The Fn Forty Nine

Guns Magazine, July, 2000 by Charles E. Petty

Simplicity and innovation distinguish this first American-made pistol for the civilian market from Fabrique Nationale.

For American shooters there is confusion between Fabrique Nationale and Browning -- most think the two are synonymous. That's not correct. In 1897 Fabrique Nationale, located in Herstal, Belgium, reached an agreement with John Browning to manufacture a .32 ACP pistol he had designed. It was a tremendous success in Europe and became standard issue for both military and police forces.

Things were so good that, in 1907, an agreement was reached in which Browning gave FN permission to use his name on guns they made. By 1912 FN had sold over a million of the little .32s. The Browning name is still used by FN today.

It's a little surprising that there's no Browning name on the Forty Nine and, in a major break with history, it is made in the USA. Back in 1981 FN won a contract to manufacture M-16A2 rifles for the U.S. military. In order to meet the terms of the contract, FN had to establish a plant in this country. They did, and FNMI (Fabrique Nationale Manufacturing Inc.) was opened in Columbia, S.C.

From that day to this they have been exclusively a military supplier making M-240 and M-249 machine guns in addition to the M-16A2. The Forty Nine however, is the first American-manufactured FN firearm intended for the commercial and law enforcement markets.

A Picture Of Efficiency

The Forty Nine is an evolutionary polymer-frame pistol with some similarities to the S&W Sigma. In fact, the top half looks very much like the Sigma on the inside and barrels from the two pistols are very similar. That is not to say that the parts are interchangeable, for they are not, but they are surely kissing cousins. Cosmetically, the differences between the two guns are substantial.

The Forty Nine's frame uses a modular approach to mating metal and plastic parts. No metal parts are molded into the polymer. This is a significant time and cost saving feature, for not only are the molds less expensive to design and build, they render obsolete the manual operations of putting the metal parts in the mold.

The modular approach works this way: The forward rails and barrel lock are interlocking parts installed in the frame in final assembly. The trigger and sear block are inserted as a unit and held in place with two pins. This is a serious time- and money-saving change.

And instead of the difficult takedown used on the Sigma and Glock, the FN pistol has a simple takedown lever. To field strip, simply lock the slide to the rear and remove the magazine and any stray rounds, Unless the slide is locked back, the takedown lever will not move. This is both a convenience and safety feature for not only is it easy to use, it eliminates the requirement of dry firing the pistol as part of the takedown process.

With the takedown lever turned down, hold the trigger back and pull the slide slightly to the rear to release the slide stop. Let the slide move forward and off the gun while continuing to hold the trigger. Then slip out the recoil spring assembly and lift out the barrel. That's all the disassembly needed for normal cleaning.

The Forty Nine's trigger is double action only and very similar in feel to those of modem striker fired pistols. One criticism we often hear about other guns of this type is that the striker is "pre-loaded" to some degree. I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing, but FN's is not loaded at all which makes it a true double-action and allows it to have a second strike capability without the need to reset the slide.

Tests And Trials

Trigger pull of the test gun was 10.5 lbs. with a smooth pull throughout the stroke, Near the end there's a slight increase, but once you get familiar with the trigger it's not hard to shoot accurately and quickly. As triggers of this type go, this one is above average.

Magazine capacity is limited to 10 rounds although law enforcement can buy 14-round, high-capacity tubes if they wish. The good news is that the magazine is easy to load and won't shred your fingers when it starts to get full. The gun comes with two stainless steel mags with finger extensions that provide a comfortable place for your little finger.

When we test a gun like this it is obviously not possible to try every available .40 S&W load out there, so the selection is made to sample the range of bullet weights normally available. In the case of the .40 that covers 135, 155, 165 and 180 gr. weights.

The 165 gr. is quite popular and there are two distinctly different loads in the weight. Federal has a 165 gr. Hydra-shok loaded to 950 fps specifications developed by the FBI) and the others have a full pressure load at about 1,150 fps. We chose representatives of each.

On the first trip to the range the plan was to shoot a box of generic 180 gr. ammo to see that everything worked -- it did -- and then proceed to the accuracy tests and chronographing. Since I did not have Ransom Rest inserts for this pistol the groups were fired from an Outers Pistol Perch. Accuracy was just fine for a service pistol.