With the .45 offerings from H&K, Glock, Springfield Armory, S&W, and others, the FNP-45 seems to be somewhat under the radar. Think this will be a big seller for FN or just an also-ran in the .45 caliber crowd?
An also ran. Some people seem to like it but I just don’t see FN’s new pistols doing all that well. I could be wrong…I have been before…
I agree the FN probably will be an also-ran. That’s mostly because FN is hardly a household word in the USA, even though it should be. They’ve been around for a long, long time, and they are one of only two current official manufacturers for M16/M4 weapons for the US military. They own the Browning and Winchester brand names, and they made Browning-branded firearms for many years. Moreover, they’re famous for the Browning Hi-Power starting in 1935 or so. Their reputation for quality products is equal to the best out there. But, still they remain a relatively unknown company outside the “gun nut” crowd. They have a great set of full-page ads running in a number of gun magazines right now, but I suspect much of it is simply preaching to the choir.
Personally, I’ve got two FNH weapons: an FNP-45 and an FNH SLP Mark 1 shotgun. Both are beautifully machined and are terrific weapons. When/if it becomes available, I’ll try for a SCAR heavy. But the fact remains that a large majority of gun owners, and especially prospective gun owners, don’t know enough firearms history to know the corporate name Fabrique Nationale Herstal. That’s a problem for the Marketing department at FNH corporate. I don’t envy their task.
Oddly enough over the past 18 months my collection seemed to gather more NF products than any other brand.
FN FS2000
FN SLP
FN TPS
FN USG
FN Hi-Power (40 Cal.)
No FNP though. It just doesn’t fit my large hands well. I do read good things about it. I think it will have a niche market.
I read somewhere that the head of FN, I guess FN USA said if they don’t sell a certain amount of pistols this year they will pull out of the market. I don’t know if that is true.
If that’s true, as I posted earlier, their Marketing department has a difficult task, because they’ve got to find a way to create demand for what is essentially an unknown product. For example, the FNP-45 competes almost head-to-head with the Glock 21SF. I own both, and the FNP is head and shoulders better than the Glock, IMO. But which one has the household name in the USA?
To my knowledge, no one competes on the top competitive levels with FNH handguns, although you see CZ-75s everywhere (yet somehow, I think FNH is a bit bigger than CZ).
Moreover, try and find an FNP-45 on a dealer’s shelf. According to the FNH website, there is ONE authorized FNH dealer in the Phoenix, AZ, area, and Phoenix metro is the sixth largest city in the USA. To make matters worse, most of the bigger cities (NY, LA, Chicago) are rabidly anti-gun anyway. So why only one dealer in Phoenix? You can’t sell product if there’s no one to sell it. And you DEFINITELY can’t gripe about poor sales if you only make a half-ass effort to sell said product in the first place. So FNH could be building a self-fulfilling prophesy, and that would be sad indeed. Of course, there’s always that next government contract.
I’ve seen it at more than a few shops in Phoenix. Why do you think it is better than a Glock 21?
I went to a local store 2 days ago to specifically buy an FNP45, as a 1911 guy i wanted to try somthing different and the hi cap really caught my attention. So I go in and handle it a bit and it felt awful in my hands, I tried a XD, Glock, MP, and a HK45. The HK was one of the best feeling guns I’ve ever handled. I never liked the USP’s feel. I shot all of them and ended up buying the HK. although after shooting the FN and the MP were about tied for second but the HK felt awsome. I still think I’m gonna buy the FN, just have to wait for a couple weeks.
I’ve never been an HK guy until I bought a P30 and then and HK 45. Both are just great pistols. You will love the HK 45.