Tag Archives: new pistols

On FN’s new 510 10mm…

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I was on hand in 2017 when FN debuted the new FN 509 pistol, the product of more than 1 million rounds of testing and an offshoot of the gunmaker’s submission to the Army’s Modular Handgun System competition.

Based on its much-liked FNS Compact platform, that 9mm 17+1 capacity handgun was significantly beefed up to meet rigorous military requirements. Note the 24+1 round extendo

Then a year later came the announcement of the FN 509 Tactical, which was both suppressor and optics-ready with suppressor-height iron sights that co-witness with several MRDs on the market and was augmented with an extended 24-round magazine, as seen above.

Now, FN 509 Tactical has essentially grown to a full centimeter, so to speak, and has hit the market in the form of the 10mm FN 510, with all the same features but in the more commanding caliber.

Besides being suppressor and optics-ready, when it comes to the mags themselves, the FN 510 Tactical ships to most states with a standard flush-fit 15+1 round magazine and an extended 22+1 round mag. Those living in restricted areas have to make do with 10+1 round compliant capacity mags until they can repeal local prohibitions.

I’ve been kicking one around for the past couple of months and have a report in my column at Guns.com.

So what’s the deal with the Glock 47? (A: Interoperability)

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Glock came to SHOT Show in Las Vegas last month with the new commercial variant of the G47, and I snagged one for a better look.

A pistol that debuted a few years ago but wasn’t available to the public, the G47 came as part of an $85 million/10-year contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2019. With more than 45,000 sworn law enforcement agents and officers, CBP’s mission includes security through the U.S. Border Patrol as well as customs and counter-smuggling operations at over 330 ports of entry. It is the largest federal LE agency inside the Department of Homeland Security.

The contract included not only the previously unknown G47, which by all accounts was created especially for the contract but also compact Glock 19 Gen 5 models and subcompact Glock 26 Gen 5s, all in 9mm. Keep that in mind moving forward.

The G47 isn’t a “game changer” but it does have a few little things that are interesting about it.

Such as this:

The G47, right, is seen above compared to the crossover G19X, which is the same height and roughly the same frame but with a G19-length slide and barrel. (Photo: Chris Eger)

And, showing off that modularity, I give you the “you got chocolate in my peanut butter” that is the G19X and G47 MOS with swapped uppers. Both guns shoot and cycle fine. You could do the same between the G47 and the G17 Gen 4/5, G45, and G19 Gen 4/5. (Photo: Chris Eger)

More in my column at Guns.com.

Everything you want in a P365, without the loudener

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SIG has an optimized variant of the 17+1 round 9mm P365 XMacro headed to the market– minus the integrated compensator that a lot of folks detest– but with a few extra goodies.

The new P365 Macro TACOPS will have the slightly taller grip module of the XMacro that comes standard with a frame-mounted M1913 accessory rail for lights and lasers. The upper half is that of a standard P365 XL. What is totally new on the micro 9 is an integrated magwell for faster reloads, an extended slide catch lever, and, as it is a TACOPS package, four flush-fit 17-round magazines.

I ran into the P365 Macro TACOPS at SIG’s media event in Nevada last week on the eve of SHOT Show and got a sneak peek at the new pistol.

The P365 Macro TACOPS can be looked at as a P365 XMacro in which someone swapped out a regular XL top half and added a magwell and extended slide lever. The pistol shown wears a SIG RomeoZero Elite 1×24 micro red dot– which fits the Shield RMSc/Holosun K footprint of the series– with its optional metal shield installed.

More in my column at Guns.com.

In one of the most surprising stories from SHOT…

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Confession time: I have long owned and used an 8+1 shot Bersa Thunder CC .380, finding it both reliable and very easy to conceal. At the time I picked it up, I’d gone down a rabbit hole in which I owned several Argentinian-made pistols including a few HAFDASA Ballester–Molina .45ACPs and a couple of 9mm FM (not FN) Hi-Powers.

Not a bad little gun…

Founded by a trio of Italian immigrants to Argentina back in the 1950s, the company made a name for itself crafting small and dependable blowback-action pistols that evoked a sort of Walther PP/PPK flavor.

