap pieces, but honestly, this is a double stack .45 ACP… There’s only so much that can be done with it, so I would highly recommend holding one before shelling out the coins.

The grip of the gun has a highly aggressive texture. It feels great and secure in your hand while holding it, however, when firing it, especially once getting past the 50 round mark, I could see a visible imprint of the backstrap on my palm. While not what I would describe as painful, I could see it becoming so if one continued shooting past the 250 round mark without gloves.  See the following photo for “backstrap imprinting.”

I am not one that would be considered a “sight snob” when it comes to handguns. I very rarely customize my handgun sights from their factory configuration. However, I do appreciate sights that are fast to acquire, crisp, and tritium inserts are always my preference. With the FNX Tactical, you get all three. They are suppressor height so that they will clear the additional height if you mount a suppressor on the readily threaded barrel. The rear tritium inserts are yellow, and the front is green. While not the brightest sights at night, they do provide reference points in low light, or no light situations. All three dots have a white outline that makes them contrast nicely with the black metal posts in daylight. The slide is also pre-cut to accept the red dot sights that are becoming very popular. In the case, you will also find a couple of adapter plates that will fit most of the big name red dots on the market.

When it comes to controls on this pistol, it really is loaded. (no pun intended) Ambidextrous slide lock/ release levers, ambidextrous magazine release, and ambidextrous safety/ decocker levers are all onboard. These are truly ambidextrous, no swapping required from side to side. I was particularly impressed with the safety and decocker feature. 1911 guys, rejoice. You can carry the FNX Tactical cocked and locked, if you want. You can also chamber a round and safely drop the hammer for a first round double action carry option. One potential issue I identified is that when sliding the safety down, you can inadvertently bypass the fire location and drop the hammer by accidently de-cocking the gun. While not a safety issue, it certainly would alter the mechanics of firing that first round.

Firing the FNX .45 Tactical is truly fun. The beauty of a truly full sized pistol is that it really soaks up the felt recoil of the .45 ACP cartridge. While the .45 ACP is certainly not even close to the wrist cracking recoil of big bore revolvers, it is still a significant step up from .380’s and 9mm handguns. The accuracy of the pistol is superb, though my target pictures may not do it true justice. The picture below is the result of a mix of grouping attempts at varying distances, in both double and single action, as well as just having fun. I have circled and labeled which was which.

So, should you go buy an FNX .45 Tactical? I would say it depends on what you plan on doing with it. For concealed carry, I would have to say no. For a “truck gun?” Sure. Home defense? I can certainly see the appeal. As a suppressor host? I can’t really say either way. While not inexpensive by any means, I feel that the FNX certainly comes loaded with features and its performance has been impeccable with a variety of brass, steel, and aluminum cased ammunition of varying projectile weights. For you 1911 guys still bemoaning the “tactical tupperware” of our present day….Catch up. This gun is basically the 1911 evolved.

 

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