Got a email today should be here tomorrow ????
Got 11 and 16 inch !   Hope to get to shoot it Saturday
Post how it does!

Here are some pictures of the bolt and some mods I made to a spare FCG. Hopefully I can test it this weekend if the weather improves.

FM9 bolt compared to a 5.56 BCG



Modified FCG. I got the idea a thread on uzitalk and copied the idea from Accuracy Speaks. It allows more downward travel and hopefully will mitigate trigger slap.


Hammer at maximum depression before


Modified hammer at maximum depression

And a quick video of my daughter shooting it.

I went back to a carbine receiver extention, 9mm buffer and my modified FCG and had no issues in 250 rounds.

Well i got my upper in last week and the m-16 just got out of jail. I mocked the upper on my sbr semi just for looks while waiting for the 16. I'm having binding issues. My lower is an 84 sp1 conversion. Big pins converted to small pin. While the fm-9 is on my sbr spike's lower it charges and goes into battery with out any issues. When i mount the fm-9 onto my 16 lower i could not charge the bolt but 1/2 way back. At first i thought it was catching somewhere in the buffer tube. But upon further trial/error i found that the bolt catch was binding on the bottom of the fm-9 bolt. After measuring both the spike's and 16 lower i can see no difference in specs, BUT there's obvioulsy a fitament problem. I then took some material (.05") off the bolt catch to clear the bottom of the fm-9 bolt, so now it charges fully to the rear and the bolt catch still works. But another problem i've ran into another problem. Upon releasing the bolt to charge, it binds up now on the ejector (mag block drops in like a 9mm conv). I proceeded to rack the upper quite a few times to see if it would break it in properly. Now sometimes it goes all the way forward and sometimes it stops on the ejector binding with bolt.

I'm gonna get on the phone with FM and seek advice, but i fear my lower is out of spec by a hair and a trip to m60joe is in order. Keep in mind the 16 lower functions 100% with all my other uppers 7.5/10.5/16" in 5.56 and a 4.5" .22lr upper that runs excellent. My dealer brought it out a few times to play with. This is my first m-16 but not my first machine gun. Perhaps i got a bad upper? But from the looks of the fm-9, ALL units are tested for funtionality prior to shipping.

Will update. Gonna go out later today to test fire and get on the phone with FM as well.

Edited to correct some things I mispoke about.

Talked to Josh@FM and he guided me through a few things i could do and try to get the upper going for the time being. But also let me note that the people at Freedom Ord have been nothing but spectacular! Their CS is top notch! And this is coming from a customer whose upper is NOT functioning yet. I also understand the aspect that this is a newly developed upper and it's not gonna work on every single receiver/rdias etc. They are how ever making every effort to make all of the customers happy. On that note, FM has redesigned the bolt to help with the different tolerances and those customers who do not have the most current bolt will be receiving them in the mail. Sorry Josh I got excited and let the cat out of the bag! So those who are experiencing difficulties can rest assured FM is working hard to help us all out. No need to call or inquire FM bout the new bolt.

Will update later hopefully with some good news later. Thanks Josh!

I'm surprised nobody has posted the 1,000 round belt run. Almost gets boring...

I watched this and ordered one.


(somebody please embed this link)

A submachine gun that requires an AG!  

Thanks for the embed. I was thinking the same thing!  For those not inclined: an AG is an Assistant Gunner.


My signup puts me at 10-12 weeks. Just into the new year. Perfect.

I showed this video to a buddy of mine and at the halfway point we started talking about the upper, then when we were done I had to remind him that gun was still firing!

Quoting to see the vid.

At work.

Got my upper to run well today after some very minor modfications to the top of my mag catch and the ejector. I'm happy as hell now.

Here's a link to my video

http://youtu.be/DBuWoV5qmwc

Oooops.  Double tap.

Higher resolution, he says:

Pre ordered last night.. Will I get an ETA on when my order will be in the Q?

Disregard.. 10-12 weeks..

Got the call today, will be here in a few days.

Quoted 6-8 weeks, was actually 7 weeks, awesome!

I was called today as well.  Hope to have it here in the next week or so.

