Tag Archives: SHOT Show 2021

If Only FN Made a 509-series Longslide. Oh, Wait

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Earlier this year, FN released the Model 509 LS Edge, with the “LS” referring to the extended 5-inch barrel and corresponding lengthened slide. Optics-ready for just about every micro red dot on the market, it has a lot going on.

Due to the lightening cuts in the slide and polymer frame, the FN 509 Edge LS is the same size as an M1911 but, loaded with 18 rounds of 147-grain 9mm and topped with a Leupold Delta Point Pro, it weighs just 36 ounces.

I’ve been kicking the tires on one for a minute. Check out my initial thoughts after the jump.

The Best sub-$500 .22LR Pistol on the Market?

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Taurus introduced the TX22 two years ago and it kinda suprised a lot of folks.

A full-sized striker-fired gun with a polymer frame, the gun used the Taurus Pittman Trigger System (PTS). It shipped with an adjustable rear sight, had an ergonomic grip and Mil-Std 1913 accessory rail, used 16-round mags, and retailed for cheap. Like sub-$350 cheap with three mags and a threaded barrel. What’s not to like?

Now, taking feedback both from the public and the company’s own cadre of professional shooters, the TX 22 Competition brings a lot of great upgrades to the platform. What stays the same is the basic layout and construction: a polymer-framed striker-fired handgun with a high-grade aluminum slide and alloy steel barrel. The gun uses the same surface controls, and thus is the same width – 1.25 inches at the widest point.

What is new is a longer, competition-grade 5.25-inch bull barrel with an improved slide, as well as an optics mounting system that accommodates the most popular pistol MRDs. The price difference is about $135 more, or $485.

I’ve been kicking one around for a month.

More in my column ay Guns.com.

Like the Same Old 509 You’ve Come to Love, Only a lil bit Smaller

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Announced earlier this year, the FN 509 Compact builds on the legacy – and growing popularity – of the platform that was originally designed in 2015 to compete in the Army’s Modular Handgun System program. While the Pentagon ultimately went with Sig, the extensive R&D led FN to release the 509 to the commercial market in standard, Tactical, MRD, Mid-Size, and LS Edge variants since then.

Overall length is just 6.8 inches with a 3.7-inch barrel. Shipping complete with low-profile iron sights, the FN 509 Compact tips the scales at 25.5 ounces. The size puts it a skosh smaller than the Glock 19 and, with the included 12-round flush fit and 15-round pinky extension mags, able to carry the same capacity of 9mm.

I’ve been checking one out for the past few weeks, and it is my current T&E carry gun.

If you think that grip texture is super aggressive and “sticks” to your hand, you are absolutely correct, my friend!

More on the FN 509 Compact in my column at Guns.com.

Lot of Bang for the Buck

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Two years ago, Taurus delivered the TX 22 pistol to the market, and, by and large, everyone that held their nose long enough to shoot it absolutely loved it. The gun proved super reliable, well thought out, and feature-rich– especially for the money. Pistols like it and last year’s G3C have really changed people’s minds on Taurus.

Well, the company now has a more aristocratic installment of the same model, just announced today, the TX 22 Competition.

The TX 22 Comp has a distinctive skeletonized slide similar to a Beretta 92/Taurus PT92 with a cutout between the ejection port to just behind the front sight. The pistol runs a 5-inch match-grade bull barrel that is threaded for suppressors and muzzle devices such as compensators. The trigger has been updated for better performance. Best yet, the slide has an optics cut and is ready right out of the box to accommodate a range of popular red dots, all for under $500.

More in my column at Guns.com.

And the March Towards Optics-Ready Pistols Goes Forth

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Stretching out their popular FN 509 platform, FN on Monday announced its new factory-tuned LS Edge pistol, designed to have many of the same features as a fully customized handgun direct from the factory.

Billed as the “ultimate tactical pistol” the 9mm FN 509 LS Edge has an optics-ready slide over a 5-inch hammer-forged target-crowned barrel. By comparison, the standard FN 509 Tactical series uses a 4.5-inch threaded barrel on a shorter slide with a shorter sight radius. Going past the added length, the 509 Edge LS also brings with it enhanced ergonomics and adaptability along with a flat-face, facet-edge trigger, and other features.

FN’s continuing on the optics cut as-standard trend that the rest of the firearms industry has been moving towards for years, and seems to be doing it nicely.

More in my column at Guns.com.