Though reportedly available in other than the conventional DA/SA that my gun is, I have not seen one. My pistol is double-action for the first shot with subsequent shots being fired single-action.
The gun has a polymer frame with all steel parts being stainless. It is my understanding that the pistol is also available with a dark finish covering the stainless. I have not seen one and have no idea how well the dark finish does or doesn't hold up.
It is my understanding that Browning is also marketing this pistol as the Browning Pro-9.
I fired the pistol at 7, 10, and 15 yards today and over 450 shots were fired. There were no malfunctions whatsoever.
This 10-yard group was fired from a standing position using a two-hand hold and in single-action slow-fire. Ammunition was Fiocchi 115-gr. FMJ. POA was nicely regulated to POI.
The pistol was also fired at 15 yards for group using Federal 115-gr. JHP. For this, I was seated and my wrists were braced. It is the best way that I have to try and gauge the gun's mechanical accuracy.
For a more "practical" test, the pistol was fired quickly, starting from a low ready at 7 yards. The first shot was fired double-action and failure-to-stop drills were practiced. Ammunition used was Winchester 127-gr. Ranger +P+. It was chosen for a couple of reasons: It has a bit more recoil than other rounds fired today and it is a favorite "serious" load that I trust. The gun was fired with both FMJ and JHP ammunition ranging from 115 to 147-gr. in bullet weight.
The pistol showed no readily apparent favoritism to any of the loads tried today...at least not in my hands. It grouped nicely with all.
There were no malfunctions at all. Extraction and ejection were positive. Feeding was flawless and "slick" with all of the ammunition
shot. Each 16-shot magazine worked fine and there were no failures of the slide to lock back after the last shot was fired. Neither was there any premature slide-lock while rounds were still in the magazine.
Though I remain pretty well wedded to the single-action automatic, I do believe that the FNP9 is a very fine example of the polymer-framed DA/SA genre of handguns and that folks interested in such a pistol might be well advised to take a hard look at the FNP9.
The price was a bit over $400 and the gun came with three 16-shot magazines, including the one in the pistol. In other words, it came with two spares! (I have read that the Browning version comes with one extra magazine.)
For those interested in a more detailed report including chronograph results, it can be found here:
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/taki ... pistol.htm
Best.
