Optics Planet Discount Code: HRFUNK (5% off your purchase) HOP Munitions Discount Code: HRFUNK10 (10% off your purchase) Targets Online: www.targetsonline.com Join this channel to get access to exclusive members only content: / @hrfunk
Bought one about a month ago and mine is dead on sights and the trigger is one of the best in my collection of firearms. I have no complaints and switched to the Reflex as my EDC. Any hammer fired pistol that doesn't go all the way back will not reset the hammer......try that on all the hammer fired pistols and you'll have the same result. If someone is using weak subsonic ammo in their weapon for self defense they are a unexperienced in ammo or have no knowledge of weapons.
I may need to do a video to demonstrate this, but many (if not most) hammer-fired pistols reset the hammer in (about) the initial 1/3 of the slide’s rearward movement.
@@hrfunk Shoot some low powered ammo in it and see if it has that problem, racking the slide not all the way back isn't what happens when it's fired with ammo. Just my opinion here.
I wouldn’t worry at all about the potential reset issue. I’ve had my five seven for awhile and it uses the same internal hammer fire design and I’ve never had an issue when shooting and the trigger pull is great. It’s only a problem if you short stroke but that’s a problem for any gun.
I watched Part 2 first, but was still interested enough to watch Part 1. All and all, I like everything about the Reflex, except that bottom line about your shooting experience, which I take to heart. Competing with the Hellcat and the SIG 365, this looks like an very nice pistol and it has some very desirable features. i can see why you were excited to get it into your hands and test it.
Except for dry firing, we never have to recharge the hammer, only overcome the recoil spring tension during chambering the Reflex - e.g. assuming we finish at the range and close the slide but don’t dry fire, the hammer is already out of the way of the slide (already cocked). For the poor pistol itself, when cycling the next round it inevitably has to push the hammer back down (recook it), since pulling the trigger for our last shot uncocked the hammer. That having been said, my personal preference with 9mm ammo is the lighter charged rounds, in the 230 ft lbs to 280 ft lbs range, so your comment on cycling light loads is music to my ear! So far the 147 grain Federal works well for me in a G26, coming in a little under 300 ft lbs. I’m going to try 150 grain Federal Syntec next (red tip) which is much lighter at under 240 ft lbs. Hopefully it will reliably cycle the Glock. Since I want a slimmer micro nine, I’m researching this Reflex, the IWI Masada Slim, and the EZ racks (most likely the poorly named Equalizer). Grain weight doesn’t seem to correlate to ft-lbs (but my instructor says it can once the bullet gets massive enough to reduce available space in the cartridge for powder. On the other end is the spectrum, the 70 grain bullet in another Syntec offering is in excess of 400 ft lbs (maybe that requires a 4” barrel or longer). Go figure. Can you recommend any ammo that’s under 300 ft lbs?
A very informative video. Breaking down the gun, showing components and explaining those components was essential for proper use and maintenance. Definitely should NOT be demonized by the RU-vid police. I can already see issues with this one... on to part two.
Thumbs up on the review, Thanks! Thumbs down on the FN Reflex long slide reset and having to use snap caps for dry firing. YOu cant even dry fire the pistol with a magazine in it unless you hit the slide release every time, THAT is a pain! Have a great weekend!
Issues. Most every manufacturer is having “issues” with quality control and for so many reasons the past couple of years that I don’t know where to begin…. Sooooo glad I bought the ones I want/need a number of years ago!
After seeing this and reading the various comments it should be apparent that this piece should ALWAYS be carried in a properly designed holster that covers the trigger guard, and that if it is an IWB or pocket holster the pistol should be carefully inserted into the holster before one puts it on. Some fool will eventually try carrying it without a holster and will shoot themselves unintentionally. After all, it is like carrying a 1911 or P-35 cocked but not locked! The gentleman who stated that FN needs to put a trigger safety on the Reflex was absolutely correct. Let's sit back and wait for the lawsuits to begin.... Great review as always, Chief...
Excellent breakdown. Very interesting how similar it is to the hellcat, I believe you may be right regard FN following the hellcat design over the Sig 365. In fact the magazines for the FN and Hellcat look similar in tube length and style. Have you tried to see if the magazines interchange?
Hello Mr. Funk, I appreciate your thoughtful and thorough review of firearms. Your reviews always help when considering a new firearm purchase. By the way, for the record, you are a great shot!
The "issue" that you were mentioning is typical of a 1911 short stroking. Although the 1911 may reset the hammer when it short strokes, the FN may not. Good info on this one! Keep 'em coming!