I was called on Monday. Mine will be here next Monday. Unfortunately I won't be able to shoot it until Thanksgiving.


EDIT: I am aware of three different companies making linkers for it that will be available within the next week or two. Race to market!!  

Could you be more specific? Thnx

I can be more specific!   (somebody please embed)

https://youtu.be/4Tm-vHHwzMY

Option #2 - http://beltfedplus.com/linkloaders/m7linkloaders.html  (scroll to the bottom)(requires an M7 Link Loader to mount the plates to)

Option #3 (possible) Bill Guiette was at Big Sandy and I believe he will be producing linker plates that (also) mount to the M7 linker for these links

http://www.weguiette.com/linkers--etc..html

Though nothing listed yet...

Putting my preorder in today. For those guys who got shipping notices, when did you preorder?

The videos look great:  Were the upper finicky to get running at first?  I saw one today that had trouble running.

I pre-ordered November 26th-ish. Got an auto-response email that said I'd be getting mine in 10-12 weeks. Got an email a few days later saying that they are waaaaay ahead of schedule and to send your phone # (because their pre-order did not ask for it) and I got a call from Josh, head of sales and marketing and testing and QC  a few days later who took payment and my upper arrives on Monday.

Where did you see it?

What problems were they having?

It was mine, and it was operator error. It worked out of the box, with a test belt of 10rds i fired 4 in semi and 6 full auto. Attached a 90rd belt and fired about 30 round burst before it wouldn't work . it was best feeling 9mm i'vd ever Shot. It is kind of strange having To finger blast the first 3 or 4 round into the upper to get the belt started.

This was on the line of live fire machine gun Shoot. Had i just left it with the crowd of 4 or 5 prople trying it with me they would have got it going.
It was not the proper venue for us to do testing, just wanted to try it.

Will say the links are hard to link and get The "tail" in the case rim, are too rigid when linked, had about 5 bad links, and several questionable links out of the 200 i used.

I like it, it won't take much to get it 100%, getting these things working is half the fun.

Big Blue, what did you and the Russia run home after seeing mine and pre order? Good times

Several people yelled at me saying "shit, now i have to spend money on that"
More than one person had already pre ordered



Edit....put an h buffer in mine with a soft spring, it was just what was handy.i have an assortment to try just had to start somewhere

Edit 2.... if your using a RR be sure to use the "belt bag", a loose belt will chafe the Shit out of the side of your mag well.

A few questions:

What ended up being the issue when it stopped functioning 30 rounds into a 90 round belt?

I think a linker is definitely needed for these links.

What was bad and questionable about some of the links that you received?

Thanks

I am waiting to see if used links are any different. If they last... if i should size them like my shrike links.. or silicone spray

Can't say for sure what the problem was.
I suspect a cartrage had shifted in the link or was not linked properly or the belt could have snagged something.
I was trying to lift  90rd belt .. my shrike can lift a section longer than i am tall.

We where having trouble loading it without closing the top cover on the ammo.. it says not to in the direction ...not that i won't do it just not going to rush an break it.i need some alone time with it.
It's alittle tricky stuffing the belt in with belt just loose.

What i learned was you have to feel it click 3 or 4 times and the look into the ejection to confirm the cartrage is in the right position.
A starter tab or piece of wire may aid in loading.. the russian started putting a round in first link where i typically don't on my shrike.
This kept the link from hanging up.

When linking usually i have the links flat and stuff a cartrage in. With these once you have a section started you have to press the cartrage in while rotating the new link slightly ( 20/45 degrees.)

A few links where just bent damaged. 2 or 3 just couldn't be linked and and a handfull just didn't fell good when linked.
All arround they are hard to link and get the tail where it needs to be.

None of this is a big deal..i love my shrike, even though i didn't get to burn my 800 rds my FM-9 exceeded my expecetaion  for the "feel" of it.

I just need some practice with it, we probibly played with it for 6-8 " heats" that lasted between 1-2 min and felt like seconds. We all suffered from preformance anxiety.
When the heat ended we put down the equipment. I'm not going to hold up 95 people who had to wait in line when i didn't.

 
I didn't want to call you out by name for something like that lol.


