Why aren't FNH pistols popular?

[dogtown tom]

Toforo
Actually, this was anticipated by the manufacturers...

So much, in fact, that they knew the german war machine would USE the FN/Browning/Hi-Power factories to support the german war machine. And that's exactly what happened....

They stayed in operation as long as possible and when it became inevitable and the german invasion became imminent, all of the engineering designs were moved to Canada so they wouldn't fall in german hands.
In addition - they also took much of the equipment from the factories, put it on ships, and sent it all to England and Canada where they were up and running fast enough to continue to provide weapons to the Allies for the remainder of WWII...

Close....but not exactly right.
The Allies DID spirit FN management and some engineers away to Canada, but very little designs and absolutely no machinery made it to Canada. The Inglis design was pretty darned crude compared to even wartime FN HP's.

The John Inglis Co. of Toronto produced a version of the Hi Power for the Allies at the same time the FN plant in Belgium was churning them out for their German occupiers.

FN has enjoyed a looooong relationship with the US military as a manufacturer of almost every firearm from the Ma Duece to the M16.

 

[Toforo]

Close....but not exactly right.
The Allies DID spirit FN management and some engineers away to Canada, but very little designs and absolutely no machinery made it to Canada. The Inglis design was pretty darned crude compared to even wartime FN HP's.

The John Inglis Co. of Toronto produced a version of the Hi Power for the Allies at the same time the FN plant in Belgium was churning them out for their German occupiers.

FN has enjoyed a looooong relationship with the US military as a manufacturer of almost every firearm from the Ma Duece to the M16.

I could stand "doubly" corrected - or, I could just read the cited reference again.....

.....Neither matters as we're not here to argue the validity of the citation, but rather the popularity of FNH

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[1stmarine]

The are popular but they could be more popular if they had a good customer service.
The treat their military and LEO customers like gods and when you retire they treat you
like a POS.

 

[HK Jake]

Seriously, it's because the cases are so big!

 

[wow6599]

The are popular but they could be more popular if they had a good customer service.

1stmarine, I respect your opinion - but disagree. I bought a NIB FNP 45 USG about 6 weeks ago. I had some problems with WWB JHP feeding and they replaced ALL of the magazines I had, polished the feed ramp and checked the trigger pin for "walking".
2 weeks and all is well........what more should one expect?

 

[FNP45]

^^^^^^
They did all that for u for the WWB prob, that's awsome, makes me want to send mine in. I've just been avoiding the wwb.....

 

[wow6599]

For the record, I live 30 minutes from the FNH service center (Arnold, MO) and dropped it off myself. Not sure if that matters...........

 

[1stmarine]

wow6599,
I am happy you had a good experience. Several folks around here all nothing but bad customer support. many of them veterans and retired LEos. FN know this. They do not care.
I am sure is not the person on the phone. Always polite but just do not get things fixed or they take months on average. Very different than how they serve armorers in the service.
I can tell you from first hand experience as well.
Cheers,
E.

 

[Konstantin835]

I don't have one but they seem awesome. Its just speculation but one reason they might not be as popular as some of their competitors is that there is no compact version or sub-compact version. With Glocks, XDs and M&Ps there are different sizes so people can use one for a CCW and have another full size HD/range/fun gun with the same control layout and feel. It might be a part of why they're less popular, in addition to the un-aggressive marketing. I personally would really like to see a compact or SC version of the FNP/FNX line.

 

[1stmarine]

FN's are good systems. It occurs to me that the other reason they are not so popular is because there are many other extremely good systems from other makers out there too and with good prices.
The herstal group makes 75% of the revenue from military. They own FN, but they also own Browning and Winchester but that is nothing compared to the big government contracts, not just here but all over.

 

[bikemutt]

Easy one for me. I love my FNP9, there just aren't enough accessories available in the same way they are for Glock, Sig, etc. I finally found a Blackhawk SERPA paddle for the thing but it's really for a Sig 2000-something Pro. Night sights, can you say Ameriglo, that's it.

Everyone I've let shoot this pistol loves it at first pull, FNH just needs to figure out how to get the support market on board.

 

[wow6599]

Trijicon makes them for the FNP 45......not sure about 9 or 40.

