FN claims that they went through a million rounds developing FN’s new duty pistol, the FN 509. It’s an upgraded version of the ultra-reliable FNS, designed around the Army’s Modular Handgun System requirements. After 1,000 rounds of our own testing, TTAG gave it a four star review. Here’s the FN 509 press release . . .

FN LAUNCHES THE FN 509™
1 million Rounds of Testing is Here

(McLean, VA – April 17, 2017) FN America, LLC is excited to announce the launch of the FN 509™, an all-new 9mm striker-fired pistol. The FN 509™ was born out of the company’s effort to produce a contender for the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition and has been further enhanced to meet the needs of U.S. law enforcement and commercial customers.

“When the requirements for MHS were released, our team of engineers immediately went to work, taking the successful elements of the FNS Compact and further developing those to meet the needs of the U.S. Army’s solicitation for a new, full-size pistol,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO of FN America, LLC. “Between the submission of MHS and the commercial release of the FN 509™, we have worked with law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. and captured on-site feedback that we used to further optimize the pistol to far exceed the expectations of our valued customers.”

Built on the proven architecture of the FNS™ Compact, FN made changes internally and externally to meet the rigorous performance standards of the MHS requirements and further developed the platform into the FN 509™ with help from industry experts. Over the course of development, the platform has been tested extensively for reliability, ammunition compatibility and durability – totaling more than 1 million rounds.

Aesthetic changes to the platform include the aggressive cocking serrations, enhanced grip textures, guarded controls and recessed target crown on the barrel. Critical internal components were completely redesigned to ensure maximum performance to meet FN’s demanding standards. The FN 509™is currently shipping to FN distributors in two commercial SKUs, available at retail in early May, and two law enforcement SKUs, available in early June. Other options like manual safety models will be made available at a future date. For product specifications, please see Figure 1.

To see the new FN 509™ in person, visit the FN Booth (#2429) at the 2017 NRA Annual Meetings, held April 28 – 30, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia. To read more on the design and development of the FN 509™ or to find a dealer near you, please visit fnamerica.com.

Product specifications:

Designation: FN 509
Caliber: 9mm
Safety: Non-manual; internal, passive safeties
Sights: Fixed 3-dot luminescent sights
Operation: Striker DAO
Trigger pull: 5.5. – 7.5 pounds
Weight unloaded: 26.9 ounces
Capacity: 10 or 17 rounds
Barrel length: 4 inches
Overall length: 7.4 inches
Width: 1.35 inches
MSRP: $649

# # #

The World’s Most Battle-Proven Firearms.® | FN America, LLC, is a U.S. subsidiary of FN Herstal, S.A., a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high quality, reliable firearms for military, law enforcement and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia with manufacturing operations in Columbia, South Carolina, FN America is passionately committed to providing its customers with a portfolio of products, training and support services under the FN brand name that enhance their performance and safeguard their lives. For more information, visit us at www.fnamerica.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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39 COMMENTS

  1. A bit on the beefy side, ain’t it? 28oz is 11% heavier than a Glock 17 with an extra 1/2″ of barrel length.

    • No only that, but it’s 1.35 inches wide. It’s gotta be the thickest 9mm out there.

      • Some companies measure across the controls (the true widest point), which is how FN is doing it here, and some measure the widest spot of the slide or frame. With the ambi slide stop and mag release it’s going to add width compared to a gun that only has those things on the left side, and especially compared to a gun that doesn’t measure the width at the controls in the first place. …but it’s intended to be a duty gun anyway (meaning carried exposed on a belt, thigh, or chest rig) so keeping it uniquely slim isn’t high on the priorities list…

      • Curtis, check the Ruger American Pro 9mm; 1.40″ at the thickest point, I believe.

        Chunky beast. Decent shooter, though (I rented one).

        This FN is just another F’N Gloclone.

        • Glock was not a twinkle in fn’s eye when the Browning high power was being produced by FN in the 30’s and 40’s. The fnx is the modern hammer fired high power and the fns is striker fired (which the 509 is based on) are the ak of handguns.

  2. She’s a heavy pistol for sure. Just for shits and giggles, I did a quick Google search for departments using using FN as a duty weapon. I couldn’t find any. Does that mean none are out there? No but I’m sure there’s a few.
    I think their niche is military.
    I’m not ho hum about the pistol but it is another polymer one and there’s already a lot of saturation out there.
    I have had an FNX as I prefer hammer fired over striker and it was a nice pistol. No problems at all.

