The SAFN 49 rifle in 7.62x51

I looked for about 3 years for a good .30-06 or the .308 conversion, both came up at the same time and I opted for the .308 with six magazines and a cracked stock for $950 over a .30-06 Luxembourg for $1300, the .30-06 was a far second choice, but would have gotten one in that caliber if I had found a good one for 700-1000.

A batch of about 1000 of the .308 versions came in in the late 90's and a second batch of 1000 in 2003, I missed both, the second batch was selling for about $650 each with a bayonet...

The FN49 is the last of the machined, wooden stocked, MBR's and is the direct father of the FNFAL, the shared features are quickly obvious.

The FN49 came in more calibers than any other military rifle and was sold directly from FN on a contract basis to each of the individual countries, and even a few individuals, police forces and companies while in production.

The wiki has some of the information wrong, FN did not modify the bulk of the Argentine rifles, in fact FN only converted ONE as a test on order from the Argentine Navy... The full contract to conversion was produced by Metalurgica Centro/Halcon in Argentina. They did a nice job and at first I thought the stamped numbers indicated an FN job, no, MCH copied the stampings and matched the rifles to the conversion parts. Every rifle in the Argentine contract except a few samples purchased by individuals and museums was converted - over five thousand.

The contracts were Argentine, Belgian, Belgian Congo, Brazilian, Colombian, Egyptian, Indonesian, Luxembourg, Luxembourg Police, and Venezuelan, there were Sniper versions and many prototypes, presentation models and special orders for small orders even some individuals...

K-mart sold quite a few for less than 100 bucks (69.99 I think) in the 30-06 versions...

Except for the 2000 plus .308 in Argentina and the bulk of the Indonesian contract almost every other contract rifle was destroyed in war/conflicts, or sold to private individuals, I would risk a guess that over 80% are here in the states in private collections.

Dieudonne Saive patented what would become this rifle in 1936, worked on prototypes then due to the war it was not to hit the production floor until 1948... He would use many of the concepts and functioning of this patent in the FN FAL...

While the Fn49 did not see as much combat as other rifles, it was involved in many local conflicts in contract countries, and can be seen in many third world hot spots. The Argentine version was involved in the Coup attempt, and heavily involved in the civil war/September rebellion. All Belgian troops in Korea (Once assigned to the US 3rd Infantry support) were issued the FN49 in .30-06. The Belgians also used the FN49 in the first stages of the Congo Civil War. The Belgians have a habit of keeping rifles in small individual armories and many FN49 rifles ended up in "hot spots" in Africa because of the Congo armories. In the Congo there was a chance where the FN49 rifles from FOUR countries and several calibers could have come into the same conflict...

The conversion of the FN49 in Argentina was AFTER the adoption of the FN FAL, they were regulated from the Army to the Navy and placed on ships... Later to inact caliber compatibility they were converted to .308. They use a modified magazine that is unique to the conversion and is expensive, the top was cut and formed to use the standard metric FN FAL stripper clip charger/loader.

The .308 barrel is 23 inches and has a twist of 1 in 12 inches and the 30-06 is 1 in 10... the .308 versions have chrome lined barrels and chambers (is nice yes?)... the gas piston tube and gas piston are not chromed (boo).

I is an exceptionally accurate rifle that is as reliable as the FN FAL (with some modifications). Will it stay in the collection? I do not know.

FNX 9 pistol holster modification

Months into open carry of my FNX 9 pistol I was unsuccessful in finding a “made for” holster for this handgun.

A simple modification has produced what is likely the best option for a push button retention holster available for this pistol.

After some research I found users happy with using the Springfield XD holsters, I took the chance and ordered the "Tactical Retention Paddle Holster” by Target Sports I also ordered the belt adaptor to replace the belt/pant paddle to keep this on my duty belt. Of course this is a copy of the BlackHawk SERPA holster but the price is 17 bucks at CDNN the least expensive source and you can’t beat that price.



It did fit unmodified, but it was loose and wiggled in the holster. It was close but not exact, I started to look over the holster and first noted that the barrel cover at the end was 1.5 inches longer than needed (this would give me material for modifications later see first photo).



The first photo is the complete holster unmodified and the areas that will be cut off with a saw (I used my chop saw but a Miter Box and hand saw would keep it straight). If you do use a power saw, be sure to hold the product firmly with an extension (pliers) and bring the saw to full speed and go slow, the polymer can melt and grab the blade slinging the polymer holster into the next county.

