KOR FX 9 RD Gun Review

The KOR FX9-RD, let’s check it out.

 

Guys, today we’re going to take a look at the KOR FX9-RD. It’s a polymer striker fire pistol, has a lot of cool features to it, but one of the big pluses for me is that this is not a Glock clone and Lord knows we’ve seen a lot.

Now, it’s a good solid design and there are good reasons why a lot of people are inspired by Glock, but this is definitely a totally different system, but it is very reminiscent of a certain handgun, which takes a lot of its design cues. We’ll talk about them, but there’s also some major differences. And then when it comes to price, these are made in Turkey, so we’re getting a good quality firearm for a reasonable price.

Optics ready, has really good texturing on the grip, lightning cuts, I mean there’s a lot of really cool features. So we’re going to check it out, take it down to the range, disassemble it, show you what it’s all about, and we really appreciate Core for getting in touch with us and sending the FX9-RD, not only in the FDE, but also in the black version. And they make a number of other colors.

Guys, first off, I’m just happy that this is not a Glock clone. There are so many Glock clones out there, and man, they’re really up in the bar. There’s no doubt, but after a while, it’s nice to see something just different.

So when KOR got in touch with me and wanted me to check out one of their FX9-RDs, I was pretty excited actually, just to get something different. And yet, this is a fairly budget-friendly handgun. Again, it’s nine millimeter, striker fire pistol, and there’s something about it though, while it’s not a Glock clone, there’s something that just, I couldn’t put my finger on it at first.

I said, I’ve seen this design, I know this design, and it is very similar to the Springfield Armory XD, not the XDM. The XD series, which was a very proven design, made in Croatia, imported by Springfield Armory, and this has a, still has a huge following. The XD, XDM, and then they came out with the Echelon, which really kind of took it up a notch.

We’re going to look at some of the internals when we break this down, and that’s where we’re really going to see some similarities between the two. Now, they’re not the same though. There are some differences, but first off, let’s go ahead and drop our magazine.

We have a 17 round magazine, and this is a Metgar mag, and this is a CZ 75 compatible magazine, and you get three. So, you get three 17 round magazines with the gun. Then we’re going to check to make sure the chamber is empty, and it is.

Now, this was, again, a Gen 2 of a first model. The slide serrations have been widened out some, just makes it a little more easier to grab. We had these lightning cuts in the slide.

It is not ported, but it does lessen the weight. That gives you less slide mass coming back in your hand, but I did a lot of research on this before I got started, and really GB Guns is who did most of the videos that I’ve seen of the original and of the FX9 RD, and I know Griffin. I’ve known him for years.

He’s a great guy. I’d check out his channel for sure, but this is something I just haven’t seen a lot about.

 

So, first off, it is a nine millimeter striker for our pistol. It does have a frame safety, which is pretty minimal, but it’s very good, very tactile, very precise. It locks in. We have our slide release here.

We have our takedown lever here. This is definitely more toward the XD. Nice polymer frame with a lot of texturing, and we have different back straps, small, medium, and large.

You can switch this out, but good texturing. Here on the back, we have this diamond pattern that kind of locks into your hand. I like the beaver tail that comes back, and that’s one of the things that the XD does not have.

It just kind of nubs off, which is fine, and it also has a grip safety, which we don’t have on the KOR, and obviously there are a lot of other differences, but two things really that separate this to me that make this actually more appealing is the CZ75 compatible magazines and the Glock compatible sights. This has your Glock footprint, so, in fact, it’s a Glock sight, it looks like. I think these are actually even polymer.

So, you can switch those out. There’s a ton of different choices, but this, again, keeps the price down unless you want to up it. We have that cut in the slide on both.

We both have three slot Picatinny rails. The slide release, a little different. We do have a little bit of a fence here around this one.

Here, we don’t, and there is no manual safety on the XD except for the grip safety, and that’s about the external differences, but overall, we’re really going to focus on the features of the Core itself. Now, this is optics ready, and it is for the Shield RMSC. It has some tensioning springs in here to reduce the screw workout.

We do have the step down, just like we do on the standard XD as well, which makes this slide a little more easy. Now, one thing about these lightning cuts is that it allows you to be able to grab them, and you can actually use that or the serrations. The serrations are low on the slide, and they’re just in that outer band.

So, it really gives you a good grip on that, and then these rear slide serrations, very wide, very easy to grip, and they are directional. So, they go against your thumb, so it makes it easy to be able to grab. One thing I do like is it has a cocked striker indicator.

Now, this doesn’t mean the gun’s loaded, but it means that the striker is in the cocked position, and then once we pull the trigger, it disappears, and we have a loaded chamber indicator right here at the extractor. So, this will just bulge out a little bit, and that way you can tell if the gun is loaded. We have front texturing here or serrations on the front of the trigger guard.

It is a little bit squared off, which is not on the XD. Now, the slide release is switchable to the other side. It’s a fairly small mag release, but you can get your thumb on it.

It’ll pop them right out, but a little tougher to get to than the XD. The XD kind of sticks out a little bit, but that’s going to keep you from inadvertently hitting this, but maybe a little more magazine release coming out would be good. We do have a lip here at the bottom of the grip, especially if you’re putting a sight on your handgun, is to get that pinky squeeze, and so as you’re gripping it, just giving it a little pinky squeeze, it lines things up.

