FNX-45 High Power Caliber Conversions - Woods Defense Gun

18923 Views 54 Replies 15 Participants Last post by Tagger13, Jan 31, 2022

treillw

Discussion Starter · Jun 13, 2018

I am interested in the FNX platform for a woods defense gun. I have heard a lot of good things about the gun. I intend on using it for woods defense for 4 legged and 2 legged critters (Sasquatch).

I would like a round with more power than the 45 ACP. The 460 Rowland and the 40 Super conversions have caught my eye and I think it would be awesome if everything worked properly with this platform. I was really excited about everything until I made a phone call to EFK Fire Dragon today about one of their 40 Super Barrels.

The lady I spoke with on the phone told me that they don't have any 40 Super barrels in stock and that they rarely produce them because there is a very low demand for them and they end up sitting on the shelf for a year before they sell. They don't have any plans on making them anytime soon. She is keeping a list of people who are interested, so if you are interested give them a shout so we can get some made up.

I then started asking her about other options and asked if they ever made any 460 Rowland barrels and she said that they used to but they stopped. Why, I asked. She said because the round was really hard on their test guns and test shooters. It would crack the polymer frames and the shooters complained about the recoil.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't really see the gun kicking so bad that the recoil is unbearable. It's less power than a 44 mag with a comp - I would think it would be kinda mild; somewhere around a standard 45 acp maybe? Maybe they didn't have them setup with comps or buffers? Nevertheless this report scares me pretty badly that I would crack the FNX frame or cause some other damage. I was thinking about a conversion kit from 460 Rowland.com

I am also considering the Glock 20 in 10mm and the Glock 21 converted to 460 Rowland or 40 Super. There are a few cons with the Glock IMO though which make me like the FNX more: The glock has a worse trigger, lower capacity with the G21, and a huge grip.

Questions:
I was wondering if anybody had any positive or negative experiences with such conversions?
Any other suggestions on conversions or other platforms which may be good for what I'm after?
Anybody know where I may be able to find a 40 Super barrel for sale?
If you do have this conversion, was it hard to get it to function reliably? What did you have to modify/do to get it to work properly? What ammo were you using?
Are the EFK barrels quality?

Any help is appreciated!
Thanks!

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Gray_Ghost

· #31 · Aug 24, 2020

FN47 said:
But I don't think it's as simple as FPE. The FPE has to transfer to the target and in the right places. I would think the 45 caliber of 460R over 41mag's ~43 caliber or 10mms 40cal would transfer that FPE into the target more quickly, with less chance to over penetrate and the bullet leave with energy still left not transferred. But, bears hearts beat very slow and they might not be deterred by flesh wounds/pain. I think the bear central nervous system as a target would be the closest to a reliable way to survive. To penetrate into the bear, would the .45" be the best choice or would it lose energy too quickly? I understand this is where sectional density comes in - the bullet may have to displace more tissue to penetrate but if it has a higher relative weight to the more narrow projectile it's momentum can penetrate. 10mm seems to top at 200gr. 460 can use 45acp bullets and plenty of 255gr hard cast around.

So the rule of thumb that I've come to learn is, for bear/hog/etc, you want FMJ rounds, preferably in a +p loading. You need the velocity to penetrate. The vitals on hogs in particular are pretty deep in, and that's some very hard tissue to go through. 45 vs 10mm, I'll take 10mm every day of the week. You have a better chance of getting the penetration that you need.

Ultimately though, the statistics I've seen on bear attacks show the most important thing is getting as many rounds on target as possible. For bear, at least, getting more 9mm rounds on target is better than getting only a couple rounds of 10mm or 45. Hogs are a little more difficult to penetrate with the smaller round, hence why 10mm is widely regarded as one of the better options. Here is an article RE bear attacks sorted by caliber used in defense with pistol. Defense Against Bears with Pistols: 97% Success rate, 37 Incidents

I really wish there was a 10mm conversion for the FNX, but it's pretty much Springfield or Glock for that caliber, unless you want half the capacity.

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Gray_Ghost

· #33 · Aug 25, 2020

Fair enough. I saw 45 vs 10mm, rather than 460 vs 10mm. That said, I don't know if the wider bullet will penetrate as easily on hogs, even with the greater velocity. If I had both, I'd do some comparison work next time at the ranch. My point still stands with regards to bear though. It's better to be able to put more hits on target, and the data on known bear attacks defended with a pistol bears that out. Much like with ordinary conceal carry, as long as you stick with 9mm or larger, you can successfully defend yourself against a bear. Hog, as those of us in the south know, is a different story. With that said, that 460 conversion costs almost as much as I paid out for a G29, not even counting the cost of a 45 to begin with (which I have a FNX-45 just can't justify the cost of a conversion atm).

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Gray_Ghost

· #37 · Sep 9, 2020

I will say, that is a nice thing if I ever decide to go through with a conversion. They're near my hometown and inside of 2 hours from where I live currently. So I wouldn't have to mess with shipping. That's just really low on the priority list at the moment though, I need a tac slide first.

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Gray_Ghost

· #46 · Jan 31, 2021

Well I did it. I stopped by their shop in Tulsa and picked up my kit. Obviously I'll have to wait for ammo that's on backorder but I got the hardware. Going to order some brass for the bench too. Looking forward to when I can get some 460 rounds to put through it. The fact that they're less than 20 minutes from where I grew up was very nice.

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Gray_Ghost

· #48 · Feb 6, 2021

Waiting on ammo so I can take it to the range, but here it is all put together. When I first bought the FNX-45, two tone was all they had (usually not a big fan of FDE), but the contrast has definitely grown on me. I need to open up the bottom of my Vedder holster to fit the comp.

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