My very first day with the FN 509 at the range, I pulled it out of the box, lubed it to spec, and used the first 50 rounds from the gun to shoot a clean Dot Torture drill, cold. So the two don’t get mixed up, FN has thoughtfully painted the lighter spring unit with a band of yellow paint, making it easy to tell them apart at a glance. Even with 17+1 rounds of 124-grain Federal Premium HST in the gun, it still weighed only 34.3 ounces, which is well less than an empty M1911 Government model. In a world where accuracy is directly related to proper trigger manipulation, the 509's trigger wall offers an excellent, solid stop after an initial .25-.50 inch or so of take up. It looks weird, like a black polymer patchwork quilt, but it works fine. Fn 509 Midsize Trigger — To me, it all starts with the trigger of any gun I'm manipulating. The 509 LS Edge comes with three 17-round magazines, all equipped with aluminum baseplates. One of the stated goals of the MHS program was to get a gun that was as adaptable to end users as possible, regardless of hand size or handedness. Reset was distinct and short, and shooting the gun well was easy. A bit of attention with a sight pusher or a whack with a dowel would fix that in short order, but I just held an inch or so of Kentucky windage at 10 yards and everything was cool. The slide boasts a satin-textured, rust-resistant finish—I am not hip to what FN’s house name for ferritic nitrocarburization is—and, if not the sparse and square Shaker furniture of a Glock, is still not the mass of Baroque curves and scallops and styling lines that some other pistol slides are these days. 24 rounds. (The TulAmmo, or at least this lot, was also amazingly consistent, velocity-wise, from the FN 509, with a standard deviation for the 10-round string of only 10.77 fps.). I’m not saying it’s depot-level maintenance, but nobody’s going to be doing it in a foxhole or around a campfire, either. For the price of the FN I would not be buying a plastic fantastic, I would stick with a classic p series or save the money and get a p320 tac for 560-650 bucks instead of 850-950 bucks for the 509 tactical The downside is that then the pistol only works with that one make and model of MRDS. This cover plate is part of a slightly more-complex MRDS-mounting setup than you may be familiar with from, say, a Glock MOS pistol, but it has its advantages. While not the exact gun used in the trials, it’s…I want to say “close enough for government work,” but that would be a lame joke. Even then, the FN 509 had enough texture in the right places to allow me to shoot four- and five-round strings in rapid fire without feeling like I was trying to hold onto a bar of soap. Right up front is the prominent knurled protector that covers the protruding muzzle of the factory-threaded barrel. First off, this new 9mm comes with one 17-round magazine and two extended 24-rounders. Privacy Policy   •   Contact Us   •   Warnings   •   FAQs   •  © 2021 National Rifle Association of America. What this means is you can buy an FN 509 and, if you have a favored variety of aftermarket sights, there’s no waiting 6 months or 2 years for the aftermarket to catch up. Want to change the white dot up front? (l.) External extractor, enlarged ejection port and protected levers all lead to improved reliability. Does the FN 509 make the Cut for best 9mm Pistol? The FN 509, by way of contrast, ships with two interchangeable inserts that take up about the lower three quarters of the backstrap. Privacy Policy   •   Contact Us   •   Warnings   •   FAQs   •  © 2021 National Rifle Association of America. One interesting thing about the mounting system on the 509 Tactical is that between the bottom of the MRD plate and the top of the slide, there is a rubber O-ring that mates into a circular cutout in each. This likely contributes to the empty weight of 26.5 ounces on my postal scale. E-mail your comments/questions about this site to:ShootingIllustrated@nrahq.orgFor questions/comments about Shooting Illustrated magazine, please e-mail:Publications@nrahq.orgYou can contact the NRA via phone at: NRA Member Programs1-800-672-3888, To advertise on Shooting Illustrated, visit nramediakit.com for more information. Since the LS Edge is part of the 509 families it is compatible with other 509 frames. Even steel-cased Russian TulAmmo 115-grain FMJ turned in a couple groups right about 2 inches. Another item included in the package is a reduced-weight recoil spring. Nevertheless, FN America’s design team added some enhancements to