FNX 45 Tactical Mag Seating/Catching Issue

Dear 8 lb 6 oz Baby Jesus, these FNX 45 tactical mag obstructions on the multiple 45tac pistols are giving me a large sad face. :sad:

I must confess, Obummer and his lovely administration scared me badly of a Hi-cap 2013 restriction.

I must also confess, 15 rounds of 230grain goodness made Evil himself take my precious little fingers dial the FFL and order 4 of these FNX45tacs and eat Ramen noodles for months.
Funds gathered...FNX 45 tacs came...
Such a beloved FNX 45ACP target shooter it is, trigger so nice.


Oh', I try so hard to not listen the the Hk voices....

They keep telling me to just come to the HK side......"Come to the HK side" (We have a 45 ACP tactical too)...

"Speed is what you need", " We have all the speed you need"..."Come hold the HK, go ahead, it's o.k., touch it"...

"Don't worry about the 15rds".

"No STD blem warts inside the barrel", "no drooping polymer rail",..."No mag loading obstructions"...

errr!


Why can't these FNX purchases be as nice and easy as the scar series are?

Rant over (Apology). Amen

IGC224 said:

...noticed my 2 week old FNX 45 SS has the same thing. Will forcing the mag in with the minor resistance cause any damage to the gun?

Click to expand...

I do see that it is putting dig marks (damage) on the front side and front corners of the magazine body with each hard stoppage.
Honestly, it only catches and snags when the mag is inserted with the front pressure more forward and outside to our body.

Try test loading/inserting the mag from the left hand too.
The obstruction IS ambidextrous.

I loaded the mag on the HK45 with massive pressure in all directions and their design thankfully does not have the problem.
The HK45 current model has also been out on the market for far more than a year in consumer tested hands.
If I can get this mag problem sorted out, this pistol would have a massive obsession and a good future resale when the next best thing comes out in a decade from now.

The most embarrassing thing is when I've talked about how badass this FNX45tac is, and a fellow shooter tinkers with it, looking at me like I'm full of it.
The trigger, grip, capacity and most everything else is really really nice.

I just feel like I got the first generation run of this FNX45tac.
I'd bet my whole collection, that they revise their manufacturing sometime on these quirks.
There are too many people having small complaints about a few things.
The FNX45 tac will be a monster in the next production makeover.

I am confident, as I saw manufacturers do this with way too many of my firearms, cars and bikes or ATVs or RC models.
The first year of production always is rushed with Manufacturing/QC and not enough Real People Q-Control.

I had to do it!
After strolling around the counter of a huge store's selection, I wanted to see if the FNX 45 tac that was sitting on the shelf has and blems in the barrel or the infamous mag insertion problem.
I posed as a perspective buyer and had the employee take it out for me.
After some ooh's and ahh's, I said "why does this mag stick and hang up"?
He tried and it stuck for him too!
I just had to do it!
-One, to see if they fixed it in production yet.
-Two, to see his face as I said "what's up w/ your FNX man"...that's not good, eh'!?? :wink:

This is still one of the favs in the collection, but it is embarrassing when I have fellow enthusiasts come over that give me "the look" when it hangs up.
I'll send it in someday, but got customer service smoke blown up my rear about how he did not think so when I called.

It's about time to send em' in for the job.
Last I heard, they submitted and fixed the issue on that sharp edge that the mags run into.

Enjoy the new year.

Bill Bond said:

Over the years I have worked for a couple of manufacturers that would not admit to any product having a problem but would try and fix it quietly. IMO that is what FN is doing in this case.

Click to expand...

First, I love the top shelf products from FNH and want to make that clear.

Can I ask for an easy button (webpage link) to the success of the process of sending in a FNX45 Tac to FNH repair?
I noticed that the FNX tac Barrel blem has been fixed in production, as it looks like everyone is getting good barrels lately.
The first FNX45 Tac models were coming with such a blem and it was uncalled for or overseen.
I will not accept the excuse of "does it change any accuracy".
-The blem should have never been there and is not present on any models I have ever seen on any barrel I have inspected period.

The rough edge on the mag release from the inside seems to be the culprit (easy to see with just the lower assembly and mag).
I will contact the FNH service this January and see if the smoke cleared or if there is more to blow.

I wish for two corrections.
-new, replacement blemish free barrel.
-a smooth magazine insertion with no restrictions from any angle, just like HK and the others.

Even if a trained hand can slide a mag in just perfect, ...What about the friend who is just learning to shoot?
-I can't stand the fact that a favorite top shelf item gets looks and raised eyebrows as the mag stops and hangs up.
...it's just plain embarrassing.

I do very much like FNH, I would just like some corrections.

My Experience - so far...

saltpinch said:

After thought Q&A.

Can any member of the forum provide evidence that their new FNX45 Tac does not have the magazine catching issue?
It would be a great step in the corrective action area.
Thank you in advance.

Click to expand...

