FN 509 9mm Handgun for Personal Defense

The FN 509 is a brand-new 17+1 round double-stack 9mm striker-fired handgun. Other high-capacity 9mm handguns are on the market — what sets the FN 509 apart? Rob Pincus tests it and is impressed with the FN 509’s design, ergonomics, and handling.

FN 509 Features

The 509 is FN’s first high-capacity 9mm in this size package. Previous FN 9mms have been somewhat large. The FN 509 takes the ergonomics of the modern striker-fired gun to the appropriate level. FN has contoured the area around the trigger and grip incredibly well, resulting in a 9mm gun with 18 rounds in a double-stack magazine with a relatively narrow girth. For people with shorter fingers or smaller hands, the FN 509 will fit their hands better than FN’s previous designs.

Battle Proven

FN’s motto is “The World’s Most Battle-Proven Firearms,” and a quick read of their history backs up this claim, as they have been supplying the U.S. military and several European militaries since 1889. But FN hasn’t made inroads into the U.S. law enforcement, concealed carry, or home defense markets. Rob Pincus believes these buyers haven’t paid enough attention to what FN has been doing, and that’s going to change with the FN 509.

Range Testing

Rob discusses the features of the FN 509 in depth and then shoots it, reinforcing the point made in many handgun training videos that when shooting any gun out of the box, you must shoot enough rounds to determine how you integrate with the gun and how the sights are set up.

Rob finds the FN 509 extremely comfortable to shoot. It feels smaller in the hand than how he expects an 18-round double-stack handgun to feel. He expects it to be a real contender in the personal defense market.