Skip to main content

Review: Ed Brown FX1 9mm

Review: Ed Brown FX1 9mm
Photos by Michael Anschuetz
 

I consider The Ed Brown FX1 the most ­traditional 9mm 1911 in this group for no other reason than it features a single-­stack design. But you’d hardly confuse this with Browning’s original. The FX1 combines a steel Commander-­length slide with a steel Government frame.

While this pistol weighs an ounce more than the double-­stack Nighthawk Falcon, when both guns are unloaded the all-­steel construction of the FX1 is appealing. The FX1 represents a different trend. In 9mm, this gun’s full-­size frame fills the hand making recoil negligible.

The frontstrap features functional FX Snakeskin checkering that personifies this gun, and the VZ Alien grips offer plenty of texturing for a secure hold.

Ed-Brown-FX1-2

On top, there is a ledge-­style rear, .156-­inch, U-­notch sight and a fiber-­optic front sight. Both are dovetailed into the slide. There is also a blended one-­piece mag well and the 41/4-­inch stainless steel barrel that’s finished flush with a recessed crown.

The most attention-­grabbing elements of the FX1 are the finish and slide machining. FX1 pistols come with their own signature slide cuts, which include angular front lines that blend with the shortened, front slide serrations. Additionally, there are slide ports cut into the top, at the front of the slide. All the metalwork received Ed Brown’s new “Industrial” brushed finish that gives it a been-there-done-that look without looking worn out.

Ed-Brown-FX1-1

Rounding out this all-­American pistol is the inclusion of machined stars and (13) bars at the right rear of the slide, a perfect tribute to the American flag. It’s an understated, but very patriotic detail. When Travis Brown showed John May, Ed Brown’s sales and marketing director, the first images of the flag serrations, May found it hard to believe that it was original. “How is it that no one had ever done those before?” May commented.

This is Ed Brown’s 50th year in business, and the company wanted to do something special.

“The FX1 is filled with unique, new custom features that had never been offered by us before,” said May. “Many of our customers and fans got excited when it was released.”

The brand’s popular Kobra Carry pistol is now 20 years old, and the FX1 seems to be a worthy successor. Aside from its looks, it is an accurate pistol. (It’s an Ed Brown. No surprise.)

The FX1 managed to produce groups under 11/2 inches with not one, but three different loads in our test — even with the second-­shortest sight radius of any 1911s tested here. The Commander slide and Government frame offer plenty of gripping surface for large hands and balance for maneuverability of a 41/4-­inch 1911.

The black, Videki-style aluminum trigger broke at 3 pounds, 12 ounces on our trigger gauge. We noted that there was very minimal uptake, as well.

The action was just as smooth, a product of obvious hand polishing and fitment.

Recommended


Ed-Brown-FX1-3

The FX1 looks and feels like a premium pistol, and the barrel and bushing fit is without error. Magazine capacity for this single-stack Ed Brown is nine rounds of 9mm, but it also comes chambered in .38 Super and .45 ACP. The blended, one-­piece mag well is large enough that magazine swaps can be completed quickly and efficiently, even though it’s narrower at the bottom of the frame than the two double-­stack guns in 9mm.

The FX1 is a robust gun that sticks to the general 1911 recipe, but adds a few extra ingredients. It’s extremely well built and there were no issues with any of the loads tested.

Unlike the previous 9mms, one could argue that the Ed Brown FX1 is less of a specialized model. I carried the pistol concealed while running errands during the week of the test and found that it was comfortable to carry and disappeared beneath most light cover garments. It’s not too big for most to carry, but it’s large enough to shoot accurately with comfort.

Ed-Brown-FX1-4
Notes: Accuracy results are the average of five, five-shot groups fired at 25 yards from a fixed rest. Velocity is the average of 10 shots recorded by a Shooting Chrony digital chronograph placed 10 feet from the muzzle.

The FX1 is well worth the money when you compare the top-shelf market for single-stack 1911s. Prices start at $3,875, but there’s a lot of high-­quality craftsmanship and bench time in each of these guns that’s difficult to summarize to describe. With over 100 additional custom options, you can tweak your FX1 as desired to build the pistol of your dreams. There’s even one with a red dot.

Ed Brown FX1-SS-9
Type: Recoil operated, semiautomatic
Cartridge: 9mm (tested)
Capacity: 9+1 rds.
Barrel: 4.25 in.
Overall Length: 7.88 in.
Width: 1.20 in.
Height: 5.50 in.
Weight: 2 lbs., 8 oz.
Finish: Brushed stainless, industrial
Sights: Ledge-style, U-notch (rear); fiber optic (front)
Trigger: 3 lbs., 12 oz. (tested)
MSRP: $3,875 (tested)
Manufacturer: Ed Brown Products, Inc.,
573-565-3261, edbrown.com


photo of Brad Fitzpatrick

Brad Fitzpatrick

Brad Fitzpatrick is a full-time outdoor writer based in Ohio. He grew up hunting on his family farm and shot trap and skeet at Northern Kentucky University where he also earned a degree in biology. Since then, Fitzpatrick has hunted in 25 states, Canada, Argentina, and Spain. He has a special love for Africa and has hunted there nine times. He is the author of over 1,500 magazine and digital articles and has written books on personal defense and hunting.

Full Bio +  |   See more articles from Brad Fitzpatrick




Current Magazine Cover

Enjoy articles like this?

Subscribe to the magazine.

Get access to everything Guns & Ammo has to offer.
Subscribe to the Magazine

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
How-To

Landlocked & Loaded

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Videos - News - Military & Law Enforcement

Fox News Contributor Joey Jones On Guns

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Historial

DAVID WESTERHOUT – OLYMPIAN

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Reviews

First Look: Springfield Armory Kuna

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Industry

June '25 Issue of Guns & Ammo Magazine

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Videos - News - 2nd Amendment

Colorado's Semiauto Ban

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Handguns

Kimber's Race Gun

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Handguns

Double-Stack Compact

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Handguns

May '25 Issue of Guns & Ammo Magazine

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Optics

Pulsar Thermal Technology - James Sellers, CEO of Sellmark Corp.

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Rifles

Building The Legend: Gunmaker D'Arcy Echols

Silencer Central and Banish Suppressors Founder and CEO Brandon Maddox, as well as engineer Lukas VanLaecken, join Guns ...
Suppressors

SILENCER CENTRAL - BANISH 9K

Guns and Ammo Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Guns & Ammo App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Guns & Ammo stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Guns and Ammo subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Guns & Ammo stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use