A couple of people have mentioned interest in hearing about the Foxtrot Mike FM9 9mm AR Pistol, so I'm creating a separate thread to discuss it. I do want to preface this by saying that I'm not a gun expert by any means. In fact, I'm learning a lot by following along on this forum, so I would welcome any feedback about some topic that I've missed that is of importance/interest. This is just my humble opinion, for whatever that may be worth, but I really value the discussion more than anything.
This first post will cover a little about my buying process and first impressions from unboxing the gun. I probably won't get to the range to shoot it until at least this weekend, but when I do, I'll follow up with a range report. Hope this info is useful!
Purchase Decision & Process
I've really enjoyed my CMMG Banshee 300 (10mm) and actually think that a PCC is a great complement to a standard handgun. The only two handgun calibers that I have are 10mm and 9mm, so once I came to enjoy my Banshee so much, I decided to try to find a 9mm. I also wanted a smaller gun than my 10mm, which has an 8" barrel. There are some 3" barrel PCC pistols, but I wasn't sure about a barrel shorter than my EDC gun, so I targeted the 5" length in my search. Candidly, at first the only reason I didn't try to find a Banshee in 9mm is the price. The Banshee products are a great line of guns and I don't regret the purchase, but let's face it... they're not the best value. Though there are some places showing ~$1,200 prices online, they're being marked at more like $1,600 when the "cheap" places get stock. So, not wanting to spend that much again, I set off to find a better value. I did some fairly extensive research and although there isn't a lot out there about the FM9 itself, Foxtrot Mike's gun parts are consistently mentioned as being among the best for PCCs. Although I did look at some other brands as well, I am not going to go into the "why not __________?" in this thread, but rather focus on why I went with the FM9.
To be specific, I purchased the 5" barrel version of the FM9 with the SBA3 pistol brace, which is an exclusive product for Primary Arms. The purchase price was $679, which I thought was pretty reasonable. Can you find cheaper ones with decent reputations? Yes. Can you find cheaper ones with things like the SBA3 brace, last round hold open, etc. for that price? Perhaps, but I didn't see any I thought were a better value than the FM9. As we all know, that SBA3 brace alone is $120-130, which alone makes this more comparable to a $550 gun with a cheap brace. I have a version of the SBA3 on all of my AR pistols and like it... also believe there is value in having the same equipment in your hands as much as possible.
As for the purchase itself, I'll say it was acceptable. I ordered the FM9 from Primary Arms on 9/3 and it shipped on 9/10. Though that is the longest order-to-ship timeframe I've had on a gun purchase (and this is my 4th since April), there was a holiday weekend in there, so I'll give them a pass. It was shipped UPS Ground insured for a pretty reasonable price, although I think most of my other purchases have been shipped 2 Day.
Unboxing/First Impressions
I know that this is very subjective, but I actually felt like the gun looked and felt great for being a less expensive gun. My first thought upon picking it up was, "Wow, nice!" It had a good weight to it, seemed like very nice build quality. Again, subjective, but I didn't like the look of the grip. To me, the stock grip (don't know what brand it is) looks like a toy gun grip. Perhaps that's strange, but was just my first impression.
Likes
- 21" overall length, with brace collapsed. 23.5" with it extended (that info isn't on the FM or the Primary Arms site).
- SBA3 pistol brace!
- The fit between the upper and lower is better than expected... just as tight as my Banshee, despite being $1,000 less expensive.
- Flared mag well is very well-engineered, one of the more impressive features. I like it better than the mag well on the Banshee and the Saint.
- Oversized mag release
- Last round bolt hold open!
- Arrived well-lubricated (that's what she said).
- FM approved magazines are ETS, Glock and Magpul, so there are many capacity options (from 10 to 40 rounds, depending on brand).
- After a couple of snap cap fires, I think the trigger is better than I expected it to be.
Dislikes
- Charging handle is standard mil-spec (small), but honestly expect that for the price.
- Grip feels cheap, like hard plastic. It's also a little more angled than what I prefer.
- The "blast diffuser" is wide enough that it completely negates the first set of M-Lok openings on the handguard, meaning you only have one M-Lok slot all the way around. This was the most annoying thing to me.
Other observations
- No dust cover (not a big deal to me, but maybe someone cares)
- Safety is not ambidextrous (again, not a problem for me)
Planned Upgrades
- Replaced the grip with a Magpul MOE-K pistol grip. I have a Magpul MOE grip on my Banshee, so I bought the "K" version (no beaver tail) for this one and I like the improvement in both look and feel.
- Added a Sig Sauer Romeo5XDR red dot sight. Had it on my Banshee, but given how small this gun is, I swapped it to this one and the size is perfect for it!
- I may see if I can find a narrower blast diffuser so I can use both M-Lok slots on the handguard (needs to be a blast diffuser because the barrel doesn't extend to the end of the handguard). I like the Magpul AFG (angled foregrip) and there is no way to put one on as-is. I put a small Magpul handstop on it for now, but it's farther back than I want it.
- Replacing the charging handle for a larger one. I actually found a larger BCM Gunfighter charging handle on a good sale, so even though it's not ambidextrous, it will work fine for me.
- I ended up buying a CMC flat trigger for PCCs on sale recently, so even though I think this trigger is decent, I'll probably upgrade it.
