A Trainer’s Take on The FN509 Line -Defense to Competition.

As a trainer, I see a broad spectrum of handguns in my classes. Some good and some I call “interesting.” One gun that I am always glad to see in the hands of students is an FN 509. It does not matter which model they have; it is always a welcome sight. The reasons for this are many, but the primary gold star comes from their superb quality. The 509 family is one of the few that I believe fits beginners to experts in personal defense and competition. Today, I want to offer a trainer’s take on the FN509 Line.

A Trainer’s Take on The FN509 Line

The DNA of the 509 series is based on the Military Modular Handgun program. In 2011, FN took the primary design and features of that design and carried them over to the 509. The gun meets combat standards, requiring 90 percent accuracy inside a 4-inch circle out to 50 meters. FN also tested this design by running over one million rounds through it. Most of those rounds were +P, adding more pressure and fatigue to the gun. It passed with flying colors.

Beyond the fact that the gun is exceptionally reliable, it is also very comfortable running. It has a fiberglass-reinforced-polymer frame contoured to fit just about any hand size and shape. This was not done by guessing but by building it around the 5th to 95th percentiles of hand sizes for both men and women. The grip on the gun is unique in that it uses three different texture patterns to achieve the end grip texture. These include a pyramid-like structure on the sides, a scalloped “dragon scale” style on the front and back straps, and a finer old-school skate tape-type texture on the high edges.

A Variety of Options

They are obviously modular and come with two separate backstraps to fit a variety of hands: a curved medium and a straight-back small. They are easy to put on and take off, making adjustments a breeze. Modularly, the slides and frames from the various models are all interchangeable, making customizing your blaster an even easier task.

I believe it is a gun for all shooters and disciplines because of what I feel are the core components of an exceptional handgun. First is reliability, and FN is on a level that is all by itself for this category. The second is accuracy, for which the 509 gets high marks. The last part of this trifecta is shootability. This is a bit more difficult to quantify but starts with a good grip angle. It is close to what we saw in the 1911s and is much more comfortable for most people to shoot. The trigger breaks around 5.5 pounds and is clean. There is no slop or excessive play in the trigger, which always diminishes accuracy.

From full size to compact, they offer it all.

Good Trigger

Manipulations on the gun are made easy by deep cocking serrations that are much deeper and wider than comparable guns. This gives the user a more positive grip when charging the chamber or unloading the pistol. These factors ultimately determine just how well a person will be able to run the gun. When I say run the gun, I mean for at least an eight-hour day of drills, constant loading and unloading, accuracy tests, and full-on running and gunning.

A Serious Gun for Serious Work

As I tell people, your gun may look nice, but you never really know it well until you have seriously trained with it. In many cases, those guns get replaced. A gun that I have never seen replaced by any shooter I have worked with is the FN 509. If you are looking for a gun that you can bet your life on, you would be hard-pressed to find one better than one in the FN 509 family.