the Tactical in response to consumer and subject matter experts’ feedback. The one who wanted lots of rows of very fine little pyramids got to do the sides from the thumb rest on down. Right around the 350 to 400 round mark, I noticed that there was some degradation of … There is the mandatory cable lock and an instruction manual in the box as well. One other praiseworthy change from the FNS is that the controls are better “fenced off” with raised areas around them. The SIG P320 won the contract, and as a result, most of the other designs that were submitted for this competition are being released for sale commercially in one form or another. Read More. How did it shoot? The FN 509 LS Edge, a new tactical pistol from FN, is designed to give users every advantage in the most demanding environments. (r.) A 1/2x28 tpi threaded muzzle allows mounting of a suppressor or recoil- mitigating compensator. They also prevent you from drifting the rear-sight blade on purpose without removing the cover plate. From the front lines to … (r.) The rear sight’s front face is a ledge for one-handed racking of the slide. Like the ending of “Highlander,” there could be only one, but several of the runners-up have found their way to gun dealers’ shelves in the months since the competition ended.We recently looked at Smith & Wesson’s entry, the M&P M2.0, and this month we’ll look at the offering from Fabrique Nationale, which has trickled to the commercial market as the FN 509. It would be somewhat true, though, since between the MHS contest and the 509’s release to the market, FN met with representatives from law enforcement agencies to solicit input on various changes that would make its XM17 entrant more marketable to the domestic-law-enforcement market. Apex Tactical makes more than just triggers for the FN 509: barrels and failure-resistant extractors. It arrived in a brown cardboard box with a hinged lid, and inside the box was a zippered black nylon pouch with a tastefully embroidered FN logo in gray thread on the outside. This cover plate is part of a slightly more-complex MRDS-mounting setup than you may be familiar with from, say, a Glock MOS pistol, but it has its advantages. (l.) More-aggressive front serrations aid in press-checks and slide manipulation. Get the Shooting Illustrated Reloaded newsletter for at-a-glance access to industry news, gear, gun reviews, videos and more—delivered directly to your Inbox. (r.) A four-slot accessory rail allows attachment of lights, lasers or combination accessory items. FN 509 in Blackpoint Tactical OWB Kydex & Leather- Leather Wing Holster Criteria and Considerations for this FN 509 Compact 9mm Review. Unlike the factory sights on the FNS, the 509’s rear-sight body features a bluff front rather than a Novak-esque slope, the better to perform one-handed malfunction clearances by running the slide off a boot heel, belt or holster mouth. With a threaded barrel and suppressor height sights/optics options, this gun was born to be suppressed. The right size hands combined with an aggressively high grip could trigger this on the FNS, but with the 509, I was unable to provoke it the whole time I had it. (l.) Levers are placed in intuitive locations and protected against accidental engagement. Not so with the new FN 509, or at least not that I could make happen, and that’s a good thing. This review of the FN America FN 509 appeared originally as "Front-Line Defense" in the November 2017 issue of Shooting Illustrated. OUT OF STOCK (0) FN 509 9mm NMS MRD Black Night Sight 17rd. The HVAC was completely overwhelmed, given the amount of wet outside air being sucked in every minute, and it was like shooting at the bottom of a bowl of soup between the dripping sweat and fogged glasses. Friday, October 11, 2019. Optimized for competition, the FN 509 LS Edge takes the striker fired handgun to the races. Over the course of the next 784 rounds without any further lubrication or cleaning, the gun suffered one user-induced failure-to-feed, on the last magazine, trying to provoke a “limp-wrist” malfunction with some Speer 147-grain TMJ Lawman ammo. The dovetails are dimensionally identical to those of a certain popular Croatian pistol sold under a domestic label, which are in turn the same as those of a certain popular series of ex-German pistols now made in New Hampshire. OUT OF STOCK (5) FN HERSTAL 66100375 509 Tactical 9mm Double Action 4.5 17+1 Bla ... Payment Options/Cancellation Fees Shipping & Returns State Restrictions Warranty Team Buds Recent Reviews. The FN 509 