American Tactical has announced their new FXH-45 Moxie late last month, bringing what some see as another 1911 chambered in .45 ACP to the handgun market. But it did catch my eye recently when I had the opportunity to shoot it. Here’s why, but first, some specs.
The American Tactical FXH-45 Moxie is a hybrid polymer framed pistol. There have been hits and misses with polymer 1911’s over the years and I have run a polymer 1911 I liked far more than anticipated, so I was curious about this one. The Moxie is a government-sized 1911 meaning it has a 5-inch barrel and full-size frame.
Thanks to its hybrid frame it weighs in at 32 ounces, empty. Yes, that’s lighter than some. I have a government-sized 1911 from a different manufacturer that weighs 38.5 ounces empty and one that weighs even more. Other Moxie features include a rounded mainspring housing, extended beavertail, 4140 parkerized steel slide, a forward accessory rail, ambidextrous safety and a removable optic mount.
What makes the American-made Moxie even more interesting is the MSRP of $399.95. If that price makes you skeptical, hey, that’s understandable. But given the realities of many people’s budgets and the current rush of new gun buyers, it should attract a lot of attention. The real question is how it will run at a high round count…will it be reliable?
I can’t answer that yet, but hope to have one in hand for a full review soon. In the meantime, here’s what I can tell you about how it shoots.
The Moxie is a fairly comfortable fit to my hands. It has finger grooves, something that’s far too shooter-specific to be one-size-fits-all, but they didn’t get in my way. The test gun we ran had a few hundred rounds through it that day and no failures of any kind. That isn’t a full-on failure test for a carry gun, but it’s an encouraging start.
As for accuracy, from a distance of 10 yards shooting offhand the gun was accurate. Five rounds at a time produced small groups, something repeated in the hands of most people who were shooting it. It shot slightly to the left, but when I looked at the sights, the front sight was torqued a bit in the front channel, so that was fixable.
The Moxie is designed to take aftermarket GLOCK sights and I do recommend upgrading to sights beyond the standard three-dot white sights once you have the gun in hand (that’s the same thing I suggest about GLOCKs themselves).
A quick note on .45 ACP. We could easily have a throwdown in the comments over caliber (and you probably will). Don’t like the caliber? Keep scrolling. But if this model sells well, I’d assume American Tactical will eventually release the FXH-45 Moxie in more calibers.
Not everyone can afford to throw down four digits, or even high three digits, for a gun these days. Even if you can there’s something to be said for having some affordably-priced guns in your collection.
The American Tactical FXH-45 Moxie is well worth a closer look. I’d love to see a reliable, budget-friendly 1911 on the market and look forward to running the Moxie at greater length.
What do you guys think, is it possible to build a reliable 1911 at a lower price point?
Specifications: American Tactical FXH-45 Moxie
Caliber: 45 ACP
Action: Single
Height: 5.4 inches
Length: 8.7 inches
Weight: 32.5 ounces, empty
Grips: Black polymer
Sights: 3-dot white sights, accepts all aftermarket GLOCK sights
Included: One 8-round magazine, removable top plate for optics
MSRP: $399.95
Check it out here.
Even Glock had enough sense to get rid of finger groves.
Good price point though.
This,wish they produced the gun sans the finger grooves,with them I’m not interested.
just put a steel frame on it.
At under $400 retail, you could just hit it with a dremel.
Where is it made? Turkey? ATI is an importer if I remember correctly
This is actually a completely American sourced materials and made in America fire arm. They have it listed in their description on the ATI website for the gun. It’s part of the reason I bought one myself. $400 dollars and made in the USA with USA safety standards is a winner for me. Hopefully it’s reliable and won’t have much part breakage. Their website does sell all the parts you would need to fix one though. It also comes with a life time limited warranty as well.
Considering that the art and science of making a 1911 run reliably are well known, American Tactical may well have a winner. The 1911 models that tend to have reliability issues are those that push the envelope in miniaturization, the micro models with super heavy recoil springs come to mind. This full sized model shouldn’t have issues with lockup, timing, etc.
I don’t own all that many real high end firearms. I’d rather have a nice collection of “Chevies” – Kimber, S&W, etc. than own just one “Ferrari” – Nighthawk, Wilson, Ed Brown. Even for gun snobs, there’s room in the safe for some economical pistols – for example, I ‘m a fan of my Girsan 9mm. I’d be pleased to add one of these to my collection!
The nice thing about having a couple extra reliable “Chevys” in the safe is that you can designate them as loaners or trainers for when you have friends or newbies come with you to the range. I might not want to let a friend use my nicest personal gun while I’m running him through drills, but if a $399 gun like this Moxie works as intended, I could loan it without worry.