I bought one.... saw a couple "bad" reviews, and a bit more "good" reviews. So, take to the range the first time, and getting 10 or so FTF out of about 125 rounds. Okay, not good. Usually have a lot better experience out of the box. Found where FN says they recommend 200-250 rounds through it for break in using 124 grain rounds. Okay, I'll try that. I basically have to tap the slide back into battery - about 1/4" out of battery picking up the new round, but I was using 115 grain. Armscor, no issues, Norma is where I had issues. Yes, I cleaned and lubed before taking to the range... after the range, cleaned and lubed and with snap caps, they are loading okay. Sucks sometimes with break in periods in this point in time. I had a Taurus TX-22 that took 500 rounds to finally get broken in... Didn't expect that... Beyond the above, the gun shoots POA/POI. Only have shot out to 15 yards, but this is supposed to be a CCW gun, not a match gun...
So. Range trip today. 200 124gr through it - 100 PMC and 100 CCI blazer. Had 4 FTB however if discovered it was not pulling slide back far enough. I’ll still need to do another couple hundred to make sure I have no issues but I think it is breaking in.
@@hrfunk Nothing that a sight adjuster can't resolve on the windage. Glocks have those cheap plastic sites that will eventually losen and move, hopefully not when you're in a self defense situation...lol
So no issues here. Just someone not very smart with guns no matter what he thinks. (Don’t bossy rack) and as for a trigger nothing is wrong with it, but give it time. For those of you who can’t shoot straight with oem trigger apex will have one eventually to fix the travel I’m sure.
Umm, the slide on my Beretta M9 only has to retract a little over half an inch to fully reset the hammer. Obviously, it needs to move father than that to complete its cycle of operation, but not to re-cock the action. The Reflex seems to have to retract completely to accomplish the same thing.
Good morning HR. An honest review with both the good and bad features. I think this is the first gun I've seen with the take down lever rotating up. Looks odd sticking up above the frame.
I shot mine for the first time today and overall it was great. I did experience the trigger reset issue, but I will take the blame for that. I just have to get used to how this trigger operates.
I would thing all semis requir the slide to ne full run nack for proper jammer reset. Seems obvious to me dont run no weak ammunderpoweres ammo.budget or handloads. I run non of the above on all my guns. Good ammo of course.
@@chrisquintana3877 Metal sights… mine came with them from the factory. Metal trigger… why? It’s not necessary. The gun goes (((BANG))). Metal mag release… Negative. Metal mag release on polymer mag catch indentation will wear it out. 3.5lb trigger… Why? The 43 is NOT a competition gun. It’s an ultra compact defense weapon. But Glock makes a 3.5lb so install it. Light rail… On a compact pocket gun? Not needed. Normal grip angle… It is “normal.” We’re you born with defective hands or something? 15 rnd mags… the 43 is 6+1, 43X is 10+1… carry a spare magazine. How many rounds do you need? What number does it stop at? Ambi controls… Go buy a Gen 5 Glock 26 or 19 if you really “need” that. Are you always so needy in general?
@@colt10mmsecurity68 cool, keep your overpriced ghetto blaster. FN might be a little to refined for your taste. It's a better pistol, sorry that triggers you. Pun intended
The only problem I had was chambering a round with the magazine in. Shooting I had one ftf after That I ran perfectly.i took it apart now it feeds with the magazine in
Great review. My concern is when walking around with a loaded chamber you basically have a cocked and UNLOCKED situation. The reason I don’t like 1911 style pistols is that when you have a loaded chamber there is always spring tension on the hammer and this has no safety. I would like it more if there were an exposed hammer. I like revolvers, no spring tension and my SA/DA Sig 239 and 228 because, ready to fire the only springs are in the magazine. With the Reflex you almost have to dry fire or leave the hammer under tension.
This. If FN give the fnx style control to reflex, it will be a perfect slim compact da/SA that has no competition on the market, given that the hammer housing design are kinda similar.
1911’s are totally safe to carry cocked and locked and also designed to do so. The Reflex lacks a grip and thumb safety so your concern is valid there.
I'm still very interested once price drops guess ill have to watch part 2. Though job is making me a Block guy so am considering a block48 if the Palmetto mags become available and get reported to be reliable
I had a very negative experience with FN customer service when I returned a my FiveSeven pistol for repair. No communication from FN during the shipping and return process. No explanantion about what they did to fix the the problem. I had to call FN to find out what they did. Ended up selling the pistol because I had concerns about it's safety and reliability. I will NEVER buy another FN firearm.