Sounds like this mag release/spring/hang-up problem continues. I recently purchased an FNX45, (not tactical), manufactured in October 2012. I had an FNP45 w/ no manual safety which I got rid of. I've had no instances of the magazines running into a wall when inserting. The function of the FNX45 mag release was terrible - out of the box. The function of the mag release, on the FNP45 I had, was flawless from new until I got rid of it. I could not see anything about the mag release on the FNP being different than on the FNX, but I don't know that to be fact. The problem that I noticed was that when pushing the mag release from either side, it felt "sticky", and it felt like the button might not move back to center when released. Then, I stored the gun in an unheated room, and when I picked up the gun next time, cold, the mag release button was too "sticky" to be functional. I pushed a magazine up into the mag well, hard, racked the slide, and mag fell out! That got my attention. For anyone who hasn't figured it out, when you push your magazine up the mag well, the tab on the front of your magazine pushes the mag release toward the right side of the gun, and as the tab clears the mag release bar, the mag release button/bar must re-center, or your magazine is not locked into the mag well. So this thing must work freely. Sitting around pushing the button back and forth for hours, didn't help. Lubricating the mag release bar and spring - did not help, if anything it made problem even worse. I pulled the spring and with needle nose pliers I played with the angles on the two ends of the spring where the spring terminates. A few times in and out of the gun, some trial and error playing with the angles on the ends of the spring, and it has seemed to function fine for several days and regardless of temperature. Some other things I noticed - when the spring is removed, and the mag button/bar is inserted back into the frame, it really is a tight fit - very tight. I'm guessing this fit is very effective at keeping dirt out of the gun. The mag release button/bar only needs to move a short distance, and return to center. It must return to center every time, when pressed, or when a magazine is inserted. For whatever reason, I've found that the "acid test" seems to be inserting a full magazine into the gun with a round already chambered. The spring must be free to function, or it won't. The fit of the button/bar in the frame is too tight, any further resistance encountered by the spring can equal non-functional. Getting rid of all lubrication in the area with the exception of a light film on the metal bar from a very lightly oiled towel to protect metal is the limit. When the mag release button is pushed from either direction, you can see a coil from one side of the spring must overlap the opposing coil on the other side of the spring. When you pull the spring, notice that on each diagonal side of the spring, where the spring terminates, this area appears to be angled in relation to the rest of the spring. On mine, the angle was too extreme, so I started bending it back toward the rest of the spring - I did it a little at a time, and each time I re-inserted the spring, things seemed a little smoother. I continued doing that until I was happy with the function. I personally think this design, in order to have full-time ambidextrous mag-release, is a bad idea. The expectations of the spring, in a space that is too small, unfortunately will make this area of the gun prone to be an area that needs to be adjusted sometimes. At a minimum, I will always be conscious of this area of the gun, and it will get frequent function testing to be sure. FN would make this gun better if they just used a reliable reversible mag release. I'm disappointed in FN for sending guns out of it's factory with flawed function in this critical area - change is necessary. I will say that the FNP 45 never gave me any cause for concern in all matters of the mag release - and before the challenges I've encountered with this FNX, I would have thought it was a reliable design too. It clearly is not - FN could compromise it's reputation for producing perfectly made/functioning firearms if they don't address it on this, of all it's pistols. By the way, the FNX I bought was one of 40 identical guns that were provided by FN to a police dept for testing and evaluation (pistol trials). The reason I had the opportunity to buy this FNX (w/ night sights!) is because said police dept chose Glock instead. I have a hunch I may know one reason they made the choice they did. By the way, all of the FNX guns from this group that were provided for testing and evaluation, had the same crappy mag release function! FN seriously needs to wake up in quality control when they are sending out all of their guns - poor quality control probably cost them a good contract.

I do want to say a few more things about my experience with the FNP45 I had, and the FNX 45 I now have. I've carried a Browning Hi Power for 24 years - I bring with me a 24 year history of being very impressed. Aside from the mag release problem, which really is too bad, my experience with my FNP45 and FNX45 have otherwise been 100% perfection and flawless. Function has been flawless with every kind of ammunition I've put through them - I do believe that these guns like hot ammo a lot. With a good carry ammo like Federal HST, this thing will leave a nice neat perfect pile of brass a nice distance to your right and rearward. Accuracy is not a question with this gun - it is far more accurate than I'll ever be. I've found it to be an easy gun for me to shoot accurately - I've found it to be a gun that I can shoot fast, accurately. I am a forever Browning Hi Power and 1911 enthusiast - - - AND I really like the FNX45 - a lot! I don't generally get too excited about dishwasher-safe-framed guns - the FNX 45 is an exception. 16 rounds of .45ACP is amazing to me - in a package that is reasonable in size. I don't think I'd ever want the weight involved with a full metal framed gun that holds 16 rounds of .45 ACP. I do believe that the FNX45 is the most formidable handgun, chambered in the most devastating handgun caliber, that money can buy. FN still needs to wake up about the whole mag release function issue - they've dispensed a lot of guns by this time with less than perfect function in this area.