The right side photo shows the main section that will be cut and four sections (both sides of the scrap piece) that will be trimmed from that discarded piece for space fillers. Make a straight cut across the holster as near or on top of the lower indentation as shown. The material that will be used to fill in extra space can be trimmed with a dremel disk, with a heavy set of Industrial scissors, or a set of tin snips.

The cut section has two rectangles drawn, the left hand smaller rectangle is the thinner material, this will be the section for the trigger guard, the right hand will be the sections (I used both sides glued next to each other inside the holster track).

The arrows are showing the entry and exit points of the pin for the push button release. This will be explained later.



Here is the holster with paddle over the pistol, the holster’s extra nose has been removed.



This photo shows the locations for the rectangle scrap parts cut from the nose will go, trim up the pieces so they fit and you will glue them into position with super glue (hold them in place for 250 seconds, super glue will work but takes time to set with this polymer (use disposable gloves to keep from glueing yourself to the holster). In the nose section shown on the right (this is where the two thicker sections are glued) one rectangle will need to be cut to fit.



Here is a front/nose/business end, photo of the pistol in the holster showing the close fit, the arrow shows the scrap of polymer from the cut section glued into position, this photo also shows the duty belt and optional belt loop. Note that you can clearly see the extractor and firing pin hole in the empty chamber.



Now refer to the photo, the arrows show about where the pin that holds the button in is located, get a long thin punch or an ice pick and push out the pin while holding the button. There is a spring under the button that will cause it to jump across the room if you are not holding it. Once you remove the pin you will take a dremel tool abrasive disk or a file and modify the internal block/hook for the trigger so that the pistol will be locked into position.



Here is a photo series showing the inside block/hook and how it will be modified.



The top photo shows the block/hook as it would extend into the trigger guard. The middle photograph shows the block/hook highlighted. The bottom photo shows the aproximate material that will have to be removed to let the new trigger guard snap into place.

You may have to repeat your trigger block modifications and re-assemble to fit, try and take off only as much material as is needed to lock the gun into the holster.

That is all there is to this modification and it works great, and you cannot beat the price.

Personal Critical Review of Firearms - The FN FNX Pistol

The FN FNX Pistol (and FNP-45)

When no other company would serve the needs of J. M. Browning Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal stepped up into position in 1897. The Browning FN relationship lasted until his death, when Dieudonné Saive took JMB's position and finished many of his projects and added many of his own, including the first staggered extended capacity pistol magazine we all use in most full sized pistols to this day.

Many years ago my first introduction to an auto-loading pistol was the JM Browning 1911a1 pistol, later I would start to favor the Dieudonné Saive P35 - the Browning HiPower pistol. Not until this newest FN pistol, the subject of this article, have I come across a real replacement for the HiPower, something with the features that would satisfy my particular requirements.

I now think that FN has actually produced the best combination of the best features of the HiPower, the Walther P38, the modern polymer pistols, and dare I say it... the 1911 (insert the correct genuflection to JM Browning as needed). The FNX is truly the lighter, faster, tougher, grandson of the HiPower. The FNX was originally the .45 acp caliber evolution of the FNP pistol containing all of the new military demands including surviving the +P 25,000 round torture test. the FNX is the further expansion of this evolution into .40 and 9mm caliber versions.

The FNX has an external serrated burr eyelet ring hammer, is double action/single action, wears a positive safety, contains a blocked hammer drop, a "half cocked" notch, and a tactile loaded chamber indicator, all wrapped with a polymer exterior over it's skeleton like internal replaceable frame.

I did a mountain of research before I purchased my M Series pistol, I did as much or more before I dropped the cash on this new FNX pistol. I have been searching for a replacement worthy of the HiPower and more suitable and desirable than a striker-fired pistol for daily open carry. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that this pistol is everything - and then some - that any 1911 or HiPower fan could ever ask for.

Note: the pictured Magazines are the new blackened stainless 17 round version, three come included with the pistol, I had a hard time finding the fourth, as supplies are low.

Personal - For my main open cary pistol I have a few simple demands:

1. Long service life against abuse
2. Staggered magazine of 10 or more rounds
3. Thicker grip for a larger hand
4. Simple operation and take-down
5. Manual Safety
6. Double Action/Single Action
7. External hammer
8. Reasonable trigger and reasonable accuracy
9. Capable of shooting hand-loaded ammunition and lead bullets

The FNX has all of the above and more.

