First big customer for the FN 509

Is Brinks paying for the guns? I've heard of manufacturers practically giving away new guns in order to get high profile contracts. I'm sure the gun is good but I'm surely not going to buy a gun because Brinks using them...
 
I'd also be curious how much FN charged per pistol or if this was more a way to get their name out there with this particular model (I don't think either the FNX or FNS had a lot of success).

I think the FNS is a decent pistol and this seems like a refinement of that. Before I jump onboard I want to see FN show they'll provide full support for this pistol. While I know it uses XD/SIG sight cuts, which is nice for aftermarket sights, what I want to know is will mags be available and for how much. Right now I can buy APX mags for $29 shipped from Beretta. While I know you can use FNS mags and replace the baseplate, I want to see what mags will price out at as FN mags are usually pricey.

I'm also curious if the 509 has any modularity. I know it's the "evolution" of their MHS submission, but I have yet to see them mention anything about modularity. It's not a big deal, but it would seem weird if they didn't keep any of that capability in this model.
 
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I am also curious about modularity as they mention:

The FN 509 was born out of the company’s effort to produce a contender for the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition and has been further enhanced to meet the needs of U.S. law enforcement and commercial customers.

Other then that I didn't read anything about it.
 
I was bored yesterday and was tuning around on my car radio and I heard Michael Savage ranting about some insane nonsense, and then an ad for the FN 509 came on. I think that's the first gun ad I've ever heard on the radio before.
Having just sold an FNS-40, this gun doesn't interest me much at all. The grip is just overdone, like the FNS's grip was/is.
 
Having just sold an FNS-40, this gun doesn't interest me much at all. The grip is just overdone, like the FNS's grip was/is.
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Kind of a matter of taste. Some people like the aggressive texturing, some don't.
 
TunnelRat said:
Kind of a matter of taste. Some people like the aggressive texturing, some don't.
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Re: aggressive grips. I never noticed them being all that different than other guns -- but it would be pretty easy to tone that "aggressiveness" down with some sandpaper.

I've got two FNS-40s, one a Long Slide. They're two of the best-shooting .40s I've owned. I typically don't shoot .40s that well, but .45 isn't a problem. I picked up a 9mm conversion barrel for the standard (non-Long Slide) model.
 
armoredman said:
Interesting - Brinks issued Smith 64s DAO for years, finally getting caught up to modern times.
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Around me they then went to S&W 4046s and then M&Ps in 40SW. The M&Ps were relatively new maybe 5-6 years ago? Don't seem to have been in favor long.


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My guess is that they are basically giving these guns away, much as one assumes they did with the FNS pistols adopted by the Columbia, SC police department (the city where those pistols are made, and to my knowledge, still one of only a few departments to adopt the FNS).


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Fishbed77 said:
My guess is that they are basically giving these guns away, much as one assumes they did with the FNS pistols adopted by the Columbia, SC police department (the city where those pistols are made, and to my knowledge, still one of only a few departments to adopt the FNS).
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A company with a small U.S. marketing footprint has to start somewhere...

I think that were we able to find the prices of many of the S&W and Glock guns sold to Police Departments, we'd learn that they were all sold at prices SUBSTANTIALLY lower than the prices you or I would pay were we buying them, ourselves. (Often, when a gun is sold to an officer as the agency shifts to a different brand, the sale prices are generally around $300 or less, typically the price the agency paid for the guns. It tends to be a good deal for the officers and an even-better deal for the agency. I wouldn't be surprised if some agencies pay less...)

It's not necessarily a STUPID marketing approach for a gun maker to get the gun out at a very low price -- as it gets their gun into the public's eye for a LOT LESS money than heavy advertising, if done smartly. And word-of-mouth over the 'net travels fast. I'm sure that was one of the biggest reasons for Glocks relatively rapid success among police departments here in the U.S.

I've seen news about one big department (San Diego?) buying FNS-40s, and then having problems with what appeared to be a single NEGLIGENT discharge that was claimed by the offending/offended officer to be an equipment malfunction (IN THE HOLSTER!!). There were no witnesses, and it happened inside the department's building. No problems were found with the weapon in question, or with any other weapons in the department.
 
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A company with a small U.S. marketing footprint has to start somewhere...

I think that were we able to find the prices of many of the S&W and Glock guns sold to Police Departments, we'd learn that they were all sold at prices SUBSTANTIALLY lower than the prices you or I would pay were we buying them, ourselves.
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Indeed - my comment was not a knock on FN or the 509, but a commentary on what manufacturers have to do to gain LE market acceptance.

I feel too many here get hung up on LE/military acceptance of pistol designs. Such acceptance is more often than not purely a function of marketing and cost, and not relative qualities of design. Such attitudes cause a lot of folks to miss out on some truly superlative pistols.
 
I love my FNX-45, it pulls bed side duty when at home and is on my hip when at the shop. The only down side I have found is the lack of after market support.
 
The only down side I have found is the lack of after market support.
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To me this is a big concern of mine. I want to see FN really promote this pistol so that it gets the aftermarket attention.
 
TunnelRat said:
To me this is a big concern of mine. I want to see FN really promote this pistol so that it gets the aftermarket attention.
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I think FNH is trying to do that, and has worked out an arrangement with APEX for trigger upgrades for the FNS and FN 509 series (which share components.)

The biggest thing FNH needs to do is get guns in the hands of shooters, and they've dramatically lowered prices on the FNS line over the past year. When there are more FN users out there, the after-market parts suppliers will take a risk -- but until then they're going to be wary.

I have two FNS-40's (one a Long Slide), and I'll get an Apex kit for the standard model; the Long Slide had trigger work done before I got it. The Long Slide model may get a Apex kit later, if the kit really improves the stock trigger,

That said, I still like the stock FNS trigger better than the Glock trigger after having installed Ghost kits. And except for the trigger, there's not much I'd want to "upgrade" on my two FNS-40s. Sights and holsters are available.
 
I really look forward to the 509. I have always sung the praises of the FNS, so I ordered one on Monday. Does anyone know where to get the floor plates to convert mags?
 
I hear the trigger is really bad and gritty.

Just another flavor of the week poly striker nine, more of the same old same old. Not impressed.
 
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