American Tactical
FXH-45 Moxie
Polymer, Steel and … Affordable
The Moxie has classic 1911 lines with the addition of finger grooves on the front part of the grip.
The slide is parkerized 4140 steel and the frame is steel reinforced polymer.
American Tactical, Inc., began in 2006 as an importer of foreign firearm products into the American market. As a gun store owner, I purchased and sold many of those products — and kept a few myself. In particular, I bought some very attractive 1911s made by Shooter’s Arms Manufacturing in the Philippines. ATI also imported rifles and pistols made by German Sports Guns. Now, the company also manufactures their own firearms.
Takedown is standard 1911, and most of the parts are interchangeable with 1911 aftermarket components.
David made some affordable upgrades. Here’s the Moxie all dressed up with
TRUGLO Tritium Pro night sights and a pair of GUUUN G10 grips.
Moxie Tour
The FXH-45 Moxie is a hybrid 1911 that has a patented polymer frame with two metal inserts for added stability and durability. One benefit of the polymer frame approach is the ergonomic feel with built-in finger grooves. On this frame is a 4140-steel slide with a parkerized finish. The Moxie is compatible with most standard 1911 parts and grips.
When the review gun arrived, I sat for a few minutes looking it over. I knew it had a polymer frame because Tony, the CEO of ATI, told me so and the literature describes it as a polymer-frame hybrid 1911, but it doesn’t feel or look like polymer. The trigger, grip safety and ambidextrous frame safety, mag release and hammer are all typical 1911. The trigger is curved, serrated and skeletonized. The hammer is also skeletonized for faster action and serrated for better thumb contact. The magazine release button has a checkered surface and is small but typical of most 1911 products. The grip panels are black polymer with the typical 1911 diamond and checkered patterns. The arched backstrap is checkered. The front strap is one place you see a difference. There you find those contoured finger grooves. Not typical 1911, but I like them. Above those grooves the trigger guard is substantially undercut, resulting in a high hand grip. The front of the trigger guard is flat and a Picatinny rail graces the dust cover.
The top of the slide is flat with an angled bevel on the top edges. Minimal cocking serrations exist on the back part of the slide only. The top of the slide has a removable plate allowing for mounting optics. The slide is also cut for GLOCK-compatible sights, opening a wide selection of after-market options from which to choose. My choice for it are TRUGLO Tritium Pro Glow-in-The-Dark Handgun Night Sights for GLOCK Pistols. You can pick those up for 70 bucks, give or take.
Since the Moxie is a hybrid with a polymer frame, I was interested in comparing it to my full-size Colt 1911. The Moxie weighs 9 oz. less than the Colt, putting it at 30.9 oz. empty. The height of both guns is 5.24″ and the length is 8.7″. The height measurement is without the extended magazine shipped with the Moxie. I prefer flush magazines, but I still like 8 rounds, so I shot the gun with one of my 8-round flush Colt Magazines as well as with the 8-round extended magazine that shipped with the gun.
Everything about takedown is standard 1911. The recoil rod is short. The ejector is internal. The operating system appears to be based upon the Colt Series 70 as I see no evidence of a firing pin block safety. I did notice the barrel is beefier than a lot of 1911 barrels and the barrel bushing fits tightly. Those two features most likely account for the accuracy I experienced.
David’s first range trip to check alignment of the new TRUGLO® sights
resulted in this nice group with Remington Ultimate Defense ammunition.
Range Time
The gun shipped from the factory clean as a whistle, but very dry. Prior to going to the range, I added a little Lucas Gun Oil to the rails and other places that need some lubrication. I’ve been using Lucas products and found it interesting to note the user manual for the Moxie recommends Lucas Oil products for maintaining the Moxie.
On my first range visit with the Moxie, I began by loading it with 9 rounds of Barnes Tac-XPD 185-grain +P Defense Ammunition. This was just going to be my warm-up magazine, but the first three shots at a target 10 yards away went into what we call one ragged hole. I almost stopped there, but I shot three more that expanded the hole just a smidgeon. I really should have quit then on that target because the +P was starting to get to me, but I emptied the magazine, and the last three rounds made their own little grouping slightly to the left of the first ones.
After this, I switched to five rounds at a time, firing Speer Gold Dot 230-grain JHP, Federal Premium HST 230-grain JHP and Hornady Critical Defense. The Speer Gold Dot put four rounds inside the 2″ bullseye circle and one just an inch or so outside. The rest of the results, though still pretty good, suffered because of me. My arthritic hands get shaky when I do much .45 shooting, and this shooting was all being done freehand. I was quite impressed with the results I was getting with this $399.95 MSRP 1911 which is made in America and has a limited lifetime warranty. Oh, I didn’t tell you that price up front? I waited because if you’re like me, you’re somewhat amazed the company can produce an accurate, well-made 1911 and sell it for $400.
Of course, the next question is: “How reliable is it?” To answer this question, I spent a little time on my reloading bench and put together some assorted batches of .45 ammo that I offered, along with some more factory ammo and the Moxie, to one of my grandkids who loves to shoot. Having had no failures of any kind with the Moxie during my initial range session, I expected his shooting to be trouble-free, and it was. No issues whatsoever with the Moxie’s performance. One highlight of the range trip was a guy shooting next to us who was obviously a gun guy and was introducing his brother- and sister-in-law to shooting handguns. He had a couple of Kimbers, a Diamondback and something else I didn’t see closely. I showed him the Moxie and asked if he wanted to shoot it. Naturally he did, and I watched as he filled the bullseye up on a target that previously had bullet holes scattered all over it. He was smiling when he gave the gun back.
David tested the Moxie with a variety of defensive rounds and found the results positive.
Quick & Easy Upgrades
I made a couple of low-cost modifications to personalize my Moxie since I decided I would be carrying it. The combined cost of these mods was less than $100. The first was a sight change to the highly visible TRUGLO night sights. That was an easy upgrade since the sight mounting on the Moxie is GLOCK compatible. When you order your sights, be sure to include a GLOCK front sight tool, which is $6 well spent, for removing and replacing the front sight. The second change was replacing the black polymer grips for something with a little color. I chose a pair of Guuun G10 grips with a white/black starburst pattern. Shopping for grips brought a pleasant surprise. The last time I’d shopped for 1911 grips, they were running $79 and up. Nowadays these grips are selling for $29. More companies have entered the market and competition has driven the prices down.
Final Thoughts
My thesaurus lists 37 synonyms for the word “moxie.” The ones I like best are “gumption, guts, backbone.” These are words that to me mean it’s up to the task. My review of the Moxie pistol indicates it is up to the task for defense, competition, or just plain fun. I’ve been a .45 ACP 1911 fan for some years and have carried one concealed for at least five years. I can say with confidence the Moxie is one I will have no hesitation adding to my carry rotation and recommending to others who are looking for a .45. I love selling folks on the 1911 platform, and the Moxie is a great way to introduce them to it at an affordable price.
For more info: AmericanTactical.us, GuuunGrips.com, Truglo.com
