There is no shortage of high quality pistols available for the general public to choose from. While I would say this is a good thing, it can make selection a tricky process. Thankfully, FN America has a pistol that should simplify that search.
The FNS-40 is not a new pistol, but recently the price has been reduced drastically, now selling for $349 at EuroOptic. That puts the striker fired pistol far below the price of other handguns of a similar quality. The price is good, but what is the pistol actually like? Luckily I was able to get some range time with a demo gun to find out. There are two different colors to this pistol, but I took the black one out to the range.
The construction of the FNS-40 is superb. The polymer frame has fairly aggressive texturing on the sides and rear along with the interchangeable back-straps. The triangle shape of each point of the texturing ensures proper grip even when the pistol is covered in various sorts of debris. Instead of “filling in” like other textures; which would result in a smooth and slippery grip surface. Further up the frame reveals an ambidextrous safety, mag release and slide release. The trigger has an integrated safety, which hinges at the halfway point. I was curious how that would feel and if it would be a detriment to the pull, but luckily it was not. As with most striker fired pistols, the slack is taken up quite nicely before its release right around the 6lb mark. A double trigger bar is a nice touch and will help with reliability and trigger feel. A picatinny rail is found on the frame as well, for a light or laser and the slide rail is serviceable, enabling a quick and easy service if needed as opposed to getting a whole new frame.
This pistol comes in two different colors, black and stainless along with all black. The all black model has a matte black finish on the stainless slide with subtle, but effective slide serrations on the rear and front. It houses a cold hammer forged barrel that has a factory polished chamber and feed ramp, enhancing reliability. The external extractor is quite beefy and doubles as a loaded chamber indicator. Night sights are standard on this pistol; equipped with green tritium lamps along with the front post having a white circle around the lamp.
To shoot, the pistol is very solid. Thanks to the high quality barrel it was quite accurate as well. One thing that stuck out to me was the magazine and the mag release; even with an empty mag. Once the nicely sized mag release it pressed, that mag comes out in a hurry. Hardly surprising, seeing as how the mags are polished but it was good to see. With the 14rd mag loaded the pistol balances well and recoils nicely, due partly to how close your hand is to the height of the barrel. Follow up shots can be done quick too, if needed.
To conclude, the FNS-40 is a lot of gun for only $349. Each pistol ships with three magazines, two back-straps, and a soft case. See the listing for the pistol here or call 570-368-3920 to order.