Apex FN 509 Trigger Review – 2,000 Rounds Later

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- I know what you are thinking, we already reviewed the FN 509 Apex flat trigger on Ammoland. So why are we reviewing it again? This time we have the production Apex FN 509 trigger, not a prototype. Normally we don’t review prototypes here, but we believed that to be the final version. Mea Culpa.

It is no secret that I believe the FN 509 Tactical to be the best pistol to hit the market in the last decade, if not longer. The only improvement that I felt it might need is a flat faced trigger to reduce the trigger reach as much as possible.

I personally prefer the trigger reach on striker pistols to be as short as possible without sacrificing too much surface area on the grip. Why? more surface area on the grip means more hand in contact with the pistol and likely better recoil control.

Installing the Apex FN 509 Trigger

The install process can be tricky if you don’t follow the instructions exactly. Some have had issues removing the locking block pin and others have cracked their frames entirely. That said, I have installed the Apex FN 509 trigger in four pistols, the only one that gave me an issue was one that someone had attempted to take apart and messed up the locking block pin badly. I was able to install the trigger in that gun with some creative problem-solving.

My best advice, follow the install instructions exactly and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, send it into Apex.

It is also important to note that the locking block pin was not designed to be removed by the consumer. Apex says that they haven’t seen any issues with reusing the pin, but FN does recommend that the pin is replaced if removed.

Thoughts After 2,000 Rounds

After installing the trigger, I spent a ton of time on the range with the FN 509 Tactical. I was already at about 1,500 rounds or so with the stock trigger and wasn’t displeased with it in the least, but it could be better.

About half of the rounds fired with the Apex Fn 509 trigger were during the Modern Samurai Project red dots on pistols class with the remainder doing skill building drills and a ton of 25-yard shooting at B8 bullseyes.

The first few hundred rounds with the Apex FN 509 trigger were stellar. As you might expect the trigger reach was shortened substantially, the take up was also reduced noticeably, and the trigger break was crisp and clean. Shooting 10 round strings at NRA B8 bulls placed at 25-yards resulted in consistent 90 to 95 scores when shooting standing with two hands on the gun.

Right around the 350 to 400 round mark, I noticed that there was some degradation of the clean break that the Apex had when installed. Later in the review, I will go into what I suspect was causing the issue. I do want to stress that the trigger did improve as the round count got higher.

After the 1,000 round mark, the trigger felt better than ever and has stayed that way for the last 1,000 rounds plus daily dry fire sessions with my MantisX dry fire tool. If I had to wager a guess on the number of trigger presses that I have performed with the FN 509 Tactical after installing the Apex trigger, I would have to guess in the 6,000 to 7,000 range.

The trigger’s break is crisp and clean, takeup is short and reasonably positive, and the trigger reach is ideal for me. The production version of the trigger is much better than the prototype that we reviewed a while back, Apex hit it out of the park with the final version.

Problems With The Apex FN 509 Trigger

Earlier in the post, I mentioned that at about 350 to 400 rounds the trigger started to feel less crisp than it did when I installed it initially. After taking the gun apart again to see if I could fix the issue, I noticed that the engagement surface of the sear was slightly rounded.

My first thought was that I got a lemon, but then I looked at the factory one to see it in the same condition. The fact that the stock trigger was perfectly serviceable even with the same wear on the sear makes me think that the surfaces breaking in as the trigger is used is entirely normal. After the initial 800 to 1,000 rounds, the sear stopped wearing in and hasn’t changed since.

Is The Apex FN 509 Trigger Good?

Simply put, yes. The trigger is good. If you have either a standard FN 509 or the 509 Tactical, buy it. You will be glad you did.

I am sure that you are asking what the trigger pull weight is after the trigger is installed. From the factory, my FN 509 Tactical had a 6 and a half pound trigger. After I installed the Apex trigger, the trigger weight dropped to just under 5 pounds.

I have been telling people that the FN 509 Tactical is damned near perfect out of the box since it was announced earlier this year, but only near perfect. The trigger is one of two changes that I will have made to the pistol after over 4,000 rounds downrange, the other being the move to the standard suppressor height sights with no tritium.

Sure, the factory trigger on the 509 series is just fine and I shoot rather well with one, but the Apex trigger takes the pistol to a whole new level.

The MSRP for the Apex FN 509 trigger is $149.95 and can be found at most Apex dealers with a street price in the low $130 range for the black model. Learn more about the Apex FN 509 trigger on the Apex Tactical website.

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About Patrick R.

Patrick is a firearms enthusiast that values the quest for not only the best possible gear setup but also pragmatic ways to improve his shooting skills across a wide range of disciplines. He values truthful, honest information above all else and had committed to cutting through marketing fluff to deliver the truth. You can find the rest of his work on FirearmRack.com as well as on the YouTube channel Firearm Rack or Instagram at @thepatrickroberts.