The three dot sights have a lower cut-out and a larger front sight dot to make the three dots a similar size in use (distance/perspective).

Function - Using reloads, surplus, and white box, the FNX so far has had top-notch reliable function with not a single problem of any type in the short time and only 500 rounds I have sent out of the barrel. (ed. note this is now over 2000 rounds)

This pistol is in 9mm with a fully supported chamber that should prevent a glock style KB (kaboom, not all that common with 9mm to begin with) the pistol also has an integrated out of battery prevention feature. The trigger is a true DA/SA similar to a P38. All of the controls are similar to 1911, HiPower, and PPKS pistols but are better placed, larger and easy to manipulate, more comfortable, and completely ambidextrous. Take-down for cleaning is simple and fast with just a simple release lever.

The manual safety is larger and easier to use than even extended 1911 or HiPower options and in addition the gun can be loaded and unloaded and cocked while in the "safe" position and the magazine does not have to be inserted or removed to function or for take-down. The hammer drop feature (de-cocker) drops the hammer into it's "half cock" position. When the manual safety is in position the trigger literally goes "dead" becoming just a moveable appendage with no connection to the sear disconnect.

Safety on - all functions continue to work even with the safety activated.

Fire

De-cocker/hammer-drop down, hammer down.

Because of the external hammer and the manual safety/de-cocker this pistol can be carried "cocked and locked", half-cock safety down in a retention holster, or half-cock safety up according to the users desires.

Lock the slide to the rear.

Move the take-down lever to the lower position, release the slide.

FNX Pistol take-down for maintenance is quick and easy with just a few major parts groups.

Design flaws - The double action trigger is long and requires some force similar to a P1 or P38 but the release at the end is crisp. I think that the single action trigger is more than a bit "mushy" there is a lot of slack to be taken up and the release, while crisp, has three distinct pressures and travel distances to break while not stiff or hard it requires a lot of finger travel. On an additional note I will be writing later about a carry holster for this pistol, currently there are only two manufactures making holsters for this pistol finding a fit seems almost impossible, I found a retaining positive-lock holster, but had to make some significant modifications to make it fit correctly. The original shiny magazines of stainless steel are now blackened to a strange midnight purple/black and now have a quick secure positive lock into the well - both are features that FN changed regarding customer requests. I have seen some complaints about the polymer safety/de-cocker but it seems that the polymer is actually hiding an imbedded stainless steel support.

Quality - Fabrique Nationale Herstal of Belgium (and now South Carolina) is an old established weapons maker that cut it's teeth manufacturing products for Browning, has supplied militaries in both world wars (even under occupation), and is known for the most widespread military pistol in the world along with the "rifle of the west" the FNFAL. This pistol is an example of quality first world "state of the art" manufacturing.

Caliber/Ammunition - Available in 9x19, .40 S&W, and .45 acp (as the FNP-45) the glaring missing caliber is .357 Sig but because FN is positioning this gun for military contracts we may not ever see other offerings, all you big-bore shooters will love the .45 version. (Ed. note, several die-hard 1911 fans I know have now switched to the FNP45USG it is a true contender for the .45 lovers.)

Use - The FNX is a full size pistol it is large and subsequently heavy and bulky for concealed carry. I believe with some excessive effort it could work as a concealed pistol, but I would never recommend it for this use. Open-carry was my intended purpose for this gun, as a daily carry on a duty belt the weight and bulk is more than reasonable. The FNX unloaded is 21.5 oz, a relative lightweight for a full size pistol. The FNX and FNP-45 are positioned as the new military pistol, rumor is circulating that FNH is gearing up to enter possible contests to unseat the 92 as a standard issue pistol. (Ed. note this is now old news and while the military continues to love the mediocre we as civilians now have a few additional choices on the market.)

The polymer wrapping is actually not the "frame" as you can see here the skeleton frame inside of the polymer. Note: the cock, half-cock, and out-of-battery prevention lever.

Ergonomics - Ergonomic design is likely the most excellent for large hands like mine that I have ever tried in the 9mm caliber, only the FNP-45 is slightly better. The FNX has a set of four slide-in rear palm inserts with thick and thin profile and two textures. This handgun points naturally and is intended as combat-ready for quick target leveling and fulfilling military requirements.

Current production - Production of the FNX is centered at the FNH factory in South Carolina. The US factory produces all of the models from US made parts, current production is in full swing but because of the relative newness of the design used examples are not common. Accessories like holsters are few an far except the standard mount attachments that are universal.