VIDEO: Test-Firing the FN 509, the XM17 Winner That Wasn’t

By Tactical-Life

What if the U.S. Army had selected FN America as the winner of the XM17 Modular Handgun System competition? Well, then we’d be seeing a slew of articles discussing the merits of the FN 509. But Sig Sauer and its undeniably awesome P320 emerged victorious, and FN decided to make the 509 available for commercial sale. The Army’s loss is our gain.

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The FN 509 is a striker-fired, polymer-framed pistol — two of the major criteria for the next XM17 — originally based on the FNS Compact. During the development process, changes were made to the frame, barrel and slide while other components were completely redesigned to meet the requirements for increased reliability, accuracy and ergonomics.

The 9mm 509 sports a four-inch, cold-hammer-forged barrel machined with a recessed target crown not unlike what we would see on a high-dollar precision rifle. It also features three interchangeable backstraps, a tapered grip with three different styles of texturing, ambidextrous magazine and slide releases, front and rear slide serrations, a trigger pull of around seven pounds, four passive safeties, an elongated triggerguard, a Picatinny rail on the …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life