Fn 509 Standard - This review is part 2 of 3 exploring the FN 509 guns, where I'll discuss the 509 Series offerings, starting with the 509 Medium, the FN 509 Standard, and the 509 Tactical. During testing, I subjected each pistol to the same round counts with the same ammunition, performing the same drills.
As mentioned in a previous review, to provide some context for the currently uninformed reader: FN firearms have long been widely used by the United States military, as well as other government agencies. In fact, if you've served in the Army or Marine Corps in the past few decades, chances are your issued firearm was an FN product. They have historically developed sophisticated and reliable firearms and continue to do so.
Fn 509 Standard
The specs for the FN 509 (like the FN, I'll call it the "509 Standard" to avoid any confusion with the FN 509 nomenclature) are listed below:
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Those paying attention will notice that the 509 Standard and 509 Midsize have nearly identical features: the same barrel length, sight radius, trigger pull, and overall length. They also weigh about the same amount, just 0.4 oz. Separating the two and $649 share and same MSRP. The only significant difference between the two is grip size. Some may argue that they have different magazine capacities, which is somewhat true, but you can put a 509 Standard 17 round magazine in a 509 Medium and essentially eliminate the difference.
With more grip on the 509 standard, there is a slight difference in feel when pressing the magazine release or hitting the slide lock, but these differences are soon forgotten after sending a few rounds through the range. The FN 509 Standard, like the FN 509 Medium, is comfortable to hold "in the hand" and is similar to the 509 Medium. The 509 comes standard with interchangeable backstraps for a perfect fit.
After shooting both the 509 Standard and the 509 Medium, I find that I prefer the medium's lower grip. I found that I was able to get a firm grip on the gun and by pushing down on the magazine floor a bit with my fingers I was able to keep the stock high on the beaver tail. This made handling the recoil a little easier with the medium size. It's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable. But if I shoot with a medium 17-round magazine instead of the small 15-round magazine that comes standard, that difference disappears. So I guess you could call it a wash between the two.
Again, the trigger on the 509 Standard is the same as the 509 Medium; That is, it is somewhat lacking. To paraphrase some of my words from Part 1 of this series, I think the trigger will suit most people, but I'm a little curious. I honestly think that a little polish on the trigger components would almost eliminate my desire to go for an aftermarket option. It's not very light or smooth, nor does it have a super short reset. It makes it harder for me to shoot faster than say a CMC trigger on a highly modified Glock.
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509 Standard and 509 Medium have the same sights, all other features on top of the frame. They give you your standard 3-dot system, with a slightly larger dot on the front sight for quick sighting. They also offer some shelving in the back for single-handed cycling. As I said before, I think the visuals are good. However, I would like to turn off the rear sights. It's easier for me to pick the front position and focus when I'm not distracted by 2 other similar spots.
I did the same walking backbore as the 509 standard and since the sights are the same, the sight radius is the same, the trigger is the same, and the barrel is the same, the walking backbore results are the same. I was able to return to 50 yards on a C-zone target with no problem.
As mentioned above, the 509 gives a slight edge to the standard medium grip, which is evident in faster cadence shooting. I did the same drills on all pistols and finished with a few repetitions of the bill drill. I like the medium size catch, which gave similar timing results to the standard bill drills series, although I felt it was lighter with the medium size.
To repeat from the previous review, I wanted to test the ease of use as well as the reliability of the system a bit. I loaded two of the 17 round magazines fully and fired one round, dropped the mag and chambered the other, then fired one round. I repeated this until both magazines were empty.
Fnh Fn 509 Midsize 9mm Luger Semi Auto Pistol 4\
During this test, there were no failures due to the rough (but reasonable) treatment of the magazines. Both the pistol and the magazine functioned flawlessly. I should note that inserting a 17 round magazine into the magazine is a bit easier on the Standard than on the Medium.
There are too many similarities between the FN 509 Standard and Medium to tell which is better. Both are very good pistols and I would trust them with my life. However, I will say that I enjoyed the medium shot more than the standard and would go for the short option if given the choice.
Corey Minns is currently an author who doesn't want to write a short bio.
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