Red dot-sighted pistols grow more mainstream as LAPD adopts FN 509 MRD-LE.
FN 509 MRD-LE Features:
- 9mm, 17+1 Capacity
- Striker-fired
- Improved Precision Barrel
- Upgraded Trigger
- Optics Ready
American shooters have traditionally looked to the police for guidance when it comes to selecting their handguns. When cops made the switch from revolvers to autoloaders, so did many civilians. When cops began to transition away from DA/SA steel-framed autos to striker-fired polymer-framed guns, so too did the general population. Now as police departments across the country begin to replace their iron-sighted service weapons for ones with red dot sights, it's time to ask how long it will take until those without badges decide to follow suit. With the LAPD’s adoption of the FN 509 MRD-LE, it may be sooner than later.
As the third largest police department in the country, when the LAPD selects a new service pistol it’s no small task. With nearly 10,000 officers to equip in one of the highest crime cities in the nation, it's no surprise that the selection process is taken quite seriously. It’s all the more impressive then when the FN 509 MRD-LE passed each test with flying colors and surpassed all of the department’s requirements. The pistol is supposed to have survived a 20,000 round endurance test without a single malfunction to speak of, something that few other handguns can boast.
Besides having ultimate reliability, the LAPD also required their new duty pistols to be as accurate as possible. FN began the process of refining the 509 design for the LAPD by improving mechanical accuracy by means of the barrel. The 509 MRD-LE includes a hammer-forged barrel with a recessed target crown that promises to deliver tight groups regardless of the gun’s total round count. A gun is only as accurate as its shooter, however, so the 509 MRD-LE also features an upgraded trigger and sights. The trigger is flat-faced and cleanly breaks at 90°, and the new high-performance conical striker reduces trigger pull weight by about a pound. The cherry on top of this package is its ability to mount optical sights through the use of FN’s Low-Profile Optics-Mounting System. The three-dot tritium sights that come standard on the 509 MRD-LE would have been nice enough on their own, but in this case they were really designed for co-witnessing with a red dot. The mounting platform can accommodate a wide variety of professional pistol red dots, and the gun ships with four different mounting plates. It is currently still unknown whether the LAPD will also be selecting a red dot to be adopted for use alongside the 509 MRD-LE or if individual officers will be required to choose their own.
Each FN 509 MRD-LE ships with an FN ballistic case, a lock, three magazines and three swappable backstraps for increased ergonomics.
For more on FN, please visit fnamerica.com.
More On Pistol Optics:
- The Red Dot Advantage
- The Best Optics For CCW
- The Aimpoint ACRO P-2
- The Trijicon RMR
- The Swampfox Liberator II
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