Bedside .45 ACP Defender: The FN America FNX-45 Tactical

I take home defense very seriously, and I am a strong believer that everyone should as well. Whether you carry a gun daily or not is completely up to you. However, I think everyone should always have one in the house to defend the castle from evil. And the FN America FNX-45 Tactical might make the perfect bedside companion.

The Bedside Companion Big Bore FN FNX-45 Tactical

In the world we live in now, home invasions are a serious threat. In fact, more than 2 million homes will experience a break-in or burglary in the U.S. this year. According to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice:

one property crime happens every four seconds
A burglary occurs every 20 seconds
One violent crime occurs every 25 seconds
A robbery happens every 90 seconds
One rape or attempted rape occurs every five minutes

Even crazier when you look at these statistics is that 38 percent of those violent crimes and 60 percent of those rapes occur in your own home during a home invasion. Therefore, we need to be able to defend ourselves and our homes.

I know if you listen to some of the politicians, a whistle and wetting your pants should work just fine. I will tell you something you probably already know though; a whistle does nothing during an attack, especially in your home.

The best option for me is a gun. I guess I should say multiple guns. I feel you should be prepared for any and all situations at home. So yes, shotguns and ARs are fantastic. But I want to discuss my newest addition to the home defense arsenal, the FNX-45 Tactical.

Gun Details

The FNX-45 Tactical is a full-size handgun. While it is a beast of a handgun, it is very enjoyable to handle for most shooters. Let’s just say it isn’t in the same size category as my Desert Eagle, that’s for sure. You could carry the FNX-45 in a holster if you wanted.

FN developed the pistol with the military in mind right from the beginning. What is good enough for military and police normally is good enough for me as a civilian. The pistol features an aggressive grip, interchangeable backstraps, an RDS-ready slide, suppressor height sights, and a threaded barrel. All this in an impressive FDE package that comes with three magazines that hold 15 rounds of .45 ACP each.

The FNX-45 has a stainless-steel slide assembly measuring 8.6 inches in total length and stands 6.5 inches tall with a width of 1.5 inches. The pistol weighs in at 33 ounces unloaded. It is duty-sized, heavy, and kind of bulky; however, it is an all-around awesome gun.

The pistol features ambidextrous controls.

FN made the pistol 100 percent ambidextrous as well. You don’t have to pull out tools and flip your controls to the other side to accommodate southpaws because the gun has regular-size controls on both sides of the frame.

The trigger is not incredible, but it is very functional. It requires a very deliberate yet smooth pull with a fairly short reset. As I said, it is not great but is good enough to comfortably put rounds down range and on target. I experienced this once I got some range time with it.

After shooting about 50 rounds through it, I immediately decided it was perfect as a bedside home defense pistol.

Range Time

Running the FNX at the range, I put it through a bunch of different defensive shooting drills once I got comfortable with it. It really didn’t take long to figure out the entire system just works perfectly. I was shooting all kinds of different ammo.

With ammo hard to come by, my range bag, like many others nowadays, looks like a Halloween candy bag with random rounds from wherever I can find them. I shot what I could get my hands on, not really worrying about ballistic testing and more functionality of the actual pistol under stressful conditions.

Although it is chambered in .45 ACP, the FN FNX-45 Tactical shoots more like a 9mm due to its weight and ergonomics.

With all the rounds I have put through the gun, I have not had a single malfunction or issue. I was able to easily run the gun both right- and left-handed, one-handed, and point-shooting with ease. I was pleasantly surprised with how smooth and simple this big old .45 was to handle.

All these factors and the performance I experienced helped my decision to start utilizing the FNX-45 Tactical as my home defense bedside pistol. The only thing I could complain about was the thread protector kept coming loose. But I found an easy solution for that, which we will talk about shortly.

Home Defender

If you couldn’t tell by now, I love this damn gun. It shoots like a dream, which is one of the main reasons the thing is perfect for home defense. I know it looks scary and big, but it is one of the softest shooting .45 ACP handguns I’ve ever handled.

In the middle of the night this is especially important to me. If I must pull my pistol at 3 a.m. because someone is standing in my doorway, I do not want to hit myself in the face with the thing when I pull the trigger due to having a looser grip on the gun combined with a high-powered caliber.

The author liked the pistol so much it has become his bedside defender.

I opted for full-size 9mm pistols before the FNX-45 because I want that bedside gun to be as easy to shoot as possible with very little recoil. The pistol boasts an incredibly low bore axis and a very balanced feel. This makes it easier to shoot than most 9mm pistols I own.

The grip angle is perfect and almost forces the tritium sights to fall right back where you just left them when squeezing the trigger. Obviously, in a defensive situation, getting the gun back on target after a shot is extremely important.

Suppressing the FNX-45 Tactical

The threaded barrel protrudes from the end of the slide about an inch making it ready to thread a suppressor on it. So naturally, I did. This was my solution to that thread protector backing off. This made the FNX-45 provided to me with an even better shooting experience. I did not think that was possible, but this beast loves being quiet.

The FN FNX-45 Tactical is packed with features like a threaded barrel.

In a home defense situation, a gun that runs well suppressed can be a huge advantage. Obviously, shooting a pistol in your house will be very loud. A can will make it more manageable and save you and your family’s hearing a bit, as well as take that muzzle flash down. I will take any and all advantages I can have when fighting for my life.

The tritium night sights are already suppressor ready, so you don’t have to change anything to run the gun suppressed. I shot the FNX-45 Tactical with a SilencerCo Hybrid 46 and a GSL Python. They both sat well below the iron sight picture and allowed me to comfortably shoot the pistol with a good sight picture.

Optics Ready

If you are a fan of red-dot sights, you will be happy to find the top of the slide is cut for a red-dot plate. FN includes two mounting plates in the package, which allow you to attach anything with a Trijicon RMR footprint or Docter optic footprint.

I personally am a fan of a red dot on my home defense pistol. RDS pistols offer significant increases in speed and accuracy. You can find your target quicker and engage rapidly with both eyes open. They allow the focus to remain on the target, not the sight itself, as well as allow a far better view and awareness of the target.

An optics cut allows for the direct mount of the Trijicon RMR and Docter footprints.

One of my favorite advantages of red dots on my home defense pistol is how much easier it is to employ that dot over iron sights. So, when you are awakened out of a dead sleep with those little crusty things in the corner of your eyes in the middle of the night, you will have a much easier time finding that dot than a set of iron sights.

If you’re not using an optic, there is a cover plate that maintains the profile and coloring of the slide. As a result, it disappears and blends perfectly into the slide.

The Gentle Giant

The FNX-45 Tactical is a big intimidating pistol that may seem like it is too much for some people to handle. But in reality, it is a gentle giant that just wants to do its job and protect its owner. Trust me, it does just that very well.

The controls are simple to use both right- and left-handed, it’s optics ready, and it comes standard with more features than most pistols on the market. All with an affordable price tag of $1,349. The FN FNX-45 Tactical will be a perfect addition to any home defense plan and a fantastic pistol at the range.

To learn more about the FN FNX-45 Tactical, please visit FNAmerica.com.

FN America FNX-45 Tactical Specs

Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 5.3 inches
Overall Length: 8.6 inches
Weight: 33.3 ounces (empty)
Grips: Polymer
Sights: Raised 3-dot Trijicon green tritium
Action: DA/SA
Finish: FDE
Capacity: 15+1
MSRP: $1,349

This article was originally published in the Personal Defense World February/March 2022 issue. Subscription is available in print and digital editions at OutdoorGroupStore.com. Or call 1-800-284-5668, or email subscriptions@athlonmediagroup.com.