The Freedom Ordnance FX-9 is a semi-automatic, Pistol Caliber Carbine (PCC) made in the US. When sold for the US market, they’re frequently set up as a pistol or as a 16″ PCC, but for Canada they’re brought in with a Canada-specific 18.6″ barrel. As they’re not AR receiver compatible, these longer barrel versions can still qualify to be non restricted in Canada.
Freedom Ordnance FX-9 Specifications
- Uses Glock mags
- 18.6″ barrel in 9mm
- AR15 compatible buffer, trigger*, rear stock, forend, and grip
- AR15 style mag release, safety, and charging handle
- Non AR-compatible upper & lower that’s more compact
Video review
YouTube is slowly screwing over gun channels so check out my review on Full30 instead: https://www.full30.com/v/upset-talk-Y8aAS
FX-9 Modifications
Although it takes AR-style triggers, light triggers with a light PCC that uses a blowback style bolt can cause inadvertent doubling and bump firing. The trigger it comes with has a heavy trigger pull and it won’t happen. Triggertech makes an upgraded trigger just for the FX9 if you want to go fast.
Grips, stocks, and handguards can be replaced with any go-fast AR parts you want. For the grip, a non-beavertail will fit best. You could roll with one of the super skinny, super lightweight carbon fiber handguards if you want.
Older FX-9s have an issue with the bolt face. It doesn’t allow the rim to rotate and eject properly, so the case stays affixed too long and it causes a double feed. New FX-9’s will not have this issue. If you have a new FX-9 that’s jamming, send it in for warranty, do not do this yourself.
Using the FX-9
In the Canadian market, the FX-9 has a strong claim to fame: it’s the most ergonomic, go-fast, gamer PCC you can buy. Many PCCs have crappier mag releases and neglect a bolt release, making reloads slow. The FX9 has a mag release that you can reach with your right hand (as your left goes down to grab a fresh mag), mags drop free, and you can slap the bolt release on the side to get right back into your IPSC or 3 gun stage. The AR-style safety is also very quick to use, the gun is lightweight and fast to snap to target, and you can modify the rifle with many go-fast parts stripped from your freshly prohibited Canadian AR15.
Disassembling the FX-9 is a DREAM. It takes down just like an AR15, except you can pull the bolt while leaving the charging handle in, which means 1 less step. That makes cleaning the action and bolt extremely easy. This setup destroys the more complicated disassembly required on other PCCs.
BUT
FX9 Issues
There are some common bugs that show up for some owners. Some owners report that they run better after initial break-in and with generous amounts of lube.
Very picky on ammo: Brass case, round nose, 115 or 124 grain bullet ammo only. No cheap aluminum or steel case and it’s a jammomatic with flat nose bullets.
Fail to eject: The empty case gets stuck in the left hand side of the action, and it will cause a stove-pipe/double feed condition that’s a real bastard to fix on the clock. Remove mag, rack action, see several live rounds and a case drop out, re-load and proceed. I had this happen to me multiple times.
Can fire out of battery: My SlamFire Radio co-host Trevor ran into issues where his FX9 could and did fire out of battery. This is pretty bad. The bolt should do a better job of shielding the firing pin when the round is out of battery. For this reason, don’t run reloaded ammo with bullets that may be out of round or otherwise poorly toleranced. No lead cast bullets or polymer coated bullets. These may cause issues chambering and jam up on the lands: leaving the round not quite chambered and vulnerable to an out of battery detonation.
Picky on mags: the platform can be picky on mags. Some may fail to feed properly, some may not lock the bolt back on the empty mag if the mag spring is too light, like on some dedicated 10 round mags. Given the wide variety of Glock mags out there, this might be OK on its own because you could just look for the ones that work best. Some ETS mags bulge and may not drop free. Dedicated 10 round Glock mags (non pinned) do not have enough follower pressure to engage the bolt hold open. So just get Glock 10/17 mags or Magpul Glock mags?
I’ve seen these issues pop up while I’ve RO’d other shooters at 3 gun competitions. Some FX9s run fine, others do not.
The charging handle is . . .too small and crappy feeling for how heavy the recoil spring is. It’d be nice if they sold FX9’s with a slightly bigger charging handle from the get-go. There is an extended one available from Freedom Ordnance.
Competition and Conclusion
The FX9 competes fairly directly with the Ruger PC Carbine, Thureon Defense Competition, and JR Carbine. Flat out: it has the best ergonomics for Canadian race gunning in IPSC and 3 gun. Mag changes in this platform will be faster than in other platforms and it handles just like an AR. BUT, reliability is really hit or miss. I’d like to see some improvements in stronger ejection and better shielding of the firing pin to better prevent out of battery discharges.
