FN FNS-40 Range Report

[Bret]

I bought an FNS-40 from Palmetto State Armory a couple of months ago. It has a black slide, no manual safety and came with night sights. After the transfer from my FFL, my total out the door price was $384.19. PSA had it listed as a "closeout", whatever that means. A sticker was inside the box indicating that the pistol was made in early 2014, so I'm guessing that these are not hot sellers. I took it to the range last Friday along with 50rds Fiocchi 165gr TCEB, 50rds Federal American Eagle 165gr FMJ and 50rds Federal 180gr HST JHP.
https://s21.postimg.org/kxlmd3zif/FNS_40_in_factory_case.jpg
Accuracy was below what I typically shoot with my other 40S&W pistols. The primary cause was the trigger. I wouldn't give the trigger an F, but a D is pretty much in order. The reset is weak, rough and erratic. Instead of the pull getting heavier and heavier until a peak weight is reached followed by the release of the striker, the pull weight reaches its peak and is then followed by a good bit of travel. As a result, it's very difficult to get a good group unless you really concentrate. I don't expect a 1911 trigger or one that's even up to CZ standards, but the factory triggers in my Glocks are better. The stippling on the rear of the grip really scrubbed the palm of my hand. I like it on the front of the grip, but it's too aggressive for the rear of the grip in my opinion. If anyone knows where to get a smooth grip panel for the rear of this pistol, I'm interested. Extraction and ejection were excellent. There were four failures to feed with the Fiocchi 165gr TCEB cartridges.
https://s21.postimg.org/va7wz6t1j/FNS_40_with_failure_to_feed_Fiocchi_165gr_TCEB.jpg
I've had these cartridges fail to feed in a couple of other 40S&W pistols (but not most), so I figured it might just be this ammo since the other ammo all ran 100%.

Today I went back to the range with 50rds PPU 165gr FMJ, 50rds Geco 180gr FMJ and 50rds Fiocchi 170gr FMJ.
https://s21.postimg.org/t4dm4opl3/FNS_40_in_MTM_case.jpg
All of these cartridges fed, extracted and ejected great, so I'm confident that the Fiocchi 165gr TCEB ammo and this pistol just don't make a good combination. I do believe that most reliability problems with factory ammo are due to the pistol, but this is just an exception.

Overall, I think this pistol represents a good value for what I paid. However, I wouldn't say that it's up to the accuracy of a typical Glock and it just didn't have a good feel in my hand. As with Glocks though, not all the factory triggers are the same. Perhaps some results would have been different if I had purchased a 9mm instead of a 40S&W.

[SomeOtherGuy]

Good report. I've had one of those for a couple years, but shoot it very little. My experience has been somewhat better than yours. I changed out the arched backstrap for the flat and that really helped both my accuracy and the perceived recoil. I don't like the trigger but as it breaks in it has become OK, pretty comparable to a stock Glock trigger. Mine has been 100% reliable with Remington, Federal and CCI Blazer Brass ammo, all FMJ.

To me the FNS is a good but unexceptional effort from FN. I find nothing much wrong with it compared to its direct competition, but also nothing that stands out, and aftermarket support is close to zero. Even finding a holster for it is somewhat difficult.

On the backstrap, first off I would try the flat in OEM textured form. That may be a good change by itself. If not, pick the backstrap you like and sand the texture off. FN customer service is typically excellent, and I expect they would sell you a backstrap for very little, or possibly just give you one if you call up and ask nicely.

FYI, when changing out the backstrap try not to dent the frame in the process of moving the retainer out of the way. Ask me how I know this...

[Helix12]

OP. your experience with the FNS in .40 is completely different than mine with my FNS-9. As a 20 year Glock owner I decided to branch out into other polymer strikers due to the severe brass to face I was experiencing with my two new Gen 4 Model 19s. Severe as in at least 3-4 hot empties in the face and more usually 7-8 BTFs out of every magazine full.

The two guns I started branching out with in 2014 were an M&P9 full size and the FNS-9 in stainless. I had read that some of the earlier FNS guns had a little grit in the trigger but mine did not. It has a better trigger than any Glock that I have ever owned or shot, including the five Glocks I currently own. I use the flat backstrap and Talon grips on my FNS. It came with excellent night sights. The Talons were the only thing I needed to add simply because I did not care for the modeled in grip pattern.

Accuracy wise it is about the same as my Glocks and other polymer strikers from a solid bench rest. However, off-hand I shoot it better than my Glocks. The superior ergonomics, trigger and 1911 like grip angle help in that. I currently own 15 polymer framed strikers and have owned a number of others. Only my PPQs and VP9 get a higher rating from me than the FNS. And they don't beat it by much. I like it so much I bought the FNS-9 compact. Same trigger and same performance in a smaller package.

I have never understood choosing a gun because of the many after market products unless you plan to heavily modify it. If you don't need or plan to use buy a bunch of after market stuff why make a purchasing decision on that. Even with the number of Glocks I have owned over the years, the only thing I have ever changed are the sights. Sight changes and Talons on some guns are the only changes I make or plan to make on my handguns. Other than that they are stock.

I had no trouble finding holsters to fit the full size FNS nor the compact FNS. You won't either.

OP, sorry you less than pleased with your FNS. Although my Glocks had been stellar performers over the years those two Gen 4 Glock 19 were a source of great frustration until I found a fix for them. Hope your FNS performs better in the future as it appears you might have got one that is not up to their normal standard.

[Bret]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I wouldn't say that I regret my purchase, but if I had spent $500 or so on it I probably would. I'll work the trigger some more and hopefully things will smooth out. It might also be a 40S&W versus 9mm thing. I have a 40S&W PPQ in the safe that easily has the best trigger and accuracy of any striker fired pistol that I own. Unfortunately, feeding is unreliable with multiple brands of new factory ammo (likely related to the recoil spring assembly making chatter marks on the underside of the barrel) and Walther refuses to fix it even though they duplicated the problem. I sure wish that I had purchased a 9mm PPQ instead because I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have such issues based on feedback from others. I'm pretty confident that this FNS is going to prove out to be reliable (so long as I avoid the Fiocchi 165gr TCEB) which is the most important thing to me. After a couple hundred more rounds, I'll use it as my desk gun at work to replace my 9mm Ruger P95. Though I don't think it has good target shooting accuracy, it's plenty accurate for combat shooting.

[dwhitehorne]

OP your experience mirrors mine with the FNS. I had two different 9mm FNS pistols one with the safety and then one without the safety when they came out. If FN could get 2 pounds off the factory trigger pull these pistol would be a lot more popular. Midwest gun works has every FNS part you could want. Back straps are $5 on their site. I bought a couple and tried different stippling on them. The factory grip is a cheese grater. Also if you want to tinker, you can get some spare striker springs and trim a few. I cut up to 4 coils off and helped the trigger pull a little but don't lose that tiny pin holding the striker assembly together. Good luck with the FNS. David

[anachronism]

Hmmm.... My FNS9 had a really heavy trigger out of the box, but it smoothed out after a couple of range sessions, and I'm really happy with the gun. I must hold my guns tighter that some people, because while I noticed the more aggressive texture before I bought it, I don't notice it when I'm shooting it at all. No pain, and no discomfort at all. My gun was almost $500.00, and I still feel it was worth every penny. So far, it has lasted in my house longer than any Glock did. Me and Glocks never did bond, and I went through 9 or 10 of them because I dearly wanted to like the taste of the Glock Kool-Aid. However, it was just not meant to be.