FNP, fool me twice, shame on me....

[rugerdude]

I feel compelled to report an issue that is plauging the FNP series of pistols.

I bought an FNP-9mm at the end of October last year. I had the gun for 11 days of so and fired 300 rounds when I noticed that the gun would sometimes FTF on double-action shots. Well, I broke the pistol down and I notice that the trigger group has cracked. This obviously upset me, but I went back to the shop, and they sent it back to FN for me.

Fast forward 2 months to 2 days ago. I get a brand new replacement pistol. A whole new gun instead of the other one being repaired. Well, I'm happy, and I go out and buy a 20 dollar set of 9mm snap caps to use while dry firing.

I've read the manual 4 times now and there is nothing in it about dry-firing being harmful to the pistol. I dry-fire all of my guns because it is a cheap way to practice trigger control and I know I'm not alone.

Well, on the second day of having it back, I dry-fried it without a snap cap in the chamber or a magazine in the gun....twice. On the second time, I heard a pop that was louder than the noise made by the hammer dropping, so I took it apart and what do I see?

Yep, another cracked trigger pack. This is ridiculous. I had ZERO rounds through this gun! Not a single one.

This problem is not isolated to just myself either. At least 4 other FNP owners on the FN forum have had this same thing happen. This makes 5 guns in all. The ones documented have also failed with an extremely low round count of about 300 or so rounds. Also, the guns reported were manufactured in 2007. The 2006 guns seem to be the ones with the high round counts and intact trigger groups.

Anyway, I will not be getting another replacement FN. I could go out and buy a hi-point pistol and bet on it not busting its own trigger group.

Any reccomendations on what to replace it with? I'm thinking about an M&P or PT-92.

 

[Tecolote]

Since you can't sell it broken it looks like you'll have to get this one replaced too. Two months down the road when your replacement arrives sell it and buy something more durable like a SIG, Glock or FN's true gem, a HiPower.

 

[rugerdude]

Dry fire with the magazine removed seems to be the killer. I did this twice before the frame cracked.

This problem is not addressed anywhere in the manual, and the magazine acts as a support for the trigger group frame. Too bad FN didn't tell me, or anyone else.

 

[BBsteel]

I had an FNP-40 and had bad luck with it as well. I posted about it in detail some time ago. I won't be going that route anymore.

 

[jon_in_wv]

Five failures may seems like the end of the world but how many of these guns has FN sold? 1000? 5000? 10,000? I'm sorry for your luck but it still sounds a bit anecdotal. Five failures could be one bad run on one day. They may have caught the problem and it may not ever materialize for anyone else. I guarantee more than five 1911s have had broken triggers. You can't condemn all of them.
It is a new design also and they may have some issues to work out or they may be making changes to manufacturing that are effecting quality. Guns like the Glocks, Sigs, 1911s have been around for many many years. They have the bugs worked out.

 

[rugerdude]

Yeah, but 2 pistols with the SAME defect going to the same person? Odds are that there are many more than 5 with this issue.

I'm sorry, but what do you want me to do when I get one gun that breaks, followed (and two months later at that) by a SECOND gun that breaks the SAME way? Give it a third shot? I think not.

Sure I might get a perfectly functioning pistol on my third replacement, and maybe I was incredibly unlucky to get 2 lemons in a row, but what happens if I get a third lemon? The signs were all there now weren't they?

Anywho, I bought a sig and it is indeed a much nicer gun and it only cost me 50 bucks more than my "Effin" P-9.

 

[12131]

Interesting. Could very well be the reason the FNP45 still hasn't hit the market yet, despite having been hyped for what seems like forever.

 

[jmr40]

I understand how you feel. Had major problems with a Sigma about 10 years ago. 5 months and 4 trips back to S&W got me a new gun which my dealer allowed me full trade-in for something else. I understand that the Sigma problems have been corrected, but I could never trust one after that bad of an experience.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I'm saying, why not find the CAUSE of the problem. Mechanical devices don't break by magic or divine intervention there is a REASON. If you don't feel confident with the gun, fix it and get something different. I'm sure one of the other many thousands of people who HAVEN'T had a problem and didn't start a thread to condemn the weapon will be happy to pick it up and profit from your crappy luck.

 

[Robert Hairless]

Have you considered phoning FN customer service, calmly explaining the problem, and asking them to help you be happy with their product?

FN is one of the world's oldest and most reputable firearms companies. They provide small arms to police and military throughout the world. It is in their interest to have good, sturdy products and a universe of satisfied customers. My guess is that they would do everything reasonable to help you be one of them.

Please forgive me for saying this but Internet reports from unknown people about incredible numbers of failures in one well-known brand or another have been useful to me in picking up great bargains on barely used guns at gun shows. On one or two occasions I've overheard the sellers comment about their happiness in getting rid of that dog as I walked away while I was smiling at getting a darned good deal on something I wanted.

 

[rugerdude]

Well, I could fix it, but I shouldn't have to now should I?

I didn't pay 400 bucks to get something that I'd have to fix.

Instead of fixing the gun and getting something different....I just got something different. FN can fix their own defective guns, and the dealer was very honest in taking both broken ones back. If someone wants to buy a broken gun, they can, but I'm not going to lose money on the deal. FN will be picking up the tab for poor quality of parts.

