jeff-10 said:
Been on my radar lately also. Both the FNS 40 and FNS 9c.
I was thinking about picking up a FNS 40 pretty soon. Checked Bud's and the two tone version, which I favor, is $180 more or so. Is there a major difference between the regular and two tone?
No difference. The FNS-40/40L and 9/9L models share the same frames and the slides are interchangeable regardless of caliber or color.
I have both an FNS-40 and an FNS-40L. Note: The 9/40 model is similar in overall length to the glock 19, while the 9L/40L is similar to the Glock 17.) They both (all) use the same frame.
I'm supposed to be picking up an FNS-9c in the next couple of days in a local transfer.
The FNS-9c/40c barrel designs are slightly different than the larger-framed guns, and that means a longer 9 or 40 barrel can't be cut down and used in the 9c or 40c.
I have an EFK-Firedragon 40>9 conversion barrel for the 40. (If they had offered 40L conversion barrels when I ordered the FNS-40 barrel -- they didn't then, but do now -- I would have ordered that instead. I like the 9L and 40L best.) EFK-Firedragon just recently added a 9c/40c threaded barrel to the line. I've found that you can use 40 mags when shooting hardball (round nose) ammo in the 9mm conversion barrel, but you need to use a 9mm mag if you're using hollow point ammo, at least with some ammo designs. (The sharp open mouth of the 9mm hollow point ammo catches on the feed ramp when being chambered from a .40 magazine.)
They're fine guns. The triggers are better than many striker-fired guns, and not as good as others. (I have an H&K VP9sk and a SIG 320Compact, and they both have somewhat better triggers than the FNS line, but the triggers in the FNS guns are NOT bad, and I prefer them to the Glock triggers.)
Apex is supposed to be bring out a trigger system for both the FNS and FN509 lines, and I'll check into that option, eventually. (I have an Apex trigger system in one of my Glocks, and it takes a so-so trigger and makes it quite good.) There are good do-it-yourself guides to improving the FNS triggers on YouTube, and a gunsmith on the FN Forum has been working with APEX to improve the triggers.