Long imported by Eagle Imports, Bersa switched gears in 2021 and elected to go with Talon moving forward while also looking to bring some production to the U.S. This led to a new state-of-the-art facility in Kennesaw, Georgia which has been slowly standing up for the past two years.

That’s what brought me to Bersa’s booth hidden over in the 70,000-block of Ceasar’s Forum during SHOT Show last week.

Did I mention they are making a half dozen different AR models now?

More in my column at Guns.com.

So Beretta *finally* made another SAO 92

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“Did you see the Single Action?” he asked in lieu of a greeting. The man posing the question was a friend of mine, long involved in the behind-the-scenes R&D and market research at Beretta and now with another similarly large and distinguished European gun maker in whose booth we were standing at SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

In fact, I had not seen the new Beretta 92 XI, or “9211” first-hand but I had heard of its existence from a fellow gun writer who had gone to the media day for the gun the day prior. It was a small community and news always traveled fast, especially in the digital age.

“So I take it you had a hand in that?” I asked.

“Oh yeah.”

“Why did it take so long to do that? Folks loved the Billennium,” I said, speaking of the limited run of SAO Beretta 92s released in 2001. These guns are often described as the best 92 ever made.

Heading over to Beretta shortly after speaking to my friend about everything his new company was working on, I encountered the 92XI and was impressed.

Using all the “X” series features that the company had previously introduced in the 92X Performance model– optics ready slide, slim Vertec frame, DLC coated trigger internals– the new 92XI runs a crisp single-action-only trigger with a flat bow and a manual frame-mounted safety lever, ideal for carrying “cocked and locked.”

More in my column at Guns.com.

Oh, that Cheetah roar

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Probably one of the most underrated of .380ACPs, the old-school Beretta 84/85 Cheetah, with its subcompact alloy frame and its 13+1 capacity, was a rock-solid classic back in the 1990s and early 2000s.

I have a couple of different .32 and .380 Beretta Cheetahs, all recently imported former Italian police guns, and I really like them.

Well, Beretta has brought it back in a very modern second generation, the 80X.

As its name would imply, borrows the Vertec grip, X-treme S Double/Single trigger, and skeletonized hammer as seen on the 92X line, but shrinks everything down a bit while keeping a 13+1 round capacity.

Direct blowback action, it runs a 3.9-inch barrel giving it an overall length of a very handy 4.9 inches. Weight is 25 ounces unloaded. Either way, nice to see folks are still making hammer-fired metal-framed guns for mainstream carry use. 

More in my column at Guns.com.

That 5.7, tho

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So, the FN 5.7x28mm PDW round, which is pushing 30 years young, almost died out by about 2018, with only one small maker (California’s Excel) making pistols outside of FN.

Then the Ruger 57 pistol (and companion carbine), Diamondback DBX, CMMG Banshee MK57, PSA Rock, and Masterpiece MPA57 hit the market just in the past three years, joined by the third generation of FN’s own pistol. Added to this, AAC (PSA’s brand) along with Federal and Speer have started loading ammo for it, while Fiocchi is expanded its own offerings, adding to the availability and likely dropping the price in the coming days.

Well, now, Smith & Wesson has entered the fray with a $699 pistol gas-operated hammer-fired pistol that feels better than just about any of the above.

The 22+1 capacity (not a misprint) M&P 5.7.

I handled it at SHOT Show, and the handgun has a light and crisp feel to it with the felt recoil akin to a .22 Magnum.

More in my column at Guns.com.

FN Breaks Ground on new 10mm, 45ACP Striker Fired Pistols

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Stretching the FN 509 Tactical series from its standard 9mm format to something bigger bore, FN is now offering red-dot and suppressor-ready 10mm Auto and .45 ACP models.

With a commanding 22+1 magazine capacity, the FN 510 in 10mm and its companion 18+1 shot FN 545 in .45 ACP still have all the standard features of the FN 509 Tactical. These include the company’s bomb-proof Low-Profile Optics Mounting System that fits just about any micro red-dot footprint on the market, fully ambidextrous controls, suppressor-height three-dot night sights with tritium inserts, and a 4.71-inch extended threaded barrel that accepts most comps and suppressors.

Looks like I am going to have to be spending some time on the range in the next few months!

More in my column at Guns.com.

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