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/mm5/...66113&Category_Code=fn-sights&Store_Code=mgwi

 

[SPRSkip]

Fnp 40

I will jump on the band wagon here. Just picked up a used FNP 40 and found that it fit my hand better and the trigger was as good as my 23 that has had a lot of time and money invested in it. And the thing eats my hand loads just fine as well.

 

[Wishoot]

I've had them all and I adore my FNP-9.

Never think twice about picking one up.

I paid $360 for mine, with Trijicons, + 10 for call in.

Best value to date for me I think.

Foon

That's a smoking hot deal. Jet Guns had them at that price several months ago and I still kick myself for not buying one (or several) at that price.

 

[bikemutt]

Well, I suppose Trijicon must make them for the FNP9 if guys are able to buy them. Trijicon's website doesn't even show FNH as a pistol they make sights for.

It's probably the same old story where some Sig sight happens to fit.

 

[Formula94]

As long as I avoid WWB my .45 has performed flawlessly. My .45 was my first handgun and at first I was just looking at Sigs and HKs until I saw a pic of the FNP went to my LGS to handle it...the rest is history.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Maybe because they are ugly or maybe because they do little to no advertising. (or both)

 

[wristtwister]

I had an FNP-40 and liked the gun immensely, but traded it off because of the size of the grip. Not everybody has a hand the size of Andre' the giant, and a lot of the polymer guns aren't sized for people with "normal" sized hands. Glock hasn't manufactured one yet that I found entirely comfortable to handle, and most of the poly guns are gearing the grips toward "gloved hand" grips for tactical shooters. Just a note to the industry, but the majority of the American people aren't kicking in doors in the 'hood every day, and would like comfortable grips on their guns.

How a gun feels when you grip it is one of the most important features of a gun, so a little ergonomic design would go a long way. If you want to make grips comfortable, make two sizes... fat grips for big hands, and thin grips for smaller hands...

Working in a gun store, I see people pick up the FN's all the time and put them down immediately because of the grip size. The same thing with the Glock Gen 4's... they're all stipled for gloved hands, and not comfortable for the general public.

WT

 

[wow6599]

Maybe because they are ugly

Compared to what.......a Glock?

 

[1stmarine]

Ugly doesn't really exist.
why a pistol has to be "pretty" anyway? ..Maybe to hung over the chimney?
I saw some pretty cool ones in the Pirates of the Caribbean the other day!
LOL!

 

[weeniewawa]

they must be popular somewhere as I have had a FNP45 in FDE on order for months now and just got word they may have a line on some

I have smallish hands and thought the grip fit was fine. I was going to get a GLOCK 21 until I held one and didn't like the grip size at all

The XD 45 seems to have the smallest grip of all of them, part I think to them using metal mags instead of polymer like GLOCK

 

[1stmarine]

weeniewawa,
Try the glock Gen4 can be customized with 2 back strips in the handle.

 

[MAKster]

Another reason why the FN double actions aren't popular is because they aren't used by law enforcement. Right or wrong, if law enforcement or the military uses a gun it is a signal to the general public that the design has been proven worthy. Even most shooters are unaware that FN is one of the largest suppliers of ARs and machine guns to the U.S. military.

 

[JTQ]

They haven't been around very long.

When the FNP's first hit my local stores, they were selling at quite a discount compared to the Glock, S&W M&P, and the Springfield XD's. However, they quickly increased in price until they cost more than the above mentioned competition. They were no longer the "value" they had been.

About the time they were becoming well known and the after market accessory makers began to produce products for them, the FNX comes out and now the market has to reset itself.

 

[bikemutt]

They haven't been around very long.

When the FNP's first hit my local stores, they were selling at quite a discount compared to the Glock, S&W M&P, and the Springfield XD's. However, they quickly increased in price until they cost more than the above mentioned competition. They were no longer the "value" they had been.

About the time they were becoming well known and the after market accessory makers began to produce products for them, the FNX comes out and now the market has to reset itself.

That's a good point about the FNX. I was in the market about the time those new ones first showed up on dealer shelves, loved the FNP, could not deal with the FNX. IMO they dramatically changed the stippling to the point where the FNX was uncomfortable, near painful, for me to handle. That's what I get for holding down a desk job I guess.

I recently handled one as I'm in the market for a .45ACP semi and just did not like the feel of the FNH, that being a personal thing of course. And even if I had liked it my first question would be wanting to know what carry accessories might be available since that's become an important element for me with this particular type of sidearm.