When I said that it was a surmise based upon the product designation listed on the FN website. The suffix NMS is listed in the description. I suspected that stood for “No Manual Safety.” As I understand, FN has now announced that a manual safer version will be forthcoming.
@@hrfunk thanks for the response. I just watched your shooting video, and I also think this isn’t the pistol for me. Thanks for the honest opinion on the pistol and more so the trigger.
Have had mine all of 3 days and had to send it back. Sent 90 Winchester 115 grain rounds through and the fire control pin on the back strap started walking out to the left. They’ve had my shipment since Thursday, site still shows my case as “awaiting delivery”
@@hrfunk well, got an email first thing today with a tracking number. No update on the case on support website so I called in. They said the fire control pin was installed backwards. Should get her back Wednesday. Honestly considering selling it and buying an HK VP9SK as that’s the gun I originally wanted. The thickness of it compared to the reflex and the hammer trigger on the reflex honestly had me change course but with this crappy qc I’m a bit worried.
Can one consider the extractor here (sticks out a bit?) as another -low light- loaded chamber indicator as some say/do with glocks ? What is your opinion on trusting the external extractor method ?
I highly doubt a round will chamber under the circumstances that the hammer doesn’t fully cock. If that’s true you’ll need to do failure drill regardless.
I think, based upon my handling of this pistol, that it might be possible to chamber a round while loading, and not sufficiently retract the slide to cock the action.
Best handgun reviewer! I have watched several videos of this pistol and read review in American Rifleman, but no one is as all-encompassing as you. I would never buy a new pistol until you reviewed it, as I'm always looking to add to my large handgun collection.
Picked up a new Reflex MRD in FDE finish that came as you describe, except it had a trigger lock as well as the bicycle lock, and the smaller magazine already had the pinkie extension installed with a flush-mount base included. So far, my biggest disappointment is that the accessory rail is too narrow to accommodate the Mantis X-10 Elite for home practice!
@@JJ_SDWR Took it to the indoor range and shot it at 15 yds. It failed to feed the first round every time I inserted a newly charged magazine. The sights are great, but I couldn't keep a group tighter than 2 FEET!! For comparison, I shot a Swiss Army surplus SIG P.210 with standard sights at the same distance just to make sure it wasn't my shooting. The SIG grouped at about 2 inches using the same ammo (Federal). I've put less than 50 rounds through, so I see if it improves after about 200 rounds. But for now, I'm really disappointed with what I would have expected from an FN product.
LOL You sure did dry-fire that thing a lot, right after saying they don't recommend doing it "excessively" (whatever that means). In your opinion, does this truly damage the firing pin, or cause more wear than using live rounds or snapcaps?
I would not call the dry-firing I performed in this video "excessive". If there is damage caused by this amount, then I want nothing to do with this pistol. As to what/how much damage dry-fire might cause, I really have no idea.
@@hrfunk Think it was luck when I searched online but the odd thing is they had the black for $599.99🤔. I triple checked to make sure it wasn't the MRD.
I’ve watched your review of the FN reflex and also the Canik MC nine. I like and respect your in-depth analysis. I would like to know what gun do you recommend for Conealed Carry?
@@hrfunk Thanks for the quick reply. I looked at the hell cat in the gun store and didn’t care for the trigger. Ironically, what you didn’t like about the reflex is exactly what I’m looking for, light trigger. Just curious if you know the answer to this question. I’m also looking for a 1911 9 mm that shoots single action. Some of these hammer fired guns like the bull armory Cherokee compact and the Beretta PX storm are DA/SA. I am wondering if you carry them cocked and locked would they then fire single action from the first round?
I OWN A BLACK FN REFLEX MRD USEING A HOLSUN 507K WITH A BLACK POINT IWB .Ive fired over 2000 rounds with NO PROBLEMS. There are NO MANUAL SAFETY ON THE FN REFLEX.
Something I was thinking about this morning is the prospect of not cycling the slide far enough when chambering the first round. You might never know you had an issue until you squeeze the trigger the first time.
I have no idea how many semi-auto handguns I’ve handled and fired during my lifetime. Hundreds certainly, maybe thousands. I cycled the slide on this one the same as all the others. They all worked just fine and this one did not. If you’re comfortable with that, then I wish you luck.
