![]() Once I had disassembled it I discovered that it really didn’t look that dirty. During my range and field-testing I put about 400 rounds through the pistol without taking the opportunity to clean it. The FNP-9 digested an assortment of bullet weights and bullet nose configuration without a bobble. The test pistol proved to be completely reliable with all loads tried. The FNP-9 spreads recoil over a larger area, and is comfortable and controllable to shoot even with the hottest loads. Greatly aiding in the pistol’s handling characteristics is the wide front and back straps. All three of these loads gave excellent accuracy, good slide velocity and flawless reliability. If I were to carry the FNP-9 for defense I would use either of the CorBon loads or the Hornady 124-grain TAP FPD loads. But, even with that, the groups show plenty of promise for a service type weapon. ![]() Getting a clear, sharp sight picture was tough and group sizes suffered somewhat from this. They are low profile and sit close to the slide top. One of the few criticisms that I have of the FNP-9 is that the sights are too small. The FNP-9 is a short recoil operated, locked breech pistol and uses the barrel’s squared chamber block to lock into the slide’s ejection port. Its external extractor also pulls double duty as a loaded chamber indicator and can be tactilely or visually confirmed as its top edge is painted red. The FNP-9’s slide is nicely contoured and constructed from stainless steel and finished with a non-reflective black coloring. The frame’s rail and barrel cradle module is also easily replaceable in the unlikely event that the gun is shot enough to cause meaningful wear, giving the pistol an unlimited service life. The design of the FNP-9 allows factory and department armorers to reconfigure the pistol to DAO or SAO by simply replacing the trigger/hammer module. Subsequent shots, unless the decocker is used, will be SA, a light, short and relatively crisp with a pull weight right around 4 pounds. Unless the hammer is manually cocked the first shot’s trigger stroke will be DA with a long and heavy (11 pounds) trigger pull. The FNP-9 with a DA/SA trigger system has an exposed hammer. The flat backstrap might also be a better choice for those with smaller hands, as it will give them better access to the trigger. This part felt better to me, almost 1911’ish, and pointed naturally for me. It felt good in my hand but I loosened the single slotted screw and slid the flat backstrap into place. The pistol’s backstrap, which also has the same style grenade checkering, is replaceable and my test sample came with the arched strap in place. ![]() It provides the shooter with enough texture to prevent slipping but does not have the sharp pyramid points of traditional checkering that can snag clothing and tear flesh. Its frontstrap has grenade style checkering for a secure firing grip. The FNH engineers designed the impact resistant polymer frame with hard use in mind. It is one of the most duty-ready guns that I have had the chance to evaluate. My test sample came with the traditional DA/SA (double-action/single-action) configuration though the gun can also be ordered or converted to DAO (double-action-only), SAO (single-action-only) or with a manual safety. It can be fieldstripped in just seconds and its slide rails can be replaced if worn. ![]() It also features an ambidextrous decocking lever and a reversible magazine release. The FNP-9 is a polymer framed pistol, weighing just 25 ounces, which possesses a 16 + 1 capacity and comes with two different backstraps to accommodate different hand sizes. Yet FNH USA seems to have been able to successfully jump each of those hurdles when they introduced the FNP-9 pistol. That’s a pretty long laundry list of requirements and each of these features presents its own set of problems and design inhibitors. It should be easy to disassemble and maintain, durable and be as versatile as possible so that it could easily be configured for mission-specific work. If I were to design the perfect defense or duty gun, my list of requirements would look something like this… It would have to be lightweight, possess plenty of capacity, have the ability to fit a wide range of hand sizes and be as ambidextrous as possible.
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