The FN FS2000: A Complete Review *several updates*

[Dionysusigma]

Front sight flipped around for added sight radius.

Reading comprehension FTW.

[lloydkristmas]

Just saw my thread bumped up to the front page.

Since you asked for an update....I sold the gun several months ago. I got $1900 for the entire package, so I consider that a wise move since 1) they were selling for about 1300 at the time, and 2) it had a couple of reliability issues that I just couldnt look past.

If I remember correctly, I had a couple of random rounds of quality brass ammo get jammed up inside the action and resulted in a failure to feed.

I had already been considering moving in another direction with my primary long gun, so I took this as my cue and put her up for sale.

In the end, I loved the rifle, but I just didnt trust it 110%. I'm pretty OCD about the reliability of my weapons, so this was a deal breaker. Dont get me wrong, I had THOUSANDS of rounds fired reliably, and only a handful of issues, but I just had this feeling and she had to go. Like that cheating wife youll never trust again type of thing. Ha.

In summary, if you are buying an FS2000, be prepared to make a couple of changes if you want it to be a 'serious' gun.

1) charging handle. track down one of the metal ones
2) optic. or at least new irons. I liked HK 416 sights, MBUS worked well too.
3) good GI mags.
4) modify the foregrip to accept a light. The tri rail is way too heavy.

If you get it, Im sure youll enjoy it. Like others have said before me, it would be an awesome gun to have in your stable, but would I want it to be my ONLY go to long gun? Eh. Not really.

[andy t]

As another former FS2000 owner, I disagree with lloydkristmas about having FS2000 in your stable.
You should only get if you want "something cool, and space agey looking" - to quote a student that had FS2000 at a course once. My main reasons for selling it were the following:
1. Drastically different manual of arms from ARs - my primary platform.
2. Couldn't fire Mil-Surp ammo, although there are fixes for that.
3. Potential part support issues.
4. The magazine issue - while moot to me, since I live in AWB state, so I can only have preban USGI 30 round magazines, maybe important to some.

Ironically, even the guy that bought my FS2000, ended up selling it too, since he had his "serious" gun (AR pattern carbine) already and needed the money elsewhere.

[lloydkristmas]

As another former FS2000 owner, I disagree with lloydkristmas about having FS2000 in your stable.
You should only get if you want "something cool, and space agey looking" - to quote a student that had FS2000 at a course once. My main reasons for selling it were the following:
1. Drastically different manual of arms from ARs - my primary platform.
2. Couldn't fire Mil-Surp ammo, although there are fixes for that.
3. Potential part support issues.
4. The magazine issue - while moot to me, since I live in AWB state, so I can only have preban USGI 30 round magazines, maybe important to some.

Ironically, even the guy that bought my FS2000, ended up selling it too, since he had his "serious" gun (AR pattern carbine) already and needed the money elsewhere.

The point I was trying to make is that if you had a bunch of long guns at your disposal (i.e. a collection) it would be nice to have one. It is an example of one of the most technologically radical civilian guns available. But if you only have one rifle, dont make it this one. Kind of like with cars....I'd love to have an exotic or two, but would I want them as my only car, or as my daily driver? No thanks.

I think we're actually in agreement regarding this weapon. Cool, sure, but less than serious and more range-toy than anything else.

[Ed L.]

As another former FS2000 owner, I disagree with lloydkristmas about having FS2000 in your stable. You should only get if you want "something cool, and space agey looking" - to quote a student that had FS2000 at a course once. My main reasons for selling it were the following:

1. Drastically different manual of arms from ARs - my primary platform.

If that is an issue to you, you should probably not own an AK either, or an M1 Carbine, or anything different from your primary AR.

2. Couldn't fire Mil-Surp ammo, although there are fixes for that.

There is a very easy fix for that: remove the captive spring around the firing pin. I did this and had no trouble with milsurp, including notoriously hard primered Radway Green.

The manufacturer added the captive spring and a lighter firing pin in response to the gun sometimes doubling with some commercial ammo. They overdid it, but it is easy to fix.

3. Potential part support issues.

You can buy parts from FNH USA if you need them.

4. The magazine issue - while moot to me, since I live in AWB state, so I can only have preban USGI 30 round magazines, maybe important to some.

The gun takes standard aluminum and steel AR mags. These are available all over the place.

I've seen LMT lowers that do not drop empty PMAGs free. Does that mean that LMT gets relegated to the same category as Bushmasters, DPMS, and Olympic?

I'd be interested in hearing more on how LloydKristmas' FS2000 went down the tubes, as that is much more of a reason to avoid the gun.

[lloydkristmas]

^^I wont quote the whole post Ed, but to respond to your question...

Over the course of 3-4 range trips I had (I think) 3 malfunctions where the gun mangled a couple of casings and failed to feed/eject. The gun was clean, oiled, etc. The mags were fine, and the ammo was (again, I think) Winchester 5.56 and some Federal .223, both of which I had never had issues with previously.

A huge reason I let the gun go was the fact that I got way more for it than I had invested in it. I also didnt trust it 100%. I loved the gun, but there were other projects I wanted to sink the money into instead, so I let it go.

There were no "hard feelings" so to speak, I just wanted to move on to something else. At this point I wouldnt be surprised if the malfunctions were bad rounds, given the less-than-stellar QC from Winchester these days.

I wouldnt hesitate to reccomend the FS2000 to other shooters, I'd just ask them to think about the intended role of the gun. There's no reason it couldnt be a 'go to' weapon if that is what someone wanted it to be. It would just take some practice getting used to the manual of arms and some investment in good magazines and sights/optic.

[PanzerJaeger]

I think we're actually in agreement regarding this weapon. Cool, sure, but less than serious and more range-toy than anything else.

I was under the impression that this was a mil-spec weapon that has seen some adoption among special forces and other units around the globe. Is the civilian version sold here in the states made to a different standard a la the Sig 556?

[lloydkristmas]

I was under the impression that this was a mil-spec weapon that has seen some adoption among special forces and other units around the globe. Is the civilian version sold here in the states made to a different standard a la the Sig 556?

Other than the obvious differences, I dont believe that the civilian version is built to any less quality standard than the F2000 military version.

It has the same build QUALITY as FN's Mk16/Scar, but the DESIGN is inferior, I believe. The workmanship on the FS2000 is great. Parts are machined nicely, fitment is nice and tight, etc. The gun works as intended, but therein lies the problem. It's sort of a system teetering on the edge of chaos, where any sort of issue will throw everything out of sync.

It seems to have less of a tolerance for bad mags than other military type weapons, as well as a lesser tolerance for low grade ammo.

Would I consider it in the same league as the SCAR/HKMR556? In terms of build quality and workmanship, yes. In terms of soundness of function and overall effectiveness? No.

It's a much better gun, in my opinion, than the Sig 556 or ACR, however. Those guns are abortions. The FS2000 is more of an example of engineering masturbation that doesnt quite serve the needs of a modern (serious) fighting force. It sure is interesting though.

[soldier-of-the-apocalypse]

I want to shoo one of these so bad I've shot the ps90 and that gun is incedible

[JoshNC]

I consider the FS2000 an interesting rifle as part of a reference collection. It is an interesting design and also neat in that it is a factory FNH-produced rifle.