With the number of 9mm AR's I have and trying to organize logistics for an 07/SOT, something like this just makes sense.  I would want to take delivery this winter (after Black Friday lol), so I will hold off a few weeks to finish up the preorder.  I also wanted to do some research and verify function and reliability before dropping a couple k.


What is everyone running for buffers on these?  8.4 oz 9mm buffers or the lighter H buffers?

I heard of people going either way with the buffer weight(and length). I meant to start with the h2 but just grabbed what was handy.
Pretty soon i am going to do a range day and get all of my 9mm function..

I think the madrussian solved my  5" 9mm setup with MGI lower issue.we(me and you) discussed shimming the dias down, it does appear i need to removed the feed ramp from the detachable magwell and chamfer an edge that may be casing the mags to kick.. it doesn't happen everytime, and/or with ever magizine. I don't have a feed issue but there may be some issue with the bolt contacting the feed lip of the magizine causeing a short stroke, either way it won't Hurt anything to resolve that issue. I'm supprized how much file fitting i am doing with the mgi magwells.

I was counting the fired brass and link, i think the burst i got off with the fm9 was more than 30rds...
It's kind of funny that out of the box it worked, then worked some more then nothing. I expect i'll have it running 100% before the 5" is sorted out

I looked at both my lower and my Hahn block last night.  While they have more clearance than yours, they do still protrude into the mag well slightly.  I think your MGI mag well is too tight and needs to be adjusted.  I am surprised that it is so far off though:  How could they not have tried that with a magazine?   Glad I didn't go the MGI route after seeing that.

Russians like to tinker and "fix" stuff... lol

Almost everyone there was vastly more intelligent than i am...i'm way over the top. I think your girlfriend(wife?) Was looking at me like i was retarded when i kept yelling "finger blast it"(this is the edited version)

When i contacted mgi they insisted it was my mags.. no mag could  have been inserted, regardless of metal, plastic, brand.. and the .223 magwell drops them all the time..
I removed the minimum i thought would work, my hahn block feels so much better.now that i have my sbr i can try the hahn..
I just occured to me i could have just instered the hahn into the .223 magwell for testing. It was ovious bit kind of defeats the whole point of the modular magwells.

If the fm9 was dual feed like the shrike, it's possible it would have been my new favorite

I had a dozen mags there we could have tried from Uzi to Metalform but it should work with anything mfg to spec.  I also had lowers and uppers but that's not really the forum to be testing that stuff.

Thanks again for that belt of .223:  That made my day obliterating pumpkins like that.  I just wish the video was better but that line was crowded.

If you could send me the video or the link that would be great. Watching you shoot was awsome. The boolits i make seemed to make a shotgun sized entry wound.
Nowhere i shoot will let me shoot that close, next time i'll be shooting to the end of the range just had to get it out of my system..

You got so lucky somone stack those pumpkin pillars right in front of you.. you reduced alot of pumpkins to mush...

Comments

Solid, well made. BBL changes out in seconds. Not all stocks work though given charging handle placement. SOPMOD was no-go, but CTR was OK. CTR Riser no-go but easy to cut 1/4" off it to make it fit.

First belt (100 rounds) was flawless. Used Blazer Brass and H2 Buffer on RR. Links, brass tossed into nice pile.


Obligatory Photo:


Obligatory Video:

Thanks for the video. My BUIS showed up today, i see your still waiting for yours.

Andrew @GY6 just posted his review couple of days ago

http://youtube/jqk5XZaFJXw

Mine came in while on business travel. Hope to get it out to the range in the next week.

Nice packaging.  

Unless I've missed it, I'm assuming this is a blowback design?  Wouldn't this pound the hell out of a RR?

Yes, it is blowback.  Pound town?  Not sure.  

It doesn't seem as bad to me.  While it is blowback there is a decent amount of friction retarding the bolts rearward travel as the rearward travel has to actuate the feed pawl and pull the belt forward.  I was actually getting some failure to eject issues with blaser brass on my first outing with my upper as it was breaking in.  Issue seemed to go away on the last couple belts.

That said I am running mine with a RLL since 9MM blowback guns in my experience have a history of busting hammer pins.  I actually just broke a colt 9MM stainless hammer pin this past weekend for the first time.  