They need to acquire some Motie Watchmakers to customize the finger grooves for each gun to individual shooters. (Ten Brownie points shall be awarded to whoever knows what I’m talking about.)
As for the caliber wars, I can offer cogent arguments to favor the 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm and even the .50 AE, but how in the Hell can anyone argue against the. 45 ACP?
Nice reference. I’ve always liked the “Mote in God’s Eye” myself!
Takedown lever? Who needs that, just disassemble the gun entirely and rebuild it into an espresso maker, clock, or inertial guidance system.
I liked Lucifers Hammer better, but anything Niven and Pournelle did was great.
Niven and Pournelle were almost prescient in their description of the cannibal army. Very politically incorrect. The Burning City was even more pointed as political commentary and even more pessimistic. We are all Kinless being oppressed by the unholy alliance between the Lords and the Lordkin. The Lordkin are burning our cities and the Lords are aiding and abetting then.
Pournelle didn’t appreciate my checking the math and physics on their fusion powered photon drive. It turns out to have only one-twentieth the fuel efficiency of a fusion rocket. Similar math checks reveal that the Moties didn’t need sick powerful launching lasers or to run them for decades to propel the lightsail probe.
“Pournelle didn’t appreciate my checking the math and physics on their fusion powered photon drive.”
Does Jerry Pournelle claim to write ‘hard science’ fiction? Otherwise, that’s a kind of buzz-kill thing to do to a sci-fi author…
Hmmmmm.
I am curiously drawn to it.
Possibly due to the funky trigger guard….and price.
Mebbe….I’d like to see one in flesh.
Same here, want to shoot one. Generally I don’t like finger grooves..and is why I carry a Gen2 Glock.
I have a older Springfield Mil-Spec, but this looks more refined and polished. Not keen on fancy ergonomics either. Wife’s VP9 is just ugh!
Would not turn my nose up on this one.
I do not believe they make one in flesh. Just polymer. That would be cool, though.
Good price…yeah the fingergrooves are funky. I’ll probably never see this in my LGS though.
There’s a good market niche for a reliable, quality 1911 that is budget friendly. A pistol like this that shows itself accurate and reliable over time is a better choice for a CCW weapon, especially if you need to use it. I hate to think of a 4-digit price tagged Ed Brown 1911 sitting in an evidence locker for months. I hope it’s successful enough they come out with a Commander-sized version!
Will wait and see how reliable this is. ATI’s hybrid polymer ARs are not reliable, so it will have to prove itself.
Yes, it is more expensive by a couple hundred bucks, nut the Glock 21 .45 has been around since the 80’s and packs 13-rounds. I’ve owned one and found the grip comfortable, and I don’t have big paws.
If I was going to buy a .45 it would be the Glock 21. I’ve used a few. They run like a Glock.
You meant that they run like a BLOCK. Worst feeling gun in the line
Yeah, but you can buy all sorts of aftermarket upgrades and spend $1k for what is really a $300 gun.
‘Feeling’. That’s different for each person. The Glock runs. That’s all that matters in a self defense weapon. I’ll do the rest.
Good price point. If the quality is acceptable I can make room for 1. Can’t afford show pieces, safe queens. I shoot all mine (well, when I can afford range fees here) and with enough good behavior could be a carry piece.
How many of these do you own, Cames?
When you get one for the full review, please tear it down and let us know what the internals are made of. Machined stainless? MIM? Something in between? I would be curious to know what parts may need to be replaced or tweaked to make this a solid carry option.
Regarding the finger grooves, shouldn’t be too difficult to remove them if they’re polymer. This has been done to Glocks for decades. Sand them off, lightly stipple, good to go.
And .45? I’m down with that.
I have never seen an ATI 1911 that was reliable. Fail to see how this cheap gun could be better. Have seen the steel frame 1911 with a safety lever simply broken off the side.
They are range guns only- if you dont mind aggravation and poor performance. Spend a little more and get a Rock or Metro or better still a Springfield.
I’ve never had an ATI, but my perception of their quality is low based on what I’ve heard and the low price point they retail ARs at without moving them during normal times.
Maybe I’m getting old, but the model name “Moxie” on a plastic 1911 annoys me for some reason. Makes me want to say FUDD things like: if John Moses Browning wanted a 1911 to be plastic, he would have designed the Glock.
I know of two people who have ATI AR pistols that run incredibly well. One doesn’t shoot much and the other shoots all the time. But, maybe they just got lucky? Who knows. I’ve heard so many stories about their pistols being crappy.
Oh, c’mon Cooter.