One of the pro tips of putting on a red dot sight, we have a trigger safety, we have an internal firing pin safety as well, and again, we have our standard frame safety. Now, one of the things about having a frame safety, if you’re going to carry something like this, you need to make sure that you are activating that safety. A lot of guys, because this is really thin, you’re kind of tempted to say, well, I don’t really need to do that, but that can get knocked up, and even though it takes a little pressure, but not much, and so you need to train with deactivating the safety, and it is ambidextrous.

Now, there is some divots coming in right here, just to kind of allow that hand to get close and fairly high up. It does have the same bore axis as your Springfield Armory, and so the XD, which has a little bit of a higher bore axis, but one thing I do like that gives this an advantage, again, is this shelf that comes out to make a natural beaver tail, and the slide serrations are actually a little more aggressive. Here at the front, we have some cuts, angled cuts, just makes it a little bit more bullnose, and it has some cuts around the barrel.

Now, the slide is 4340 steel and the barrel. They’ve been heat treated to exact specs, and this has an Mn oxide nitride treatment on the slide, and that means that the metal itself is impregnated, so it’s going to really allow for very well wear resistance and corrosion resistance, and it’s on the barrel as well. One of the things about Cerakote is that it is just a finish on the metal, and so this actually impregnates the metal, very similar to your Glock.

Now, one of the things about a new handgun entering the market is that you don’t know. You don’t know if you’re going to like it. First off, they give you a 30-day return.

If you get it, you don’t like it, you can just send it in and get your money back, but they do have also a lifetime warranty on these, and so that gives you some confidence when you’re buying something that you spent your hard-earned money for, so we still haven’t taken this out of the range yet. We’re going to take it out. Now, one thing I do want to show, which they sent, and I didn’t even expect it, is one with the FDE frame.

Now, they also offer an OD frame and also what they call clear, but it’s a gray frame, so it gives it just a little bit of contrast, so you have some different color choices, and of course, the back straps are going to just be a nice contrast, but otherwise, this is the exact same handgun as the black model. Now, as far as your trigger action, it’s a fairly thin blade for your safety, and that way you don’t inadvertently trip that safety, and of course, again, you do have that frame safety, but here we have some take-up, fairly long take-up right to the back, little bit of stacking, not much, it’s really kind of smooth, and then we have a break, and it’s not a bad break. For a striker fire pistol, this has a fairly decent trigger, and reset right there, so not a bad reset either.

Let’s check the trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge and brown nails. Three pounds, twelve point four ounces, not bad. Four pounds, four point eight ounces, so we’re looking at about four pound trigger pull.

Now, on the original model, it did not have the lightning cuts, and you would think that would reduce the slide weight considerably, but it actually is only about just a little over a half an ounce difference, but guys, that weight coming back over your hand definitely makes a difference, and the higher up you get, and the more that mass comes back, that’s what really creates recoil. So, the weight on the KOR FX9 RD, twenty eight point seven six ounces. Weight on the Springfield Armory XD 2.0, twenty seven point seven ounces.

Now, here we’ve taken the cover plate off, you can see the tensioning spring here, and then it comes with a small plate, and this is what fits on your Shield RMSC. So, while it is not necessarily a direct mount, this is a buffer between the two, and it still is a very thin plate, so it’s going to keep that sight really low on your slide. And here we have a Shield RMSC red dot sight just attached.

It’s very simple to do, and you can see that little plate there. Of course, on the side, it does have a rear notch, and you’re not necessarily going to be able to co-witness with these sights, but obviously there are so many Glock sights out there where you can get that one-third co-witness, but it fits very well onto the slide, and to give you a better view of how it looks on the handgun. And the cover plate for your red dot sight is metal, and the benefit of having both of the pistols is I can shoot one with a red dot, and then one without during our range time.

Guys, I want to give a big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring our ammo, All Made in the USA, one of the biggest suppliers of ammunition in the country. Also a big thanks to Lula Loaders for saving our thumbs. Alright guys, the KOR FX9.

We’re out here at the range. We’ve been shooting it quite a bit. Zero malfunctions.

CZ 75 pattern mags, that’s a big plus for this handgun. You know, Glock mags are very popular for a lot of guns, but the CZ 75, there’s a lot of these mags out there, and METGARD does a great job with them. The texturing’s nice.

I love the beaver tail. That definitely helps. It rides on the web of your hand, just keeps it in line.

A very natural pointing aim with the grip. Also with those slide cuts, the slide feels less mass coming back. I mean, it really does, but bevel in the mag well, easy to rack the slide.

Trigger’s not bad. You know, we tested the trigger out, and it’s had a little bit of creep, but really for a striker fire, this is actually pretty good. It’s a little thin on the blade, but not bad.

I like this cut in the slide. It just, again, it just lessens the weight, and that’s really what you’re getting back in your hand. You’re not getting the recoil of the round going out.

You’re getting the recoil of the slide coming back with that recoil spring. So, so far, I really like it, and it’s a budget-friendly handgun. Time will tell overall, but overall, so far, I’m really liking it.

