DT Guy
Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2003
- Messages
- 1,840
A while back I read about a new 9MM pistol from a company FMK, based in California, which initially released the gun in a DAO variant slathered with pro-second amendment engravings; the engravings seem to have been the main focus for most of the reviews, and the gun itself seems to have gotten fairly 'meh, it works, but the trigger is heavy' comments when it was mentioned at all. No need to rehash all that, since I'm sure you can Google as well as I can.
I have to admit, the first edition wasn't something I had any interest in; I tend to dislike DAO semi-automatics, with the sole exception of Kahr mini-guns, and I can't imagine carrying a gun with all that propaganda all over it, especially as a gun that might be a CCW. Can you really imagine handing a responding police officer a gun with all that stuff all over it after a defensive shooting? Me neither.
But this second version has only a subtle 'Proudly American' engraved down the extractor, and 'Thank you Armed Forces' molded into the frame below it. Not particularly noticeable, and less likely to draw notice at trial, I think. More importantly, this version has an improved 'Single-Action' trigger-think Glock, but a bit cleaner and lighter.
In fact, “think Glock” is a good way to go through the rest of the gun; it's so similar inside that it looks like some sort of Glock V.2, with connector and internals directly mirroring what we're used to seeing inside the ubiquitous G-gun.
What would make it a “V.2”, however, is that the designer apparently had hands more the shape and size of my own, or any normal human being's; in fact, the whole pistol feels like a Glock put through an ergonomics program. The grip is comfortable and slim, in spite of a 14 round capacity, the trigger has a more comfortable safety lever inset into it, the magazine release is perfectly placed and sized...again, a Glock 19 that got treated to some tweaks to bring it more in line with other, more comfortable (in my opinion, of course) pistols.
In fact, it was comfortable enough, and had a nice enough trigger, that I decided to pick one up, and when my local FFL had the FDE version for $360 out the door, I did just that.
I haven't shot it a great deal yet, but after 150 rounds, I'm really very impressed. The first ten rounds went into an inch and a half or so at 10 yards, and what really surprised me is how little acclimation was needed; right out of the box, I was shooting it comfortably and accurately. In fact, at that distance, I think I only had three or four rounds that wouldn't have stayed within a 2” circle after the 150 rounds, and I found that I wasn't having to 'work' to shoot the gun accurately; hard to describe, but I think most experienced shooters would understand. Some guns, while just as accurate as another, take more concentration and effort to shoot well; this was just the opposite, and I felt like I'd been shooting it forever.
The manufacturer warns that it won't feed WWB, and especially in the first couple hundred rounds you should try different ammo-I tried Aguila 124 grain, since I was sitting about 700 rounds of-you guessed it-WWB in 9MM, and that was all the LGS had for range ammo. The FMK wouldn't shoot five rounds of the Aguila without a failure to feed, and I have to admit I was disappointed. So disappointed that I figured I'd try the WWB I'd brought for another gun, just for the heck of it, and then went through 150 trouble-free rounds.
(Later examination showed the heavy cannelure on the Aguila caused binding in the magazine of the FMK and another 9MM, with the rim of one cartridge catching in the cannelure of the round above. That said, my BHP fired them without complaint, so it seems like a somewhat specific issue.)
One niggling issue is that the dot for the front sight is too large for the outline of the rear, and when you can see the entire dot the front sight is about ¼ of it's height proud of a good sight picture. If you can igore that, though, its POA and POI were spot on for 10 yards (the longest range I had available for this initial outing.)
Overall, I'm liking it quite a bit; it's essentially what I always thought a Glock 19/23 should be, including a better trigger. I have a few photos below comparing my 23 and the FMK, in fact, to show how close they are; I even have one in my new Hank's Gunleather G19 holster, showing a near-perfect fit.
I realize these pistols will have a long way to go to be a Glock competitor, but so far I'm very happy; if it stays reliable, it will likely supplant that G23 as my EDC, simply because it's more comfortable and easier to shoot.
Larry
I have to admit, the first edition wasn't something I had any interest in; I tend to dislike DAO semi-automatics, with the sole exception of Kahr mini-guns, and I can't imagine carrying a gun with all that propaganda all over it, especially as a gun that might be a CCW. Can you really imagine handing a responding police officer a gun with all that stuff all over it after a defensive shooting? Me neither.
But this second version has only a subtle 'Proudly American' engraved down the extractor, and 'Thank you Armed Forces' molded into the frame below it. Not particularly noticeable, and less likely to draw notice at trial, I think. More importantly, this version has an improved 'Single-Action' trigger-think Glock, but a bit cleaner and lighter.
In fact, “think Glock” is a good way to go through the rest of the gun; it's so similar inside that it looks like some sort of Glock V.2, with connector and internals directly mirroring what we're used to seeing inside the ubiquitous G-gun.
What would make it a “V.2”, however, is that the designer apparently had hands more the shape and size of my own, or any normal human being's; in fact, the whole pistol feels like a Glock put through an ergonomics program. The grip is comfortable and slim, in spite of a 14 round capacity, the trigger has a more comfortable safety lever inset into it, the magazine release is perfectly placed and sized...again, a Glock 19 that got treated to some tweaks to bring it more in line with other, more comfortable (in my opinion, of course) pistols.
In fact, it was comfortable enough, and had a nice enough trigger, that I decided to pick one up, and when my local FFL had the FDE version for $360 out the door, I did just that.
I haven't shot it a great deal yet, but after 150 rounds, I'm really very impressed. The first ten rounds went into an inch and a half or so at 10 yards, and what really surprised me is how little acclimation was needed; right out of the box, I was shooting it comfortably and accurately. In fact, at that distance, I think I only had three or four rounds that wouldn't have stayed within a 2” circle after the 150 rounds, and I found that I wasn't having to 'work' to shoot the gun accurately; hard to describe, but I think most experienced shooters would understand. Some guns, while just as accurate as another, take more concentration and effort to shoot well; this was just the opposite, and I felt like I'd been shooting it forever.
The manufacturer warns that it won't feed WWB, and especially in the first couple hundred rounds you should try different ammo-I tried Aguila 124 grain, since I was sitting about 700 rounds of-you guessed it-WWB in 9MM, and that was all the LGS had for range ammo. The FMK wouldn't shoot five rounds of the Aguila without a failure to feed, and I have to admit I was disappointed. So disappointed that I figured I'd try the WWB I'd brought for another gun, just for the heck of it, and then went through 150 trouble-free rounds.
(Later examination showed the heavy cannelure on the Aguila caused binding in the magazine of the FMK and another 9MM, with the rim of one cartridge catching in the cannelure of the round above. That said, my BHP fired them without complaint, so it seems like a somewhat specific issue.)
One niggling issue is that the dot for the front sight is too large for the outline of the rear, and when you can see the entire dot the front sight is about ¼ of it's height proud of a good sight picture. If you can igore that, though, its POA and POI were spot on for 10 yards (the longest range I had available for this initial outing.)
Overall, I'm liking it quite a bit; it's essentially what I always thought a Glock 19/23 should be, including a better trigger. I have a few photos below comparing my 23 and the FMK, in fact, to show how close they are; I even have one in my new Hank's Gunleather G19 holster, showing a near-perfect fit.
I realize these pistols will have a long way to go to be a Glock competitor, but so far I'm very happy; if it stays reliable, it will likely supplant that G23 as my EDC, simply because it's more comfortable and easier to shoot.
Larry