Currently looks like this with a Magpul 27 round magazine. I also have 33 round and 24 round Glock magazines, as well as ETS 40 round and 31 round magazines to try out. I'll post again when I take it to the range, but until then... fire away!
This first post will cover a little about my buying process and first impressions from unboxing the gun. I probably won't get to the range to shoot it until at least this weekend, but when I do, I'll follow up with a range report. Hope this info is useful!
Purchase Decision & Process
I've really enjoyed my CMMG Banshee 300 (10mm) and actually think that a PCC is a great complement to a standard handgun. The only two handgun calibers that I have are 10mm and 9mm, so once I came to enjoy my Banshee so much, I decided to try to find a 9mm. I also wanted a smaller gun than my 10mm, which has an 8" barrel. There are some 3" barrel PCC pistols, but I wasn't sure about a barrel shorter than my EDC gun, so I targeted the 5" length in my search. Candidly, at first the only reason I didn't try to find a Banshee in 9mm is the price. The Banshee products are a great line of guns and I don't regret the purchase, but let's face it... they're not the best value. Though there are some places showing ~$1,200 prices online, they're being marked at more like $1,600 when the "cheap" places get stock. So, not wanting to spend that much again, I set off to find a better value. I did some fairly extensive research and although there isn't a lot out there about the FM9 itself, Foxtrot Mike's gun parts are consistently mentioned as being among the best for PCCs. Although I did look at some other brands as well, I am not going to go into the "why not __________?" in this thread, but rather focus on why I went with the FM9.
To be specific, I purchased the 5" barrel version of the FM9 with the SBA3 pistol brace, which is an exclusive product for Primary Arms. The purchase price was $679, which I thought was pretty reasonable. Can you find cheaper ones with decent reputations? Yes. Can you find cheaper ones with things like the SBA3 brace, last round hold open, etc. for that price? Perhaps, but I didn't see any I thought were a better value than the FM9. As we all know, that SBA3 brace alone is $120-130, which alone makes this more comparable to a $550 gun with a cheap brace. I have a version of the SBA3 on all of my AR pistols and like it... also believe there is value in having the same equipment in your hands as much as possible.
As for the purchase itself, I'll say it was acceptable. I ordered the FM9 from Primary Arms on 9/3 and it shipped on 9/10. Though that is the longest order-to-ship timeframe I've had on a gun purchase (and this is my 4th since April), there was a holiday weekend in there, so I'll give them a pass. It was shipped UPS Ground insured for a pretty reasonable price, although I think most of my other purchases have been shipped 2 Day.
Unboxing/First Impressions
I know that this is very subjective, but I actually felt like the gun looked and felt great for being a less expensive gun. My first thought upon picking it up was, "Wow, nice!" It had a good weight to it, seemed like very nice build quality. Again, subjective, but I didn't like the look of the grip. To me, the stock grip (don't know what brand it is) looks like a toy gun grip. Perhaps that's strange, but was just my first impression.
Likes
- 21" overall length, with brace collapsed. 23.5" with it extended (that info isn't on the FM or the Primary Arms site).
- SBA3 pistol brace!
- The fit between the upper and lower is better than expected... just as tight as my Banshee, despite being $1,000 less expensive.
- Flared mag well is very well-engineered, one of the more impressive features. I like it better than the mag well on the Banshee and the Saint.
- Oversized mag release
- Last round bolt hold open!
- Arrived well-lubricated (that's what she said).
- FM approved magazines are ETS, Glock and Magpul, so there are many capacity options (from 10 to 40 rounds, depending on brand).
- After a couple of snap cap fires, I think the trigger is better than I expected it to be.
Dislikes
- Charging handle is standard mil-spec (small), but honestly expect that for the price.
- Grip feels cheap, like hard plastic. It's also a little more angled than what I prefer.
- The "blast diffuser" is wide enough that it completely negates the first set of M-Lok openings on the handguard, meaning you only have one M-Lok slot all the way around. This was the most annoying thing to me.
Other observations
- No dust cover (not a big deal to me, but maybe someone cares)
- Safety is not ambidextrous (again, not a problem for me)
Planned Upgrades
- Replaced the grip with a Magpul MOE-K pistol grip. I have a Magpul MOE grip on my Banshee, so I bought the "K" version (no beaver tail) for this one and I like the improvement in both look and feel.
- Added a Sig Sauer Romeo5XDR red dot sight. Had it on my Banshee, but given how small this gun is, I swapped it to this one and the size is perfect for it!
- I may see if I can find a narrower blast diffuser so I can use both M-Lok slots on the handguard (needs to be a blast diffuser because the barrel doesn't extend to the end of the handguard). I like the Magpul AFG (angled foregrip) and there is no way to put one on as-is. I put a small Magpul handstop on it for now, but it's farther back than I want it.
- Replacing the charging handle for a larger one. I actually found a larger BCM Gunfighter charging handle on a good sale, so even though it's not ambidextrous, it will work fine for me.
- I ended up buying a CMC flat trigger for PCCs on sale recently, so even though I think this trigger is decent, I'll probably upgrade it.
Currently looks like this with a Magpul 27 round magazine. I also have 33 round and 24 round Glock magazines, as well as ETS 40 round and 31 round magazines to try out. I'll post again when I take it to the range, but until then... fire away!
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