New FNP-45, and maintenance question

[St Dark]

Hello! New here...been lurking in the Five seveN sections for a few weeks; just became the owner of an FNP-45 so I broke down and registered.

The FNP is my first handgun, so pardon any dumb posts I may make in the near term future! I went down to the gunshop/range this afternoon to pick it up and give it a whirl. Started the session off with a mag in the AR to warm up, then brought the target in to 20' and started loading the mags for the FNP (man, I hope those springs loosen up just a tad! :laugh: My thumb REALLY hates that last 3-4 rounds...).
I've only gotten to fire a handgun a handful of times, so I left the slide open, squared up and found what seemed a comfortable stance that kept my manual extremities clear of "slide bite", put one of the magazines in and started aiming.
Wow!
With a silhouette, aiming COM, I hit the body all but 3-4 times by the time I'd worked through the 100 rounds I brought! I even shifted to headshots, just to see what I could do with a smaller target, and hit around 80% of those. Did the last 25 rounds at 30' with a slightly smaller silhouette and hit all but one of those. Not exactly marksman level shooting, but ease of shooting and accuracy were pleasingly high. At this point, suffice to say I am happy with my investment; err, my wife's investment since she funded it as a Christmas present (I married a good one!).

It's currently broken down, letting some CLP work on the relevant parts. Which brings me to my question - I notice the manual says not to use hydrocarbons (I'm guessing the polymer frame being the reason), would using Militec on the barrel and the inside top of the slide be a bad thing? It's a synthetic hydrocarbon, but it seems better to ask than assume. I'm guessing FN cust. serv. is closed 'till Monday, so this seemed the place to potentially get an early answer.
Thanks!

[Cyberfly]

Welcome to the forums and congrats! Those FNP's are sweet!
Yes, the spring will lighten up a bit, but not as much as your thumb is hoping, I'm afraid. Still, you will get used to it. Your biggest problem will be in finding the right holster for it. Trust me, the one you REALLY want, isn't made. Yet.

[St Dark]

Thank you, fly; and it almost sounds as if you are hinting that you might have rumor of a hint of someone somewhere potentially developing such a holster. *L*

I call this week to set up my CCW class; given the current gun-buying climate I suspect it there will be somewhat of a backlog once I get my papers turned in. Hopefully this holster will be out by, say, late spring?

[Cyberfly]

With any luck. The FNPs are catching on, and more and more manufacturers are starting to tool up for them, but the really cool holsters are going to be a while. I was trying like hell to find an Evo3 for my FNP40. Nope.
I'm having a Bianchi Leather Lite clone hand-made with the FBI forward canter with the dual loops so that I can use it either with a belt or a shoulder rig. The guy that is making it has a leather shop and is actually a bootmaker by trade, but he has made a lot of custom fast draw holsters for shooters around here. I showed him the one I wanted out of a catalog and he said it was no problem as he had made a few very similar before. I doubt it will be as pretty, but as long as it functions the same, that's all I really worry about.
I think that other than custom jobs, the rest of us will have to use the generic nylon (Uncle Mike types) and just see if we can find something that 'fits' until Galco or Bianchi or Fobus gets off their molded butts and gets with the program.

[sraynor]

Blade-Tech makes a holster for all of the FNP's (9, 40, and 45); at least as an IWB, I haven't checked other carry types.

I have one for my FsN, and I've been really happy with it, and I just ordered one for my FNP9.

http://www.blade-tech.com/In-the-Waistb ... r-820.html

[Iggimo2]

After a couple of thousand rounds, if you are inclined, take that 45 to a decent gunsmith. Mine has/(had) some milling marks on the inside of the slide that he was able to polish out and the damned thing feels like a different handgun. While it will not replace my two favorites, it has definitely jumped over a few others on my favorites list.

As far as hydrocarbons and cleaning, I've not noticed any problems using the typical commercial cleaning chemicals on mine, though I have dropped the barrel in a vat of parts cleaner (automotive) for a couple of hours when I was too lazy to do a proper clean job on it. I cannot imagine needing much stronger than militec. (and it's been dripped on my frame a bunch - no problems, I just wipe it off with a cloth)

[St Dark]

though I have dropped the barrel in a vat of parts cleaner (automotive) for a couple of hours when I was too lazy to do a proper clean job on it.

Funny you say that...I stuck the barrel in the jar of mineral spirits along with the BCG off of the AR...do that every so often just to get it prepped.

Thanks for the advice, suggestions etc, all of you!

[cwadams70]

The Shooters Pack that is the current FN gift for purchase of an FNP (for those purchased after Jan. 1) has a Blade Tech holster made for the pistol that can either be worn with a belt loop attachment or the paddle attachment. I received mine this past Friday and put on the paddle with it set up for the FBI cant. Very comfortable and funtional. Funny how I received this "gift" within 5 days of submitting the paperwork but still have yet to receive the $125.00 rebate for my PS-90 purchase back in November.

[St Dark]

It looks like the Shooters Pack is only for the 9 and 40?

[Cyberfly]

sraynor- I ended up ordering both the paddle holster and the double mag holder. Thanks for the link!

[sraynor]

You're welcome :thumb:

[St Dark]

Well, when I went to pick out my first handgun a couple of weeks back, a co-worker went with me to listen, touch, and learn.
After hearing me rave about how much I liked the FNP-45, he went with me Tuesday and shot 2 magazines with it. He came out, went over to the salesman we used previously, and said "I'll take one, too."
Chad got a sheepish look, pointed his finger at ME and said "errr....your buddy got the last one..."
I called the sales manager the next day to get an ETA on the next batch...3-5 weeks was the word.



So, Danny went back today and got a Five-seveN, since he'd been considering one anyway! He'll pick it up Monday, and is supposed to be taking the class with me next Sunday. He also had asked me for some forum links, so he could learn more. I pointed him squarely in this direction, so I suspect he'll be joining up here soon.

[Cyberfly]

Sweet. :thumb:

[romer522]

Re: Tough mag springs..............Mag LULA!!!!

[jkbduck]

Actually I believe you want an UpLula.

jkbduck