The FX-9 is a 9mm AR-style pistol under Freedom Ordnance. It has been on the market now for some years and in that time they’ve made some great improvements in quality and added a variety of size choices. It is a fun gun to shoot on the range. The model I chose for a Freedom Ordnance FX-9 Review was equipped with a 4″ barrel and a 3″ faux suppressor. The latter gives it the cool look of an integrated suppressed barrel.
I typically like to have just a little longer barrel on my PCC weapons, but the FX-9 exceeded my expectations. Early models had some feeding issues with some of the stick mags and drums on the market. The newer models however are working great!
Freedom Ordnance FX-9 Review
All About the FX-9
- Glock-type magazine, making it compatible with one of the most popular 9mm magazines on the planet.
- Machined from billet material, anodized type III aluminum components.
- Steel components are full hard nitride and black nitride including the barrel, bolt, ejector, last round holds open, feed ramp, and extractor for extended wear properties and corrosion resistance.
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- MRSP: $829.99
The FX-9 is a lightweight (4.45 lbs) compact pistol that gives you the feel and operation of an AR-style rifle. It has a free-float M-LOK rail and comes ready to install your choice of optic or iron sights. I like the fact that it runs on Glock-style magazines as they have become the most universal pistol mag on the planet.
During the magazine test portion of the Freedom Ordnance FX-9 review, I used a variety of 9mm Glock style mags including Glock, KCI, ETS, SGM, and the 50-round Magpul D-50 GL9 PCC drum. Every mag I used seated well and dropped free without issue. They all fed well without any feeding problems during range time. While this is a small-framed gun, it was very comfortable shooting with the 50-round drum and gave the gun a good balance.
Custom Hand-Stop/Vertical Grip
The hand stop on the bottom side of the rail was comfortable and made the gun easy to hold even though it has a short barrel. While I like the feel of it, this is also one of my complaints with the FX-9. The hand stop that also works as an angled grip is proprietary to the gun. This is more of a personal preference but one of the things I like about the AR-style platform is that you can do so much customizing it to give it the feel and look that you want. This was not a deal-breaker for me however because Freedom Ordnance did a great job with the hand stop.
Charging Handle on the FX-9
The charging handle is also a proprietary part of the FX-9. Again, some may not mind the factory charging handle that comes with it, but I like to have an extended handle to give me more to grab on to when chambering the weapon. I did not perform any cold-weather drills with this gun, but there would be issues trying to operate it with gloves on.
Making a mil-spec charging handle would have been a great improvement but again, this is more of a preference with the shooter. I did check out their website to see if they offer a larger charging handle, but it does not appear that they do currently.
Buffer Tube and Pistol Brace
The stock that comes on the 8” and 4” models also came with a proprietary pistol brace that cannot be adjusted without loosening a screw under the stock. The buffer tube however is mil-spec so I was able to change out the buffer tube and replace the blade-style pistol brace with the SBA4 pistol brace. This made the feel of the weapon even better but does add another $100 cost to the gun if you want to make that upgrade.
On the range
The FX-9 was a blast to shoot and accurate for such a short barrel. Because of the barrel length, I only took it out to 75 yards for target shooting and then ran some drills with it at close quarters for some speed shooting. I had zero malfunctions after 300 rounds from various distances.
The FX-9 comes in the box as a flat-top rail system, so I installed a Romeo MSR red dot during the drills. I used Winchester, Remington, and PMG 115 grain ball ammo and then moved on to Blazer 124 grain ammo. I also fired some Winchester 147 grain hollow point ammo and did not have any issue.
Final Thoughts
I like the style and feel of the FX-9 and will be taking it to the range for some more fun. The pistol grip was mil-spec and you can place your choice of optic or iron sights to the gun but will be stuck with the charging handle if that is important to you. A mil-spec buffer tube and pistol brace can be added if you want to spend the money but it does come with a nitride barrel and BCG.
While the proprietary parts may be of some concern for those who want to change out some parts, the FX-9 out of the box was a great shooting gun that didn’t have any malfunctions on the range. It appears to be quality built, and was lightweight and easy to handle.
