Originally Posted by
TGS
I had one for a very short time that I got on trade. I got it from another member here with the idea of 1) trying out the brand and 2) trying out cocked and locked.
1) The DA/SA was somewhat similar to my brand new P2000, but with all the grit of a SIGMA. The DA was probably lighter than the P2000, but not as smooth a pull. The SA had way more of a sponge feel before it broke the shot. I don't know if it would have improved considerably...it was pretty bad. I'm a DA/SA guy, too, so keep that in mind. It was serviceable though, unlike a SIGMA or VP70 which are abysmal and demand the intervention of the beard of Zeus to not disturb the sight picture.
2) It was painful just to hold the thing for 5 minutes and dry-fire. I couldn't imagine doing a 2 day course with it. Sharp edges everywhere, the grip is especially uncomfortable. I would wear gloves if doing any heavy shooting. FWIW, I've had 3M grip-tape on my P2000 for the last couple months, which I do all my carryin' and shooting with, so it might be a case of me being a wuss but I'm not too sure.
3) The ambidextrous mag release was junk. It was not easy to push the button, as it was generally very stiff and would also bind throughout the press of the button. I felt this way about the mag release on an FN Five-Seven as well. In addition, it was too big...and being ambidextrous, my firing hand middle finger would engage the mag release unintentionally. I had to modify my grip and hold that finger in an arc around the mag release, which is a no-go for me because it's too technique dependent to make sure the gun functions.
4) With a high grip, the function lever was digging into my right hand knuckle. This made it impossible to decock without really breaking my grip to something resembling how a person who's never received instruction on a gun would hold a pistol; almost like cradling the gun instead of gripping it. This was because my right hand knuckle would physically block the lever from decocking. Since guns come out fast and get put away slow, this was just an annoyance. I might also be heavily biased since I really like the rear mounted decocker button on the HK P-series.
5) I did not find the weapon easy to take off safe. It was nowhere near as fluid, user friendly or intuitive as a 1911. The lever just wasn't in the right spot for my hand in order to make a smooth presentation. It resulted in establishing a proper grip way too late in the presentation, since I couldn't unsafe it with a decent grip.
6) The FNX9 generally felt like it was going to break, or was assembled with material resembling cheap Taiwanese made toys you get at Walmart. It just didn't feel solid and smooth like a SIG, Glock, HK, Walther, M&P, ect. I felt this about about an FN Five-Seven as well, though to a lesser degree.
7) I've never had a mag that was so tight to load. The only time I've cheated and used an Uplula was during one class in which FredM also attended...besides that, I've always used my fingers so I don't think it's an issue of me being new to loading mags. I've loaded mags for the SIG P220, P226, P228/229, P239, CZ75 SPO1, HK USP, HK P2000, P30, P7, Glock 26/19/17/22/23, Beretta M9, XD's, Kel-Tecs, LCP's, Kahrs, FN Five-Seven, various curio and relics.....I don't know, a lot of different guns, some of which had +10% Wolff springs. I have NEVER had so much trouble loading a freakin' mag. Unless you're Andre the Giant, I would seriously recommend an UpLula even just to load up one mag.
That's about all I can remember.