By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2024
ABOUT FABRIQUE NATIONALE HERSTAL
Founded in 1889, FN Herstal originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège, Belgium. Fabrique Nationale was started by a group of Belgian investors to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 89 rifles for the Belgian army. The force behind the new company was Henri Pieper of the Belgian arms manufacturer Anciens Etablissements Pieper, the new company’s largest shareholder.
Another key player in the Fabrique Nationale story was John Browning. In 1898, Browning had a fallout with the Winchester company regarding his new autoloading shotgun design, the A5. Winchester wanted to give Browning the regular one-time single fee payment for the rights to the A5, while Browning wanted royalties based on unit sales.
Browning signed a deal with FN to produce the new A5 design, and Browning moved to Belgium to work with FN. Browning would go on to design several firearms for FN and passed away while working at his bench on the FN Hi-Power design.
FN went on to produce the FAL, French for Fusil Automatique Léger (Light Automatic Rifle). Made by Fabrique Nationale in Herstal, Belgium, the FAL has been in service since 1953 in over 90 countries. The FAL was dubbed “the right arm of the free world” and became a symbol of the struggle against Communism. The original design of the FAL started in 1946 and was the brainchild of Belgian weapons designer Dieudonne Joseph Saive, another key player in the history of FN. Saive was immensely talented; he designed the FN Model 49 and modified many of John Browning’s designs after his passing.
In 1984, FN developed the replacement for the M-60 Machine Gun, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, which was an adaptation of the Belgian Minimi light machine gun.
Later, FN would design the legendary FN SCAR series that takes root in its battle-proven lineage, adapted from USSOCOM’s newest battle rifle since the M4 entered service in the 1990s. The benchmark of reliability and versatility, it has four variants, the FN SCAR 15P, SCAR 16S, SCAR 17S and SCAR 20S.
THE 509 CC EDGE XL
The 509 series is a favorite among many shooters, and the Edge series has added several features that make it a modular competition-ready pistol. The slide now features lightening cuts, and the non-threaded barrel has a compensator mounted that significantly reduces recoil.
THE FRAME
The 509 features a full-sized frame with a multi-faceted stippled texture for better controllability, an ambidextrous slide stop, an oversized right-hand-only magazine release, and a flat-faced precision trigger that breaks cleanly at 90 degrees. Other features include a Picatinny rail for mounting lights and lasers, a high-endurance conical striker for dependability, and a flared magazine well that enables faster reloads.
THE SLIDE & BARREL
The slide is machined from stainless steel, with lightening cuts to increase slide speed for faster follow-up shots. It is equipped with a green fiber optic front sight and an all-black rear. The slide is optics-ready with the FN low-profile mounting system, and the sights are set to co-witness with an optic. It’s finished in a graphite PVD finish.
The barrel is 4.2 inches long and made from cold hammer-forged stainless steel. It has proprietary, non-threaded mounting lugs for an FN proprietary quick-detach, auto-indexing compensator design for the non-threaded barrel, which reduces muzzle rise up to 25 percent, vectors muzzle flash out of the sight line, and features toolless installation and removal. It has a polished chamber, feed ramp, and a recessed target crown, and it is finished with a gold titanium nitride PVD finish for durability.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Double Action, Striker-Fired
Caliber: 9mm
Magazine Capacity: 10 or 17 Rounds, and 24-round magazines using the appropriate grip sleeve
Sights: Fiber optic front, all-black rear, co-witness height
Sight Radius: 5.41 Inches
Barrel Length: 4.2 Inches
Overall Length: 7.5 Inches
Height: 5.9 Inches
Width: 1.35 Inches
Weight: 29 Ounces
MSRP: $1,399
URL: www.fnamerica.com
THE VERDICT
Fabrique Nationale has added many features to the 509 series, creating an excellent carry or top-notch competition gun at a reasonable price.
Depending on your state, the 509 CC Edge XL ships with three 10- or 17-round magazines, 4 MRD mounting plates, two backstraps, an owner’s manual, a lock, and a ballistic case.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, Soldier of Fortune, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Off Grid, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected].