My FMK 9c1 test fire

[Trojans]

I took my new "Bill of Rights" gun to the range to test it it out. Oh boy was I disappointed. I used my standard federal 9mm from walmart. I loaded two magazines and shot exactly 14 times and then gave up. Fourteen rounds and exactly five failures to eject! After the first one I paid real attention to make sure I wasn't limp wristing because my ruger 9c1 will stovepipe if I limp wrist. I stopped firing because I didn't have confidence in the gun. I will strip it and clean and lubricate it and try it once more.

[sigfan91]

I took my new "Bill of Rights" gun to the range to test it it out. Oh boy was I disappointed. I used my standard federal 9mm from walmart. I loaded two magazines and shot exactly 14 times and then gave up. Fourteen rounds and exactly five failures to eject! After the first one I paid real attention to make sure I wasn't limp wristing because my ruger 9c1 will stovepipe if I limp wrist. I stopped firing because I didn't have confidence in the gun. I will strip it and clean and lubricate it and try it once more.

Took me more than 100 rounds to break in my brand new Glock 19...Glock!!! For F sakes!!!

The first 50 rounds jammed every other round, either failure to eject or to feed. Sometimes it was failure to return to battery. The next 50 rounds got better. After 100 it was about a failure every 5 to 10 rounds. It hasn't jammed since.

Just like that batch of Sig Pros from Turners, I'd say give it a few more rounds before you give up.

[OneSevenDeuce]

Hmmm, yeah, 14 rounds is woefully inadequate to judge a pistol by. Many need a few hundred rounds to break in before they become reliable.

[Moto4Fun]

I have bought exactly 1 new gun and had zero problems with it from the beginning (SW99 btw). I understand your frustration but you might want to drop in on the the "sig pro for $399" thread for a lesson in breaking in your pistol. I think I saw one guy who had 50 failures out of 50 rounds fired!

Seriously though, rack it a few dozen times, clean it, lube it, put a box or two of round through (regardless of failures) then report back.

[Noah3683]

I have bought exactly 1 new gun and had zero problems with it from the beginning (SW99 btw). I understand your frustration but you might want to drop in on the the "sig pro for $399" thread for a lesson in breaking in your pistol. I think I saw one guy who had 50 failures out of 50 rounds fired!

Seriously though, rack it a few dozen times, clean it, lube it, put a box or two of round through (regardless of failures) then report back.

I just bought a SW990L for $360 and it instantly became my favorite. Severely underrated weapon, and I like it better than my dad's P99

PS: this is good advice above. Give it a chance to break in.

[Trojans]

I had all intentions of firing 100 rounds through the gun but with all the fte I lost confidence in the gun. In my experience, limited as it may be, I pull trigger gun fires. To have every third shot fail upset me. I intend to strip the gun and clean and lube it and then run it again, hopefully with better results.

[Oldnoob]

Looking forward for your 2nd range report.

[BlueFireFluid]

My Sig P228, new out of the box, did not have a single failure for well over 3000 rounds.

[OneSevenDeuce]

I had all intentions of firing 100 rounds through the gun but with all the fte I lost confidence in the gun. In my experience, limited as it may be, I pull trigger gun fires. To have every third shot fail upset me. I intend to strip the gun and clean and lube it and then run it again, hopefully with better results.

I don't know what to tell you. If people tell you it needs a break in period then it probably needs a break in period. If it is still doing this after 500 rounds then you want to contact the manufacturer.

[txvoyager]

Something's not right...

Hello from over here just a bit east of y'all in TX. This forum seems to have the most active conversations about the FMK 9C1 I just bought (probably reasonable, since it's manufactured over your way...)

I just fired my first 100 rounds (Wal-Mart WWW) and had zero FTE's or any other issues. Here's the text of a a very brief initial review I recently posted on DefensiveCarry.com.

FMK 9C1

My FMK (For My Kountry -- Ha! Take that, California!) 9C1 (9mm, Compact, 1st Gen) arrived at my FFL earlier this week and I picked it up yesterday. I did a search through this forum and though other forums have a little info here and there, I did not find any info on this gun here before I bought it, so I thought I'd post some thoughts. There is a lot of information about the gun and it's genesis on the FMK web site, so I won't repeat that. Suffice to say that it is California (American, just barely!) made by a company who is not shy about its political beliefs!

1. Although an internet search will quickly find many who do not like the most obvious "unique" aspect of this gun, I do. For those of you who are not familiar with this firearm, it has a paraphrased version of the Bill of Rights -- yep, all 10 amendments, not just the 2nd -- engraved around the front half of the slide. This is exactly the reason I was first attracted to the gun, and it actually looks better in person than in all the pictures. You can see it (with closeup) here: http://fmkfirearms.com/Products/9c1pistol.html. Although I knew that engraving was there, I was surprised to find that the BoR is not all. Although not shown in the FMK web site pictures, at the back end of the slide, in between the vertical lines of the grip, are several other inscriptions, much more political and humorous -- depending on the reader's opinion, of course. (Ted Kennedy, good drinker, bad lifeguard -- Diane Feinstein wants your guns and money -- Ronald Reagan true American hero, etc.) Rather than detracting from the gun, I think these all make it more unique. None of the engraving is noticeable when shooting!

2. The gun feels much better in my hand (average size) than I would have expected. The feel, weight and balance are not much different than my EDC Glock 27. Steel used in areas like the magazine and the slide feel slightly less "hefty" than in my Glocks, but certainly more than adequate and far from "cheap". The fit and finish is really very good. Several reviews have pointed out gaps and such, but I do not have those. I suspect that perhaps this gun is still in the process of development and is being improved. That seems to be echoed in a couple of the reviews out there.

3. I fired an initial 100 rounds through the gun today. From 5 - 12 yards the grouping was literally 3-5 inches with the installed sights -- and I'm not a particularly expereienced or proficient shot. As you can see on the web site, the sites are easily (looks that way -- I didn't make and changes) interchangeable. Recoil is a little less than I would have expected (used WWW 9mm ammo), so much so that I initially brought second shots in a bit too low, expecting more barrel lift.

4. As several have pointed out, the trigger is long and not particularly smooth. The gun is DAO so that is somewhat to be expected, but it also seemed to improve a bit (or I just got used to it!) over these first 100 rounds, so maybe that's part of the break-in process. Yet to be seen...

5. I wish it dropped the mag upon release. The release itself is a bit higher and more "in front" than most, but it works well. Just requires two hands. Several reviews mention that this (like the 10-round mags) is a California thing. Anyone know?

Amazingly, the gun is available directly from the distributor (EMF -- just the distributor, not part of the manufacturing process to my knowledge) with a Galco holster for only $329 plus $30 second day shipping. http://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/FMK-9C1-c202.htm. Customer service was personal and excellent (first when I ordered online then they called to confirm and identify FFL to ship to, and then yesterday when my FFL at first could not find the package and I needed to track it). At that price it might be worth just the conversation-starter aspect, but I'll admit I am more than pleased with the functionality as well. Hmmm... I'm pretty partial to the little Glock, but I will definitely make this part of my regular shooting rotation.

It will be interesting to see where FMK goes with firearms development. Meanwhile, this gun should start lots of conversations! (FWIW I have NO connection with FMK other than being a customer...) I would be happy to answer any questions, since this is sort of hard to find in a LGS. BTW, there are reviews of this gun in 3 recent gun mags -- much more detailed than mine! All three can be linked to from here: http://fmkfirearms.com/index.html

[jackandblood]

You know if they really want to engrave some "Flat Tax rate" as part of our "Bill of Rights" they also should you know, price it around ~$1,500. Im sure the millionaire+ bracket people would get a kick out of that.

Also a tad disappointed. Word was it was suppose to have a portrait of Bill O' Reilly in George Washington wig and hat and with a "aura" around him laser engraved

[mikevike]

Anyone else with a range report?
Considering, on sale at Turner's for 299$.

[Icypu]

I recently held it in Turners to illustrate to my wife the bill of rights as well as general firearm safety. The sales man there was explaining how Turners is discontinuing it because it sold so well, but in reality I believe that not too many people would buy this pistol to shoot regularly.

There are 4 things I didn't like about the FMK 9c:
- The magazines are plastic and when you eject them, they have so much friction they don't drop free
- The double action trigger is mushy, springy with a very bad feel and long travel
- The striker indicator is a big red plastic dot on the back of the slide, it really looks cheap
- Of course since it is newly listed, it wont fire without a magazine

In all, my wife liked how it felt, but it wasn't for me.

[jackandblood]

A Turners employee told me FMK will do trigger jobs (did not know if this was a free service or custom). Said the long, 9ish lb trigger intended as it seems below a certain price point DAO triggers need to suck to be approved ugh. Two of the negative points you addressed I think are new requirements for CA approval. It just seems to be getting worse and worse.

I may pick up one of these as my first centerfire handgun if the trigger job is free or reasonably priced. I think it should be engraved somewhere "Note: Mag may snag or be difficult to remove. Consult CA DOJ while being stabbed to death for details."

[Sam]

What does a horrible dao trigger have to do with the roster?