PSA for Owners of FNS Pistols

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9mmepiphany

9mmepiphany

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The Arizona Department of Public Safety found a Safety Concern while testing the FNS pistols for possible adoption. This is the same issue that the Baltimore County Police have experienced and caused them to withdraw their FNS pistols from duty.

Apparently the issue is that the pistols will fire without the trigger being pressed. With the trigger finger completely out of the trigger guard, a sharp rap on the slide will cause the pistol to discharge.

Another discovery was that when the slide is out of battery and the trigger is press the gun will not discharge...that is normal...but if the slide is then allowed to return into battery, with the trigger still depressed, the gun will fire.

FN America, LLC denies that there is a fault in the gun design

https://foxbaltimore.com/features/o...G8ka-1qgQ1fry7yfOSZACdNdb2k6DBlfC-q2AQz-GdcuU

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-police-guns-20181210-story.html
 
Last edited:
Yikes! That's scary stuff!

9mmepiphany said:
Apparently the issue is that the pistols will fire without the trigger being pressed. With the trigger finger completely out of the trigger guard, a sharp rap on the slide will cause the pistol to discharge.
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Didn't the Taurus Millennium line have a similar defect a few years back?
 
There has been a recall by FNS of the FNS line -- but only for specific serial number ranges. I have an FNS-40, and FNS-40L and an FNS-9c.

FNS's statement was that there was a quirky feature of the striker assembly that could allow an an accidental (not negligent) discharge; they said that the likelihood was almost zero, but they would install a revised, improved striker any gun sent to them. FNAmerica has a very lenient warranty -- for the life of the gun, and you don't have to be the original owner.

I sent my three in -- they paid both ways. They got mine on Jan 1, and they were delivered on January 14. Some of the other people who got theirs back say they felt the trigger was improved after the upgrade/repair. I didn't notice that with mine, but I didn't have problems with the factory triggers. (One had been professionaly tweaked before I got it, and it was still a slightly better trigger after the upgrade than the other FNS models.)

With regard to the Baltimore police situation -- there was a claim of one accidental (or, possibly, negligent) discharge. There were no witnesses. No injuries, but it apparently happened while holstering the weapon in a locker room. The officer who had the discharge was an officer who had spent most of his career doing administrative work. The Baltimore police got rid of all of their FNS at great expense to taxpayers.

I know NOTHING about the Arizona situation. (I am a member of the FN Forum and they seem to get some pretty good information there; No mention of an "Arizona" problem, yet.)
 
OP, thanks for posting this. I have a 9C and a 40. My 9C gets carried often. Both are subject to the recall.
 
The gun discharging when returning into battery, after being knocked out of battery during a scuffle, can be a problem...but you can learn to take your finger off the trigger when that happens.

Having a gun go off as a result of impact on the top of the slide without the trigger being touched is much more disturbing. Falling onto the top of the slide shouldn't be a common occurrence. however bumping it against a wall, bench, or holster isn't uncommon in everyday handling. A little rough handling while holstering causing a AD down you leg wouldn't be a good experience.
 
I loaded a primer only case in my FNS-40 and smacked the slide front and back as well as on the slide with a brass hammer (I did lay two layers of cloth over the slide for protection), and I could not make it fire. According to the FN website mine is "affected". Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough.
 
How is this happening with a firing pin block? Or do these not have a firing pin block? Can anyone educate a fool such as myself? Thanks!
 
SteadyD said:
How is this happening with a firing pin block? Or do these not have a firing pin block? Can anyone educate a fool such as myself? Thanks!
Click to expand...
I don't have any "insider" info, but just from looking at the videos, I'm guessing that either the impact displaces the FPB or it is causing the trigger bar to displace the FPB
 
Old Dog said:
As long as this has nothing to do with the 509 or the FNX, I'm not worried.
Click to expand...
Don't forget this gem from the FNX owners manual...

https://fnamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/1608_FNX_OM_66-1000281.pdf

"Notice! Your pistol should be inspected every 2000 rounds and/or once a year by a qualified gunsmith or the FN product service center because damage, wear and corrosion are not always visible from the outside. Law Enforcement and Military personnel should contact their departmental armorer who will inspect the pistol on yearly basis."
 