Now with the Shield RMSC footprint, I mean, that’s the most popular micro red dot footprint out on the market, so it just goes well. It’s very small of a handgun, even though this is a pretty full-size gun. Nice reset.

I like the takedown lever. I can rest my hand right there, my thumb, so when I’m riding that grip, it’s right there in the thumb, and it makes it, just gives you a little bit of a lever. No really danger of pulling it down, because really, you need the slide back for the slide to engage.

Guys, I’m telling you, we’ve, both guns, we have shot a lot, and they’re just very reliable. I really like the way this gun shoots. You know, it’s funny, a lot of times guys watch my videos, and they say, Suits, you like all the guns, but I find things about guns that I like, and you know, when you’re out on the market looking for something, and to be honest, with a lifetime warranty on it, it’s kind of hard to go wrong for the price.

Alright guys, for disassembly, we’re gonna drop our magazine, go ahead and check the chamber, and we’re gonna go ahead and bring it into slide lock. Now we’re gonna bring our lever down, and then we can release our slide, pull the trigger in a safe direction, and then bring your slide forward, and you have to release the trigger, or it kind of binds just a touch.

Here we have our recoil spring and guide rod. This is pretty substantial. It’s all metal.

It’s a dual guide rod, dual spring, and then we have our barrel, and again, this is 4340 steel, and it does have that nitride finish on it. Nice polished feed ramp as well. We’re gonna compare the parts with the XD to the FX9.

One thing though that I noticed is, gotta grip the safety as we pull up our slide stop. It’s one thing I’m not really fond of, but with the slide stop, you have to go up, and I was thinking that we went down, so that is a little bit of a difference as well, and then we’re gonna release it, pull the trigger, and pull it right off. Here with our recoil spring and guide rod, I mean, it’s pretty much the same as it is on the KOR.

Barrel, a little different profile. As you can see, we do have a slot here to be able to fit next to the guide rod, and a little bit different, we have our loaded chamber indicator in the top of the barrel on the XD, but here the interior of the slides, really close. There’s a little bit of a difference here with the extractor, but overall, I mean, a very close design, and here with the frames, it’s really close.

You may actually be able to switch these parts out, but we’re not going to try it, but it looks very similar. Definitely takes a lot of cues from the XD, and so for reassembly, we’re going to drop in our barrel, put in our recoil spring and guide rod, bring the slide over the frame, lock it, bring your lever up, drop it, test for function, and we’re good to go. Keeping your firearms maintained and cleaned is vital.

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I believe this is one of the manufacturers. Just opens up, we have our pistol. We have a holster, and we do have the paddle as well, so you have a holster immediately.

I think probably XD firearms will fit in here. Now, you do have that Serpa type release, which can be dangerous here, but one thing that they’ve actually stated, you have your frame safety, and that should negate having to worry about it, but personally, until you get another holster, I would just be careful with that, and it’s very easy to attach, and you can set your cant. Also, we have our extra back straps right here, small, medium, and large.

Owner’s manual, and we have our extra magazines, and you have a loader. Here, we have a small little wrench, and that’s for your sight and our cover plate, and we have a small tool to be able to manipulate and disassemble the firearm even farther than just field strip. And here in the top of the case, we have brushes for cleaning, and we have a number of different models that they make, and they do have a threaded barrel version.

I don’t think this is available at this point in the U.S., but this is the AG9 RS, and so the AG9 is their earlier model, and you can see there’s none of the slide cuts, but they are producing a number of different models, and hopefully we’ll be seeing those coming in. Now, the retail price is $389.99, and then, of course, market price is typically less, and that’s a great price for the features you’re getting, and again, this is based on your XD design, so it’s a very proven design. What are some pros and cons? Well, first off is the price.

That’s a great price. Also, you get three magazines, and they’re CZ75 compatible. That’s huge.

These are so easy to find. They come with the Metgar mags, and Metgar makes great CZ design mags. Also, we have our Shield RMSC footprint.

It does have just a plate that comes, but it’s easy to attach. I like the slide cuts, the lightning cuts. It just lightens up the slide.

The finish is well done with the nitride finish. I love this little beaver tail over the standard XD series. Nice texturing.

Trigger is pretty good. Not incredible. Not a Walther PPQ trigger, but definitely an excellent trigger.

Really high-grade steel. I mean, overall, they’re made very well, and again, for the price, this is a great option for those on a budget, but also, it’s a great car gun, truck gun, and it’s one of those guns you can take out and just shoot, and it has a lifetime warranty, and that is a big deal as well. So overall, just great to see a design coming out that’s not necessarily a Glock clone.

Yes, it’s very similar to your XD, but the XD series is just a great pistol. Guys, a good, solid handgun for a really great price, and it has all the features with the optics ready, the texturing, the back straps, the lightning cuts, and you know, guys, there are a lot of choices out there, but this really brings it to a good price, and with a lifetime guarantee, it’s going to be kind of hard to beat. So check out the KOR FX9 RD, and we really appreciate KOR for sending the handguns for this review.

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America, long live the Republic.

 

-Don