By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor
For many years, shooters have enjoyed owning a rifle and a handgun that fire the same cartridge.
This makes a lot of sense with the .22. For some outdoorsmen the .357 Magnum combination is useful. Of course I use a .223 for varmints and long range shooting. A .308 is used for medium game. But in the modern scheme of things a reliable and handy 9mm carbine makes a great deal of sense. If you own a 9mm handgun that makes for good commonality of ammunition. But no matter the type of handgun you carry the modern 9mm carbine makes a good tool home defense duty.
Let’s look at Smith & Wesson’s entry into the field. I am a critical reviewer and find the FPC a sterling choice for home defense.
Among the FPC’s best features is simple that it is fun to shoot. Some defense guns in which I place a great deal of stock—the .45 ACP pistol and 12-gauge shotgun—are necessarily more difficult to master. The 9mm carbine allows a less steep learning curve.
The FPC is reliable, more than accurate enough for foreseeable chores, and handles quickly. It is easily stored. During the test program I seriously diminished my 9mm Luger ammunition reserves. Some of the ammunition was used in reliability testing and some was used in accuracy testing. About half of the eventual 600 plus cartridges were expended in simply making brass-fun shooting. I shoot a lot and fire diverse types of firearms. I don’t play nearly enough. In this case I played a lot and had some fine help. Targets were engaged from 5 to 120 yards. I came away with a high opinion of the FPC 9mm carbine.
The FPC is intended for home defense. Home may be a campsite or rented dwelling away from home. The FPC offers a defense against take over robbery and armed felons. A carrying bag supplied with the FPC would allow a traveler to carry the FPC discreetly. The bag is compartmentalized for accessories and spare magazines.
The FPC weighs but five pounds. This light weight is plenty to absorb 9mm recoil. You feel the push; it isn’t a .22 but it isn’t a .223, either. The carbine is 30.3 inches long, while folded, the overall length is 16.3 inches.
This is a blowback operated firearm, supplied with three magazines including a 17-round flush fit and two 23-round extended magazines. These are the same magazines used in the Smith & Wesson Military & Police 9mm handgun. Take note, the handle is the same as the M&P compact pistol. This allows using the compact size handgun’s 15 round magazines as well as the longer full size pistol’s magazines.
The FPC is provided with additional grip inserts. While I fired the carbine with a hand forward on the forend in certain drills I placed both hands on the handle and fired with the barrel braced on a barricade. This provided excellent results at close range. The barrel is threaded for muzzle devices. The 16.3-inch barrel is covered by an M Lok handguard.
A 1913 rail on the upper receiver allows easily mounting an optic, and while iron sights would be okay, you will find a red dot sight offers real speed and high hit probability. Fire with both eyes open and center the dot and you will hit what you’re aiming at. The receiver is hinged at the front for folding and storage. A strongly-built latch is rotated to move the handguard and barrel to the left side of the carbine. The rifle folds horizontally rather than vertically. This prevents optics from taking a bump. This offers a superior folded system to most carbines. A 9mm AR or traditional type carbine will not fold at all.
Important to firearms safety is the fact that the FPC cannot be folded with a loaded chamber. If kept at home ready, I recommend chamber empty, anyway. It takes but a moment to rack the bolt.
The ejection port is generous making for positive ejection and easy administrative handling. I did not change the backstrap; no need for my hands.
The FPC features ambidextrous bolt releases, a reversible magazine release and a positive cross bolt safety. Operation is simple enough. The trigger features a blade type safety set in the trigger face, and the trigger breaks cleanly 5.1 pounds.
The racking, cocking or charging handle is behind the receiver. This handle reciprocates as the weapon is fired. Be certain to keep your cheek and chin out of the way of the cocking handle while firing. The cocking handle doesn’t slap the cheek but only kisses the cheek. This is a reminder if you do not have the proper cheek weld.