JTQ said:
Don't forget this gem from the FNX owners manual...

https://fnamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/1608_FNX_OM_66-1000281.pdf

"Notice! Your pistol should be inspected every 2000 rounds and/or once a year by a qualified gunsmith or the FN product service center because damage, wear and corrosion are not always visible from the outside. Law Enforcement and Military personnel should contact their departmental armorer who will inspect the pistol on yearly basis."
Click to expand...
And what is wrong with that? My department has inspected our guns every two years. It’s SOP, just the same as my duty rig. Never had to have a gun replaced but have replaced my duty rig three times.
 
Guys thanks for posting.
Last week a relative took to me to a small local show, where I handled the FN long slide, thumb slide safety.
Oh boy, I was more than tented to get it.
I will wait few months to clear the market and my thoughts.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
And what is wrong with that? My department has inspected our guns every two years. It’s SOP, just the same as my duty rig. Never had to have a gun replaced but have replaced my duty rig three times.
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What percentage of civilian gun owners read through an entire owners manual? What percentage of civilian gun owners send their gun to the factory for a checkup every 2,000 rounds or once per year?

If the company covers warrantee work if you haven't complied with this - no big deal. If the company refuses service for you failing to follow the above service schedule it's a big deal because 1) Most people are reading this caveat here for the first time. 2) There probably isn't another pistol on the market that has a published service schedule like the above.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
And what is wrong with that? My department has inspected our guns every two years. It’s SOP, just the same as my duty rig. Never had to have a gun replaced but have replaced my duty rig three times.
Click to expand...

It's the added expense of paying a gunsmith to inspect the gun or shipping it to FNS. If there's another manufacturer that requires this, I'm not aware of them. I have 3, the 9C, FNS40 and FNX45 and they're fantastic. I inspect all my guns while cleaning them but can't see paying a gunsmith once a year to confirm that they're not damaged.
 
TomJ said:
It's the added expense of paying a gunsmith to inspect the gun or shipping it to FNS. If there's another manufacturer that requires this, I'm not aware of them. I have 3, the 9C, FNS40 and FNX45 and they're fantastic. I inspect all my guns while cleaning them but can't see paying a gunsmith once a year to confirm that they're not damaged.
Click to expand...
The key word in that warranty statement is should . It does not require or demand. If you were to read ever gun owners manual you will find similar statements.
"Notice! Your pistol should be inspected every 2000 rounds and/or once a year by a qualified gunsmith or the FN product service center because damage, wear and corrosion are not always visible from the outside. Law Enforcement and Military personnel should contact their departmental armorer who will inspect the pistol on yearly basis."
 
czhen said:
Guys thanks for posting.
Last week a relative took to me to a small local show, where I handled the FN long slide, thumb slide safety.
Oh boy, I was more than tented to get it.
I will wait few months to clear the market and my thoughts.
Click to expand...
This recall doesn’t apply to the newer guns.
 
Suggesting regular maintenance from a gunsmith every year should be boilerplate manual CYA on any gun, kinda surprised it's not (if that's the case).

I had only read about the out of battery corner case, which is pretty unlikely but still troubling.

The hammer on the slide go bang issue is significantly more disturbing, especially for a duty gun.

At least they aren't calling the fix a Voluntary Upgrade.

460Shooter said:
Yikes! That's scary stuff!


Didn't the Taurus Millennium line have a similar defect a few years back?
Click to expand...

I thought that we just gripping it hard and shaking it? It's been a while.
 
JTQ said:
What percentage of civilian gun owners read through an entire owners manual? What percentage of civilian gun owners send their gun to the factory for a checkup every 2,000 rounds. . .
Click to expand...
1) The manual exists primarily to transfer liability from FN to you; it works. "We told you so" is an excellent defense in civil court.
2) Betcha less than 5% of civilian owners put 2000 rounds through a handgun. . . ever.
 
JR24 said:
Suggesting regular maintenance from a gunsmith every year should be boilerplate manual CYA on any gun, kinda surprised it's not (if that's the case).

I had only read about the out of battery corner case, which is pretty unlikely but still troubling.

The hammer on the slide go bang issue is significantly more disturbing, especially for a duty gun.

At least they aren't calling the fix a Voluntary Upgrade.




I thought that we just gripping it hard and shaking it? It's been a while.
Click to expand...
It was the 24/7 pistols.
 
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