Tactical. It’s a lot harder to inadvertently drop a magazine or ride the slide stop and prevent the slide from locking back (or to accidentally bump it up and lock the slide back on a full magazine) on the FN 509 than it was with the FNS. It runs reliably, shoots accurately and has a very usable trigger right out of the box. (r.) A hinged trigger helps ensure the gun will not fire unless and until the trigger is pressed. Very well made. The new version features a plethora of modifications from the familiar FNS, some to fit specific requirements of the MHS contract and others to make it an even more-attractive choice as a fighting pistol than its predecessor. FN 509 Tactical Review [Part 3] This is part 3 in my series exploring the FN 509 lineup of pistols. The FN 509’s Spartan origins are reflected in its packaging, at least with the test gun. E-mail your comments/questions about this site to:ShootingIllustrated@nrahq.orgFor questions/comments about Shooting Illustrated magazine, please e-mail:Publications@nrahq.orgYou can contact the NRA via phone at: NRA Member Programs1-800-672-3888, To advertise on Shooting Illustrated, visit nramediakit.com for more information. FN 509 Review Sights The sights the FN 509 comes with are just standard metal factory three-dot sights. This is an interesting point because so many of the guns that G&A receives for review and testing arrive in hard-­plastic cases. Their lead time is very reasonable for a custom made one from 3-4 weeks which is great. Besides the color, the FN 509 Tactical is feature loaded and arrives in an FN-­embroidered, zippered, soft-­sided nylon case tucked within an FN-­marked cardboard box. Even with 17+1 rounds of 124-grain. Shooting the 509 LS Edge. The 509 Tactical takes this modular approach one step further. The gun’s rear sight ears have been removed and an optics plate has been installed with a Trijicon RMR. Originally, pistol slides were machined via an aftermarket gunsmith to match up to a specific red-dot sight. (ctr.) It’s ready to run for duty, carry, home defense, or range use. newsletter for at-a-glance access to industry news, gear, gun reviews, videos and more—delivered directly to your Inbox. The gun measures just a little shorter than 7.5 inches in overall length. Get the Shooting Illustrated Reloaded newsletter for at-a-glance access to industry news, gear, gun reviews, videos and more—delivered directly to your Inbox. (r.) Magazine capacity, established under the MHS program guidelines, is 17 rounds. Three distinct textures on the grip enhance purchase and comfort. Numerous options exist. The engineer who wanted big, coarse pyramids got to do the frontstrap and backstrap, and the guy who was left to pick the texture for the corners of the grip went down the hall for coffee, so there isn’t any texture on the corners of the grip. They do have luminescent paint, and the sight picture is quite good for just basic factory metal sights. FN originally developed its 509 pistol for the Army’s Modular Handgun Systems (MHS) trial. Instead of a one-piece plate that fits into a flat MRDS cutout and interfaces between the slide and the sight, the 509 Tactical’s sight cutout is distinctly stepped. The magazine release is especially noteworthy, in that it’s not just reversible, but actually ambidextrous. The muzzle’s crown is countersunk to enhance accuracy and protect it from damage. (l.) A variety of textures and patterns help to anchor the FN 509 in the shooter’s hand, while an interchangeable backstrap contains a lanyard loop. Therefore, most commercial MRDS-ready pistols utilize adaptor plates that mate between the slide and the red dot, allowing them to fit the largest number of MRDS currently on the market and providing for future upgrades via simply selling new adaptor plates. The FN 509 Tactical is the 9mm pistol that makes author Patrick Sweeney want to own a 9mm pistol. The FN 509 Compact: Any Red Dot, Any Light: a Leg-Up in the … The Apex sear installed into the FN 509 Tactical frame. I do have 1,200 rounds through the gun though, so at least I can tell you what I think of the pistol. July 27, 2020 By Patrick Sweeney 9mm pistols are hot again. This review of the FN America FN 509 appeared originally as "Front-Line Defense" in the November 2017 issue of Shooting Illustrated. Though for the latter, I’d consider some trigger work. Monday, April 29, 2019. The time the company took to solicit opinions from potential end users shows in the finished product. 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