Range trip - 9/12/19

[M1A4ME]

Took the new FNS .40 and the CZ75B .40.  I meant to the P09 .40, too, but forgot it.

Hot, muggy, miserable, even at 1030 this morning in the shade.  I was getting off 4 rounds before having to pull my glasses off to wipe the fog off them.  Some days it's only two shots before wiping the lenses is required.

Shot the FNS first.  Tried to get used to the trigger pull.  Shot a couple groups then picked up that CZ75B.  World of difference in the trigger pull (DUH!!).  That first shot with the CZ75 went about 4" low and was a complete SURPRISE.  I think I was trying to feel it like the FNS trigger and with that old spur style hammer and CGW adjustable sear there was a bullet hole in the paper well before I was ready to put one there.  I was still working on getting the front/rear sights lined up and getting the feel of it.  Crisp feels real light, sometimes.

Still looking at/evaluating pictures.  I do want to compare the FNS groups to the M&P 2.0 5" groups though.  I'm taking pictures and I'll post them in a bit.

[M1A4ME]

Doggone it, posted the rest of the range report in the wrong thread, gotta get that fixed.

Both pistols on the bench.  I also checked out the new/used FNS magazines I'd bought.  No issues with those either.



Top two pictures are the two best FNS .40 groups with the 140 grain Missouri Bullet Co. lead bullets and Herco.  The bottom picture is the best CZ75B .40 group with the same ammo.  The CZ75B did a little better.



This picture is the best FNS .40 group with the Nosler 135 grain hollow points and Blue Dot.  I should be able to get the other two up with those center 3.  More work required.



And, I checked back on my last range trip with the M&P 2.0 5" FDE 9MM.  Here I was thinking the FNS out shot the M&P, till I looked at the pictures.  The combination of the Apex trigger kit, Apex barrel and Winchester 124 grain FMJ/NATO rounds shot better groups than the FNS shot for me today.  I either need to find a hollow point load/ammo that shoots as well as the FMJ/NATO ammo or put the M&P away.  I'm not going to carry FMJ ammo around.  More load development for that one, too.

Keeping records/pictures is important to helping make good decisions.  I need to get back to the range one morning next week and see what the FNS can do.

And maybe buy/install a CGW match barrel bushing for it so I can go ahead and put the night sights on it, too.  Just do it at the same time.

edited to add:  range was 13.0 yds. for all targets/shooting.

And, after some dry firing this afternoon, the trigger pull is definitely different.  Some might call it smoother?  I kind of like the idea of feeling that wall.

And, the weird overall trigger pull - maybe everyone knew this but me, but unlike the XD/XDM/Glock/M&P pistols, when you pull the trigger on the FNS you're not just raising the front of the sear and dropping the rear (to release the striker), you're actually moving the striker to the rear first (which in turn further cocks the striker) before the sear releases the striker.  I'm wondering why they designed it like that. 

[timetofly]

That FNS looks like it will smooth out into a good shooter.  I have a FNS 9L that I need to get to the range with.  I liked the long slide from the first time I shot it, but a Shadow 2 hogs up the range time lately.   

BTW, does anyone know if a 40 S&W long slide will work on a FNS frame that came as a 9mm long slide?

[M1A4ME]

I like the looks of the long slide model, too.  But, I have a P09 too big to carry concealed and an M&P 5" too long to carry concealed and an XD .45 5" too long to carry concealed, so I went with the shorter pistol.

Yeah, I can carry the longer barrel guns concealed IWB - if I don't sit down or drive the car/truck.  When I do that I find a couple things happening.  One is, based on the clip design I've had the holster push up off the belt.  Two, it really digs into my vehicle seat or my side, or both when the muzzle contacts the seat.

The FNS does hold 2 more rounds (in .40) than the P07 but it's not as long in the grip as the P09.  It is a tad wider, but in my hand it feels a lot like the P07/P09 frame width/shape.

There are two major stumbling blocks to making it the around the property carry pistol.  One is group size.  The other will be the trigger.  The trigger pull is just different than the CZ's in SA mode.  I shot that FNS first yesterday, then the CZ75B.  I dropped that first CZ75 round several inches low when my finger/brain were figuring out it wasn't the FNS.