The FN FNX-45 Tactical in Flat Dark Earth (FDE) is a hammer-fired semiautomatic, short-recoil-operated pistol modeled after the FNP-45, which was FN’s service pistol that was submitted to the U.S. Joint Combat Pistol Program in 2007. What sets the FNX-45 Tactical apart from the base model FNX-45 is the threaded muzzle, which can readily accept suppressors, compensators, and other accessories. Also included are suppressor-height tritium night sights (rear yellow/front green). The Tactical version also comes with three 15-round extended magazines. The stainless-steel slide has been modified to accept multiple types of optics. Ambidextrous controls include the magazine release, safety/decocking lever, and a slide-stop release lever. Interchangeable backstraps with lanyard eyelets are included, fitting both left- and right-handed shooters.
Two screws hold a top plate in place, and it is removed and replaced with an adapter plate and reflex sight. Two adapter plates for a Trijicon RMR and for a Docter USA red dot were provided. The other pistols lacked this feature. We mounted a Burris FastFire 3 using one of the plates and screws provided. Installation was simple. First, place the plate on the slide, then use two screws to mount the optic. The iron sights of the FN were tall and co-witnessed with the red dot. They were also 3-dot night sights, and the shooter-facing side was serrated to reduce glare. We liked these sights the best in this test, with the Mark 23’s sights coming in a close second. The cocking serrations were placed in good locations forward and rearward, so racking the slide was easy. Neither the G21 nor the M23 had forward cocking serrations on the slide. The FN used a flat coil spring and solid guide rod in its front end.
The grip angle of the FNX-45 Tactical is similar to a 1911, which makes it a natural pointer. Unlike the other pistols, the FN’s polymer frame offered four different backstraps: arched or flat and either checkered or ribbed. We needed a small hex wrench or a paper clip to remove and replace the inserts. The inserts made the pistol feel like it had less girth, which we thought was impressive because the FN holds 15 cartridges in a double-stack magazine. The grip sides were checkered and offered good texture without abrasion. The trigger guard was undercut so users can grasp the pistol high.
The slide rides on steel rails within the frame, like with all the other pistols, but they were replaceable on the FN. What also set the FN apart from the Glock was the trigger system. The FNX-45 Tactical uses a traditional DA/SA trigger with a double-action press that was smooth and consistent, measuring on average about 13 pounds, though testers felt it was less. In single-action mode, the press averaged slightly over 5 pounds, which we thought improved accuracy, and which to some extent also helped the M23. The FN trigger was wide, so pulling force was spread across a larger surface area of the finger. The trigger reset was short. We liked this trigger a lot.
The hammer was round and serrated and allowed easy cocking. Elsewhere, the magazine-release button, decocking lever, and slide stop were ambidextrous, another valuable feature missing from the Glock and more ambi than the HK. The magazine release worked precisely. The thumb of the shooting hand naturally falls on top of the decocker, which decocks the hammer from SA mode and places the pistol on Safe when in DA mode. It functions like a 1911 thumb safety; up position is Safe; the down position is Fire. In the Fire position, a red warning dot was exposed. The slide-stop lever was inset into the polymer frame to avoid moving it inadvertently.
Steel double-stack magazines fed the FN, and they were fairly easy on the shooter’s thumbs when reloading, even when loading the fifteenth round. The floor plate on the FNX’s magazines was large and rounded, so slapping home a fresh magazine into the magazine well was easily accomplished with or without gloves.
Our Team Said: The FNX-45 Tactical was more accurate overall with and without a suppressor attached, though the M23 won a couple of accuracy head to heads. The FNX-45 Tactical ran without incident, shot accurately with a suppressor, and had a fantastic accessories package, as well as having a slide cut for optics attachment.