FN makes some quality rifles and parts, but their pistols have never impressed me much. Having a non optics ready version in 2023 just seems crazy to me. New Canik and walther pistols are all optics ready, period
@@chriskelly509I agree. Not a fan on red dots. If it rains your dot will dissappear. Also presentation must be perfect or you will not find dot. Micropistols also are much harder to shoot
@@hrfunk as far as im concerned they're neither however I view the vast majority of striker guns as SA just to keep simple tools simple. There are a few that operate as DAO, do you know of any?
@@hrfunk first time ever seeing this type of internal hammer. And I kind of like it. Normal it's got the slit on the back of the slide and you can watch it work like on the lcps and that style of hammer fired pistol 🤗
This one of the last pistols I would buy. Over priced, hammer fired and dry firing with snap caps is a pain in the a$$. I have owned a few FN's and have traded in or sold all of them.
I suspect the version with a safety will be added in the future. I could be wrong, but the nomenclature assigned to this handgun on the FN website tends to give that indication.
They might be getting a California version ready, now that micro stamping has been enjoined. Loaded chamber and mag safety are current remaining requirements but I don’t know about a manual safety lever. People will compare the FN’s hidden fully cocked internal hammer to a Glock striker, but Glocks are only half cocked.
Is it safe to say the hammer fired construction is the reason why there is no ambi slide release on this weapon or they just wanted width bragging rights like the other companies that make ambi pistols do with micros? 11% of the marketplace will love that decision.
Your issue is Not an issue. That’s a hammer fired gun and if you baby rack it like an old lady sure it won’t lock. And it was hard to replicate that issue cause you really have to barley rack it
@@hrfunk I have. Their response is as follows: Good morning, We are unaware of a dedicated laser specifically manufactured for the Reflex. If you find a laser that will mount to a Glock 43x MOS, it should mount to the Reflex. Hope this helps…..Barry
@@hrfunk I agree. Overall, I’m happy with the pistol, but I just like lasers because you don’t have to “find” the red or green dot. They first told me that a Streamlight TLR8 Sub would work, to which I replied about a laser only. Their second response was the one I just sent you. on another note, I bought a Beretta APX-A1 on September 26 and sent in the form that day for the $100.00 rebate. They said to wait up to 10 weeks. Today it’s February 28 and I still haven’t received my rebate check.. I’ve contacted Beretta and the rebate company and they received the form but tell me it’s still processing. What a joke
That’s a good policy, but even the best ammunition can have an occasional under-powered cartridge. You also have to be attentive when you hand-cycle a cartridge into the chamber.
@@hrfunk once again, seems like a non issue considering it's something that can happen with any weapon. Due diligence goes a long way to preventing problems.
Mine has a serious failure to feed problem out the box. Apparently MANY people are having this problem. And i mean many. Just type it in to Google and read the horror stories. A new gun should work. Period. Shame on FN!
@hrfunk same here. Gonna call FN Monday morning. I put 300 rounds through it today and about 80% failure to feed. Is incredibly frustrating. Ive been shooting a long time and this is a first. Oddly the more I'm using it the better it seems to be getting so maybe it's just a break in period. But I've never had any of the many other pistols I've had do this.
I believe there will be one introduced in the near future. I’m a little surprised it hasn’t been announced yet. Maybe they’re going to unveil it at the SHOT Show.
@@hrfunk I cannot possibly go into sales data in a RU-vid video , you’d have to work at a store . But believe me when I tell you that there’s a mayor consumer interest in safeties now .
I am not impressed with FN. Overpriced and parts are known to fail. Glocks are old school but st least they are reliable i own the LS Edge very average nothing special
I knew from the preview that the Reflex was going to be a bad gun. Any ccw semi automatic needs a trigger safety. I was looking for one in the trade show videos and could not find one. Apparently it doesn't have one. If it's not going to have a trigger safety, surely it will have a manual safety for holstering and upholstering? Nope. So basically it's a hot potato that apparently has a great trigger when it's not ND'ing
@@xConstipatedPandax yeah. it's in place to help protect against a piece of material from a garment pulling the trigger when holstering. crazy idea I know
@@ergofoxxxy Incorrect, they are inertial safeties in case you drop the gun, like sig didn’t put on the 320 and we know how that went. This does the same with a hinged trigger like the m&p or fn’s own 509, the hinge is at the top of the trigger here.
My Reflex would not cycle after each round. I get one shot off and then failure to feed; tried different ammos and clean the damn thing, and still experience the same. Fuck FN
Not going to poo poo anyone or anything, but as a long time FN fan, I’d look closely at their track record of product support. Disappointed FNP-9 owner.