Has anyone actually damaged a receiver running 9mm before?  I could see a broken hammer pin causing damage to one or both holes depending on how it happens.  I run kns pins, and I've long wondered if they're even beneficial, as I could see them breaking, but not being 100% visibe, potentially causing further damage.  I have a 9mm upper, and the few times I've taken it out, I was really surprised how vicious the recoil was (easily the hardest htting smg I've fired sans a UMP 45), and it's kind of got me worried.

I don't think the KNS pins are stronger than the full stainless Colt pins.  I've heard that the KNS pins might be a disadvantage if they break as it won't be obvious.

My personal SBR 9MM receiver is slightly damaged from 9MM use, however so far the trigger pin holes appear fine and I have broken at least half a dozen hammer pins over the past decade.  The last set I broke were OEM Colt Stainless variety.  The Colt stainless pins I probably got a couple years worth of use on.  I think I have just been lucky that I have caught the broken pins quickly.

Where my receiver is damaged is at the last round bolt hold open.  The 9MM system allows the bolt to way over-travel compared to the 5.56 BCG and gets about 3/4 of an inch of ramming speed up before slamming into the LRBHO.   This force not only can break the LRBHO lever but it also torques it in the receiver.  I have a noticeable "divot" on the side of the receiver where the bottom portion of the release lever has been slammed rearward into the receiver over the years.    This can be mitigated a couple different ways.

1. Don't use mags with the bolt hold open feature
2. Put an extra spacer/buffer in the receiver extension to prevent the over-travel of the bolt on the recoil stroke.  (however this speeds up the cyclic rate in full auto the same as a macjack does in a M11 or a semi auto buffer does in an Uzi)

I don't suspect there is much of any strength difference between KNS Stainless Pins and Colt Stainless pins unless there is some sort of stainless alloy metallurgy difference between the two.

Every hammer pin I have ever broken on my 9MM gun is always at the retainer j spring location.  

I have another set of KNS pins on order but my plan is to make a replacement hammer pin that is solid.  (i.e. no j spring cutout)  

Since a AR firing pin is the same diameter as a hammer  pin (and appears to be made of some pretty tough stainless material) I am just going to cut down a firing pin and machine the little flats onto the ends to engage the KNS side plate extension.  I will also just pull the j spring out of the hammer as well.  That should remove the weak spot on the pin where they seem to constantly break.

I get the point of the J spring in the hammer and corresponding slot in the hammer pin to keep the hammer pin from walking out.   However with the KNS system its impossible for the hammer pin to walk out due to the side plates.  The hammer itself is kept centered by the receiver walls and hammer spring coils.

I actually asked KNS about this (i.e. why weaken the hammer pin with a slot that isn't necessary) and the response was pretty much along the line of that is how we have always done it.  

Decided I gotta pick up one of these for a RDIAS host.  Too freaking awesome not to.

You are correct!

Mine arrived a couple weeks ago. I've only been able to run 200 rds thru her but she put a smile on my face.
Unfortunately winter has arrived and I won't be getting out anytime soon.

Mine arrived several weeks ago (see post above) and I finally had some time to get it out this past weekend!

Linked up 1,000 rounds (in 10x 100 round belts) with the help of my stepson this past week and brought the FM-9 for its inaugural shoot. We put 500 rounds through it. Only had three stoppages, but could not figure out why: no jam or anything it simply stopped. Just re-load the belt and shoot away! Very consistent and no drama whatsoever other  than that. I'm extremely happy with the FM-9 and will get a lot of use out of it, though I have to say that it does create for itself an odd niche of firearms. It's a belt-fed rifle shooting pistol caliber ammunition. You sort of need to re-think your targets. We were shooting hanging bowling pins, pumpkins, AR500 rifle plates, etc.... it's a great blaster!

It definitely draws interest. Expect to get questions from fellow shooters.

I think I'm going to shoot it in my next subgun match.


In the future I'd like to see a different feed chute with a 45-degree (or less) angle be made available in the future to be able to shoot from a 30-cal ammo can. I might make that a design and print experiment for my new 3D printer I got for xmas.

Very nice!