    • FN’s niche is definitely .mil. They sell the US the m240 and 249 weapons systems (FN Mag and FN Mini-Mag) not to mention the myriad of other countries militaries

    • No militaries anywhere issue any of the newer FN pistols chambered in common service rounds……make of that what you will…

    • The Columbia, SC Police Department has been using FNS9s since 2012 they replaced the SIG P220s they previously used and the Baltimore County Police currently use FNS40 long slides those are the only departments I know of that use FNS as standard issue.

      • I think FN-USA in located in Columbia, SC so that probably has something to do with the Columbia PD using them.

        • Yeah that’s how the local politicians spun it keeping SC dollars in SC etc etc etc.

  3. And…it looks like an FNS, different grippy frame and some different serration cuts to the slide. Great job on completely reengineering, guys.

  4. No description of the “passive safety” feature…. and none of the good features of the Springfield XD – such as visible and tactile indicators of cocked and loaded chamber. Not going to sell one to me… but, oh well. 🙂

  5. No manual safety or serialized trigger chassis. So they weren’t really trying to win the contract?

      • I thought this was an “updated” version of the gun FN submitted for trials, but got knocked out early? I could be way off. Could be that the original also had a manual safety and/or loaded chamber indicator.

      • FN did submit a design (which everyone speculated was the FN 5.7) the Army said as they would the competitors be down selected to three guns as the trials went forward.

  7. IMHO the FNS is a fine platform, and I would consider one of these ONLY IF the price was right AND the FNS magazines were compatible. Just from the pictures and the base plate alone, it looks like these are different mags. So I’m out.

  8. Jeremy, Any word on how much was directly carried over from the FNS? From the pics it looks like the sear/trigger bar and slide rails are all direct carryover, would be interested to know if they worked in the trigger to clean it up at all.

  9. A pistol with known issues, main one concerning having a WML attached, unintentionally dropping mags, etc. Amongst the few PD’s that issue it, and documented reports from Baltimore PD (largest issuer of FNS Long) of the gun firing in the holster? Granted this isn’t the FNS, but the internals are the same? No thanks.

    Then there’s the FN customer service horror stories I’m reading about in the other TTAG article about this pistol. A FN Armorer must inspect the pistol every 2000 rounds or your warranty is voided if anything arises? Maybe that’s changed for this pistol, but I doubt it.

    I read this in the other thread and it makes 100% sense… Uncommon guns are uncommon for a reason.

      • Noted, but it doesn’t change the documented issues mentioned. In anycase, they are biggest issuer of the FNS. Other PD’s that issue the FNS have reported similar malfunctions.

        • I’ve seen the cases you speak of I was previously stationed in Maryland. Its habit a lot of people confuse the county and city PDs. I remembered hearing about Bmore County getting 2000 of the FNS40 LS models. The Columbia, SC PD switched from P220 to FNS9s back in 2012 (mainly because FN has a manufacturing operation in the Columbia area).

        • The reported issues especially the method they were reported make it unclear is it was manufacturers or user maintenance that caused the problems.

  10. The FN. pistols have always interested me, but with a price point about 150 $higher than Glock or S&W M&P, and very few holster options, especially for lefties, I’ll pass.

    • I picked up a stainless fns from Preppers gun shop for $369.00 a year and a half ago. That would make your Glock $219.00. Great deal!

  12. Another so called polymer wonder with new polymer mapping technology on the frame. The grip looks like the new Stryk B grip. The world of diminishing returns. A company cannot innovate, so lets change the frame and give a different color frame the following year and maybe the customers will BITE. Well we do bite unfortunately. Nothing really technologically advance about this version of FNS9. This is the kind of marketing companies use to lure customers to purchase their products…..I will stay with my CZ P01 compact as primary and my secondary Sphinx SDP….both metal frames.

  13. Another so called polymer wonder with new polymer mapping technology on the frame. The grip looks like the new Stryk B grip. The world of diminishing returns. A company cannot innovate, so lets change the frame and give a different color frame the following year and maybe the customers will BITE. Well we do bite unfortunately. Nothing really technologically advance about this version of FNS9. This is the kind of marketing companies use to lure customers to purchase their products…..I will stay with my CZ P01 compact as primary and my secondary Sphinx SDP….both metal frames.

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