SADJ 7#3
The FNS 9 By Bob Campbell A SUPERIOR POLYMER PISTOL The FNS 9 9mm self-loading handgun is Fabrique Nationale’s entry into the lucrative polymer frame striker fired service pistol market. These handguns are the most popular police service type and also have become very popular for personal defense and concealed carry. While the FNS 9 is going against formidable competition, the pistol gives up little, if anything, to any competitor and has advantages over most. The FNS is a locked breech, recoil operated, striker fired design with a magazine capacity of 17 plus one rounds. FN has previously introduced a line of double action first shot handguns. The S in the FNS stands for Striker Fired. While there is nothing new about this type of handgun, the fact that FN Herstal is manufacturing a quality polymer frame service pistol is good news. Fabrique Nationale D’Herstal, often referred to as simply FN, is among our oldest manufacturers of firearms. The company produced the Browning Auto 5 shotgun, the Browning High Power 9mm pistol, and many other famous designs. FN also manufactures service grade firearms for military use, including machine guns and a respected AR-15 variant. FN enjoys an excellent reputation for reliable and rugged firearms. The FNS pistol is manufactured at a modern facility in Columbia, South Carolina. The pistol features a polymer frame and a steel slide. The slide configuration is unique to the manufacturer and resembles other FN products. The pistol locks up by butting the barrel hood into the ejection port. The pistol unlocks by means of angled camming surfaces at the bottom of the barrel. The trigger action is a double action only type. When the slide is racked the striker mechanism is partially cocked. By pressing the trigger the striker is driven to the rear of the slide against spring pressure until the sear breaks and the striker 26 SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM
is released. This results in a lighter trigger pull weight compared to a double action first shot pistol that must both cock and drop the hammer. There is little take-up in the trigger and trigger reset is very fast. The FNS trigger breaks at 7 pounds trigger compression and clean. The pistol’s metal parts are attractively finished in a deep Melonite finish. (The slide is actually dark finished stainless steel.) This finish is far more durable than conventional blue finish. The slide features forward cocking serrations that are ideal for gloved hand use or a worst case scenario. The controls, the slide lock and the magazine release are fully ambidextrous. These controls not only make the handgun attractive to the left handed shooter they also give any combat shooter a handgun that is fully capable of ambidextrous use if the situation calls for firing around a corner to firing from cover Above Left: After a thorough evaluation, the FNS 9 stands head and shoulder above many other 9mm handguns. Above Right: During tactical drills the FNS pistol showed excellent combat ability. SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 27
- Page 1 and 2: VOLUME 7, NUMBER 1 DEFENSE VOLUME 7
- Page 3 and 4: SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 3
- Page 5 and 6: SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 5
- Page 7 and 8: www.forcit.fi SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM
- Page 9 and 10: COLUMNS 10 INDUSTRY NEWS JASON WONG
- Page 11 and 12: NEW PRODUCTS VOL 7 NO 3 by CHRIS A.
- Page 13 and 14: Newest SureFire Scout Light Provide
- Page 15 and 16: Ross & Zheng Engineering Unveils Ne
- Page 17 and 18: firearms, combined with the inabili
- Page 19 and 20: DIRECT IMPINGEMENT AR It is no secr
- Page 21 and 22: B C A: The PWS Modern Musket rifle
- Page 23 and 24: MODERN MUSKET along with patrolling
- Page 25: site, suggests the use of both wash
- Page 29 and 30: every case there were no failures t
- Page 31 and 32: SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 31
- Page 33 and 34: DPMS GII SASS .308 Win. AR Rifle By
- Page 35 and 36: A Meopta MeoSight red dot was affix
- Page 37 and 38: DPMS GII SASS.308 Win. AR Rifle and
- Page 39 and 40: DPMS GII SASS.308 Win. AR Rifle cam
- Page 41 and 42: operational (internally powered) co
- Page 43 and 44: atomic bomb was to WWII, especially
- Page 45 and 46: Weapons of the Republic of Korea Ma
- Page 47 and 48: Korea Marine Corps OPPOSITE PAGE TO
- Page 49 and 50: Korea Marine Corps country’s Agen
- Page 51 and 52: Korea Marine Corps launcher that is
- Page 53 and 54: Korea Marine Corps without magazine
- Page 55 and 56: Korea Marine Corps to 20 rounds can
- Page 57 and 58: SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 57
- Page 59 and 60: LEFT: Where the Dror springs were m
- Page 61 and 62: LEFT: Outside the Dror Shemen facto
- Page 63 and 64: OPPOSITE PAGE: Melvin Johnson Jr. g
- Page 65 and 66: Family of Multi-Purpose Infantry Mu
- Page 67 and 68: less-lethal to full lethal versions
- Page 69 and 70: performance of the Mini MPIM. In de
- Page 71 and 72: Beretta’s ARX160 5.56x45mm rifle
- Page 73 and 74: SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 73
- Page 75 and 76: SHOW COVERAGE OPPOSITE PAGE TOP: Ka
is released. This results in a lighter trigger<br />
pull weight compared to a double action<br />
first shot pistol that must both cock and<br />
drop the hammer. There is little take-up<br />
in the trigger and trigger reset is very fast.<br />
The FNS trigger breaks at 7 pounds trigger<br />
compression and clean.<br />
The pistol’s metal parts are attractively<br />
finished in a deep Melonite finish.<br />
(The slide is actually dark finished stainless<br />
steel.) This finish is far more durable<br />
than conventional blue finish. The slide<br />
features forward cocking serrations that<br />
are ideal for gloved hand use or a worst<br />
case scenario. The controls, the slide lock<br />
and the magazine release are fully ambidextrous.<br />
These controls not only make<br />
the handgun attractive to the left handed<br />
shooter they also give any combat shooter<br />
a handgun that is fully capable of ambidextrous<br />
use if the situation calls for<br />
firing around a corner to firing from cover<br />
Above Left: After a thorough evaluation,<br />
the FNS 9 stands head and shoulder above<br />
many other 9mm handguns. Above Right:<br />
During tactical drills the FNS pistol showed<br />
excellent combat ability.<br />
SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 27
Change language