Your comment is like saying I’ve never had Chevy Silverado, but my perception of their quality is low based on what other people say, and the low price point they retail the Malibu at without moving them during normal times.
What does their pricing of their ARs have to do with a pistol? You don’t speak of even second-hand knowledge of problems or breakages, but you disparage the product sight unseen? That is FUDD-like, my friend.
Look, I get lots of people like St. Browning’s 1911 as it was handed down to us. I have 5 different variants myself. But let’s keep an open mind here. It wasn’t too long ago that people verbally spat on Rock Island/Armscor 1911s for their cast frames. Yet it’s considered a good value today and the ones I’ve used have run flawlessly. So let’s see if someone does a 500-1000 round test before trying to put it in the dustbin, okay?
After Springfield fucked over half the gun stores in Illinois, no thanks. The one I have, which of course is excellent, is the only one I’ll have.
At 32 ounces, I see no point in a polymer frame. Finger grooves and rails on 1911s aren’t my cup of tea either. I’m open to cheap 1911s, but this looks like a 1911’s fat ugly sister.
This gun has been out for years, several years.
I guess they renamed it.
2 years ago come Christmas, in a LGS in New Richmond, Ohio. Bought a brand new RIA FS Standard, full size 1911 8 shot with adj front and rear sights, case 2 grips, (wood and rubber) 1 mag though, in a black finish.
$399.00 + tax. Was not sure about the ambi safety, does not get in the way. So far to date about 100 rds no hiccups yet. Feeds, and fires, shoots well. At 399.00 that is cheaper than their standard GI model. Rock Island was rebranding with some mods to the FS Tactical and the LGS had a Christmas sale. Walked in at the right time. Like the Barretta 92S I picked up for $199.00 in January this year. I have gun deal radar.
Country of origin?
Right there near the top of the article: “the American-made Moxie”.
Current nightstand gun is a 2017 Auto Ordnance, that I paid $50 more than this for. It’s a GI clone, so no bells and whistles, but for a budget 1911 (it was my first gun), I can’t recommend it enough.
Looks like this one will do the job though. Hope it’s successful enough for them to consider a 9mm version.
I’d immediately grind the finger grooves off. We learned 25 years ago that they’re worse than a straight grip.
My favorite pistol is my Citadel (RIA) 1911, so I’m no snob. I also have a Taurus Model 85 Stainless Ultralight, and a Taurus PT38 .380, all of which run flawlessly. Inexpensive doesn’t have to mean “cheap”.
The slide on this one is interesting. It’s definitely not “Ol’ Slabsides”, but that’s okay. Glock-cut sights are good, as would be Novak-cut. I don’t care about rails, and good holsters are difficult enough to find without adding complications.
I could see why some people would get upset that it’s chambered in .45…
.45 is a real mans round. It’s not well suited for feminist men, liberals, or the weak minded. In these days of political correctness and gender dysphoria, it’s easy to see why someone would be offended by a powerful American round that reeks of “toxic masculinity”. Also they probably have a problem with it being a uniquely American round.
The counter argument to that line of reasoning is that the males that pick the .45 over the 9mm are compensating for their lack of penis size. 😉
You’re both right.
References to genitalia size are usually made by anti-gun, soy-boy feminist leftists who substitute their gonads for brains. 🙂
why no 9mm?
Because shooting twice is silly.
I don’t have a problem with polymer,
Finger groves make it an immediate NO buy.
Glock sights instead of industry standard Novak cuts are just dumb.
Arched MSH sucks, but presumably can be swapped easily enough.
Make it a double stack. Say 12-14 rounds and I would be very interested. In the current market I can’t see why I would settle for only 8.
Finally handled one today. I almost bought it, but the price was $489.99!!! The plastic glock-style rear sight was 1/16” wider than the slide cut on both sides. The mainspring housing had very fine checkering, almost smooth. The plastic grip panels were quite thick. The trigger did feel smooth and crisp as advertised. Had the price been under $400 or less, I’d have bought it, then replace the sights and grip panels, grind the finger grooves off, rechecker the mainspring housing and be happy.
I fell for the hype. Mine would not cycle anything on the first 4 rounds of each magazine. Slide action feels like it’s full of sand and trigger pull is close to 8-9 lbs at least. Accuracy was you guessed it. All over the paper at 7 yds regardless of ammo type 185, 200 or 230 gr. Magazine is flemsy but not the problem. It wouldn’t cycle with Wilson or novak mags I have. The only thing I found that was OK on this gun was weight and crisp break on the trigger if you could pull it hard enough. The barrel and lower feed ramps appear to be raw tooling. No polishing whatsoever. Maybe a QC error. A plain GI model from RIA is 5x better buy.