The FN 545 is a

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

frame

striker-fired A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed sprin ...

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...

manufactured by FN America, a division of

FN Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...

History

The 545 was released in 2023 alongside the FN 510, which is chambered in

10mm Auto The 10mm Auto (also known as the 10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a powerful and versatile semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and l ...

Design

Based on the FN 509, the FN 545 is a striker-fired handgun with a

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

slide with

ferritic nitrocarburizing Ferritic nitrocarburizing or FNC, also known by the proprietary names "Tenifer", "Tufftride", Melonite, and "Arcor",Other trade names include Tuffride/ Tuffrider, QPQ, Sulfinuz, Sursulf, Meli 1, and Nitride, among others is a range of proprietar ...

finish and a polymer frame. Black and flat dark earth (FDE) colorings are available. The FN 545's barrel length is for the Standard Full Size (MRD) model & for the Tactical model. The backstrap of the grip accepts interchangeable inserts; one arched and one flat. The

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...

has serrations on both front and back, for easy slide manipulation.

Operation

The FN 545 features

double-action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. * Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action ...

operation with magazine releases and slide locks present on both sides of the gun, plus a

Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...

located forward of the

trigger guard A trigger guard is a protective loop surrounding the trigger (firearms), trigger of a firearm designed to prevent unwanted contact with the trigger, which may cause an accidental discharge. Other devices that use a trigger-like actuator mechanism, ...

. Instead of a manual safety, the 545 includes an integrated trigger safety (the articulated trigger type like the

FN FNS The FN FNS pistol is a series of striker-fired Semi-automatic firearm, semi-automatic, polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed pistols manufactured in Fredericksburg, Virginia, by FN America, a division of FN Herstal, Fabrique Nationale Herstal. Des ...

) as part of its four passive safety systems: a striker block, a drop safety, a trigger disconnect and a trigger safety lever.

Magazines

The FN 545 primarily uses 15-round

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

; 10-round magazines are available for states with a

high-capacity magazine ban A high-capacity magazine ban is a law which bans or otherwise restricts detachable firearm magazines that can hold more than a certain number of rounds of ammunition. For example, in the United States, the now-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ba ...

Ammunition

The FN 545 is chambered in

45 ACP The .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless straight-walled handgun Cartridge (firearms), cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prot ...

Variants

Several variants of the FN 545 have been made available:

Tactical

barrel length, 15- and 18-round magazines, available in black or FDE, threaded barrel, raised sights (to accommodate a

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

), with low-profile optics mounting system (for a

red dot sight A red dot sight is a common classification for a non- magnifying reflector (or reflex) sight that provides an illuminated red dot to the user as a point of aim. A standard design uses a red light-emitting diode (LED) at the focus of collimati ...

Standard (MRD)

barrel length, 15-round magazines, available in black or FDE, with low-profile optics mounting system.

Notes

References

{{Reflist FN Herstal firearms Semi-automatic pistols of the United States Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2023 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistols