FN America has released a new handgun in their 509 series pistols. Based on the 509 series of handguns, they now offer the 502 Tactical. It is an all-in-one handgun that has features you typically find in center-fire tactical handguns but not for the rimfire world.
The FN 502 Tactical looks like a 509 Tactical, but there are some subtle differences. The biggest difference is that these guns are not actually made by FN America but licensed by Umarex. I am ok with this. Umarex makes a lot of great .22lr clone guns like the H&K 416 series, the Walther PPk, and others.
Aside from who made it, there are some other differences. The biggest one is that the 502 Tactical is hammer fired rather than the striker-fired 509 series of pistols. I think they did this for reliability reasons. A striker-fired system requires a heavier recoil spring and with the weight of an optic, this makes reliability an issue. Hammer fired does not have this limitation. The hammer is a smooth single-action. However, the reset is a little bit longer than I would like.
FN 502 Tactical 22LR Pistol
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The FN 502 Tactical is a “first of its kind,” according to FN America. It features a 15-round magazine, co-witnessing iron sights, optics-ready anodized aluminum slide, and target-crowned threaded barrel for use with suppressors.
The 502 Tactical comes with three MRD adapter plates.
- Trijicon RMR
- Vortex Venom/Burris FastFire
- Shield RMS
The first thing you will notice is that the cover plate on the slide is aluminum, but the MRD adapter plates are molded polymer. I think this is to help reduce weight since you are adding a red dot to the slide. The tall rear sight in the metal cover plate is polymer but is adjustable for windage. All the MRD plates come with a molded tall rear sight, but since it is molded into the adapter plate it is not adjustable.
I used a Crimson Trace CT-1550 as it is a Shield RMS footprint, but it required a little bit of modification. The CT-1550 is similar to my Point Shield red dot and it has a small round protrusion at the back of the optic’s housing. This interferes with the molded rear sight. So it was a simple matter of sanding that plastic bump down.
Another major difference is the grip. It is smaller than a regular 509 pistol grip. Umarex opted to keep the grip simple, so it does not have interchangeable back straps. I think they did this to better accommodate a large percentage of the people who would most likely use the FN 502 Tactical. Children and women tend to have smaller hands, so making the grip smaller and easier to manipulate the controls like the slide release, magazine release, and safety.
The barrel is threaded 1/2×28 and has a target crown. It is obviously designed for use with a rimfire suppressor which does not have a Nielsen device. And yet it does not impede the slide from cycling. If you live in a state that does not allow suppressors, you can use a compensator. My neighbor lent me his FN509C Tactical to compare and he has the PMM comp on his pistol. So I tried it on the 502 Tactical, It is a perfect fit.
Another thing I found exciting about the barrel of the FN502 Tactical is that it is a fixed barrel. It is not your typical tilting locking barrel. This allows you to attach any muzzle device without impeding the operation of the gun. You can direct thread a larger and heavier suppressor or use a trilug adapter, and QD a suppressor to the FN502 Tactical and the pistol will continue to function as if nothing happened.
The FN 502 Tactical comes with two magazines. The first one is a 10-round magazine, while the second magazine is a higher capacity 15-round magazine. I have not seen a traditional .22lr handgun with such high capacity. Even Glock went with a 10-round magazine with their Glock 44. To achieve this, the 15-round magazine is simply longer with a faux mag extension cover that mimics the FN509 style.
For the most part, the FN502 Tactical ate everything I fed it. I fed it a mix of CCI and Federal ammo without issue. I even grabbed a baggie of mixed old ammo, and it chewed through those. The only ammo the 502 Tactical struggled with was CCI Quiet sub-sonic ammunition. There is not enough energy to cycle the next round. The shell would eject, but it did not have enough energy to cycle the slide all the way back to strip a new round and chamber it.
Since the FN502 Tactical is a slightly different size and shape from the FN509 series, I used a Blackhawk Omnivore holster for Streamlight lights. As long as I use a Streamlight TLR-1, I can holster most pistols with the Omnivore. This is a perfect match for the FN502 Tactical. As an added benefit, I modified the end of the Omnivore holster to allow for my SilencerCo SpectreII suppressor to fit while holstered.
Final Thoughts On the FN502 Tactical. At an MSRP of $519 and a street price of around $400, it is a must-have that does not break the bank. The FN502 Tactical is feature-rich and does not compromise much. It comes with an optics-ready slide, 10-round and 15-round magazines, and a threaded barrel. You can mount lights, and now you have a handy tactical trainer pistol that mimics your full-size FN509. The grip is a little bit small, but I understand the necessity. It will be popular with kids and new shooters with small hands.
There are other .22LR pistols out there, but you will have to spend more money to get those to perform and have the same features as the FN502 Tactical. If you are looking for a pistol that can do it all, then look no further.
About Nicholas “Nick” Chen
Nicholas Chen is a firearm aficionado. Growing up in California, He learned about firearms and hunted with his father growing up in Southern California. Once he moved out to Pennsylvania and then spent a few years in New York State, he learned to truly appreciate firearms and the second amendment. It was in New York State where he became a USPSA competitive shooter and learned about 3Gun. He is an avid fan of running and gunning.
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