The FPC is much easier to shoot well than any 9mm handgun. At 50 yards the FPC outshoots any pistol in most hands. The bottom line is that the FPC allows a shooter with a minimum of training and marksmanship skills to put a lot of hits into a threat very quickly.
I chose the SIG Romeo 7 red dot sight for the S&W M&P FPC 9mm. I mounted the SIG red dot easily enough and proceeded to sight the FPC in. I initially chose ten yards, a reasonable distance for home defense engagement. After lubricating the bolt—about the only maintenance the FPC will need—I started shooting and had the Romeo 7 sighted in with a minimum number of shots, and subsequently sighted it for 25 yards. Firing impressions were good.
The FPC carbine like all 9mm carbine has some momentum but recoil is light. Firing off hand I found the carbine is short enough to make addressing targets at pistol range easy enough. Personal defense situations are often settled in a moment. Simply firing over the top of the sight of using the red dot as a silhouette, I made X ring hits out to ten yards. With both eyes open and firing with the red dot on the target it is easy enough to put an entire magazine into the X ring/K zone at 15 yards. I used Federal American Eagle for most of the initial work and later Federal Syntech, and then dug into a case of Remington/UCM, all FMJ loads. Results were excellent.
I did a few speed loads, since the stock carries two spare magazines in a secure carrier. The paddle type release works well when the stock is oriented upside down.
Shoot until the slide locks, then access the spare magazine, lock it in, and you are back in business. If awakened at night or deploying the gun quickly, two spares on the stock are good insurance. The stock is minimal and works fine for rapid fire.
A note on folding the FPC. Some carbines fold end over end while the FPC folds sideways. This means that you will be able to mount an optic on the FPC and still fold the piece easily for convenient storage and carry.
The FPC unfolds quickly. You can bring the stock into the locked position in a positive manner.
I recently did some accuracy testing after replenishing my ammunition supply. I have proofed the FPC with most of the popular hollow point loads with no failures to feed, chamber, fire or eject. At 25 yards I fired the Federal 124-grain Hydra Shock, Speer 124-grain Gold Dot, and Remington 115 -JHP. All put five shots into just under or just over an inch. That is outstanding accuracy.
I have bench rested the FPC at 50 yards with good results. The single most accurate load so far is the Federal 147-grain HST with a fifty yard five shot group of 2.0 inches. Most 124-grain loads are in the 2.5-inch range.
As for velocity, the 9mm is a high pressure cartridge with a relatively small charge of fast burning powder. Most of the powder burns in a short barrel. In the FPC carbine most loads will see a velocity increase of 80 to 90 feet per second, a few +P loads perhaps 125 feet per second. The .357 Magnum gains more than 400 feet per second in a carbine, sometimes much more, but the magnum uses a heavy charge of slow burning powder.
I have fired the FPC at ranges of over a hundred yards. It is fairly accurate but at that range a 124-grain bullet is traveling less than 900 fps so effectiveness is much less. This is, after all, a home defense carbine. I like the 9mm FPC carbine a lot. This handy model offers a combination of portability, reliability, friendly controls, and increased hit probability and power over a handgun. As a bonus it is a friendly firearm that invites practice.
Velocity testing Glock 19X FPC
Fiocchi 115 gr. XTP 1170 fps 1260 fps
Hornady 124 grain XTP 1222 fps 1320 fps
Hornady 124 grain FlexLock +P 1166 fps 1280 fps
Federal 147 grain HST 990 fps 1080 fps
Smith & Wesson M&P FPC Specs
Type: Blowback-operated, semiautomatic
Caliber: 9x19mm
Capacity: 17- and 23-rd. S&W M&P pistol magazines
Barrel: 16.3 in.
Overall Length: 16.3 in. (folded), 30.3 in. (fixed)
Weight: 5 lbs.
Stock: Tubular steel with 13.2 in. LOP
Finish: Blue
Trigger: 5.5 lbs.
Sights: none, MIL STD 1913 Picatinny rail
MSRP: $659
Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson, Inc.