I have it figured out that decocking the gun without the magazine installed seems to be what cracks the frame. Now, I could just not do that, or I could get something that won't give me that trouble. Which is why I traded my broken FN for a sig.

Yeah, I understand that perhaps there may not be so many frame crackings as I might imagine, but I did end up getting 2 with the same problem. The rarer the problem is, the less likely that this is to happen. I could have gotten the only two bad ones, but that just isn't very likely now is it?

I made this thread because I'm unhappy with the quality of the product I bought. I feel that others should know about my experience when considering their purchase. It is completely up to them to decide what they buy, this is just one buyer's experience. I can call FN, but I don't want anything from them. I will call to explain the problem, but the dealer is also going to contact them and I'm sure they already know this is happening. I'm not going to ask for compensation for anything, I'm just sorry I wasted 2 months trying to get a working gun from them.

There are always experiences like this. If taken just by themselves, we would think that all glocks blow up and that S&W M&P's can't keep a magazine in by themselves. However, that information should be spread if it is indeed happening. Somebody considering an FNP should not base their decision solely on my experience, but I feel that it is something that deserves recognition because it does seem to be a problem.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I'm just playing devils advocate. Take a deep breath my friend. I hope it all worked out in the end. I considered the FNP but I thought it was a bit thick through the frame. I ended up buying an M&P 9c instead. I'm very happy with that. You should be grateful you have such an understanding dealer. They seem to be few and far between.
Which SIG did you get?

 

[ugaarguy]

Was it an older FNP?

Did you perhaps get a new in box gun that was old stock? Do you remember if it had the one piece sear or the split two piece sear? The split sear design is the relatively new (it was on current production guns before June 2007) improvement on the FNP. If it was a FNP with the split sear I'd really like to know.

 

[Johnny B]

I also had a bad experience with an FNP-40. I no longer own the gun. Good choice on the Sig, by the way; I doubt there'll be parts cracking on that gun anytime soon.

 

[pablo45]

Mine was awesome and I regret ever selling it. I put about 5,000 orunds through it of dirty UMC ammo and it never had one hicup. Sorry to hear your bad news. I hope everything works out.

So what kind of Sig did you get?

 

[possum]

Any reccomendations on what to replace it with? I'm thinking about an M&P or PT-92

i couldn't have that and i am sorry that you are having trouble, there are many alternatives out there, ie m&p like you mentioned, glock or my favorite the xd line, you won't have those problems with the brands that i listed and you will be hard pressed to have any trouble in any of them for any reason.

 

[Fabius]

I own an FNP-40 that has 1,000+ rounds with no problems. The reports of cracks like Rogerdude's have all arisen in the last 2 months and it looks like a total of 5 owners have reported problems on the FN Forum. FNH claims to have sold 40,000 FNP's, so 5 failures is a pretty small failure rate.

I bought a Glock 23 a few years ago and then read about unsupported chambers and Kabooms in .40 cal Glocks. Put several thousand rounds through my Glock with no problems.

Bought an M&P 9 last year and read about mag drops. No mags flying out of my M&P yet.

Seems like I read about a problem with Sig frames cracking in the past. Don't own a Sig.

I used to worry about these reports. Now I just buy what I like and if a problem develops I'll return it for warranty service. FNH is a well established manufacturer with a reputation for making highly reliable firearms, including 70% of the machine guns used by the U. S. military. So far, my FNP has been as reliable as FNH's reputation would suggest.

 

[jon_in_wv]

Well said Fabias. FN has a reputation for quality, this why I tend to show a little restraint and I'm not so quick to condemn. 5 owners ut 0f 40,000. Even if our friend was burned twice that still remains statistically insignificant. That doesn't help our friend however! I would say replace it with an FN Hi-Power. The HP is still one of my favorite guns ever.

 

[rugerdude]

Got a Sig 226 to replace it, and yes, the dealer was very understanding and I will certainly be returning to that shop in the future.

Yeah, okay, I'll admit it, I am starting to take it personally, shich I understand I shouldn't. It's just frustrating to have my first centerfire pistol be so much trouble.

Also, this needs to be considered along with all the happy stories like the few in this thread.

Oh, and the second gun was made in January of 2007, I have no idea when the first one was made.

 

[BHPshooter]

Two months down the road when your replacement arrives sell it and buy something more durable like ... FN's true gem, a HiPower.

That would be great, if FN still had the HP in their lineup. Somebody at FN ought to be flogged for dropping it. Of course they still make them for Browning -- all you'd really have to do is put a different rollmark on the slide -- so that indiscretion can still be corrected... I sure hope they pick it back up.

Anyway, I'll be watching this thread with interest. I'd like to hear what FN says about the problem.

Wes (lucky enough to have 2 BHPs and 1 FN HP.)

 

[jon_in_wv]

I understand. I just had the joy of a new handgun cut short when I loaded my new gun and it promptly fired shooting a hole through my bed. I replaced some of the parts and I still have to struggle with fitting them. Its really a pain. I'm just going to fix the problem and soldier on. I can't blame Colt. The gun IS 23 years old too though.

 

[Guy]

My FNP-40 fame just cracked around the hammed housing after only 950rnds through it and iv heard other people havin this proplem around other fourms. Mine also has devolped a ding under the P in FNP-40 on the slide.

Im not vary happy with this the pistol should just be breaking in not BREAKING!