FN 502 Tactical .22

[CNobbe]

Happened to find one at a box store this past week, and decided I needed another .22 in my life.

I'd been waiting to see some reviews before buying one, but after checking it out at the store I decided to take the plunge.

First in foremost, a couple of things really disappointed me off the bat. A. It's not made by FN at all, it's made by Umarex in Germany. B - it's SAO, not DA/SA like the FNX Tactical which I've gotten quite used to in .45.

To it's credit, it does somewhat resemble a "real" 509 in weight, it's a bit of a chunker, but I think it'll prove to be quite durable in the long run.

Other things I like are the optic plates. It comes with three in the box for Vortex Ventom, RMR/Holsosun, and Shield RMS.

The cover plate and all of the optic mount plates have a tall suppressor height sights dovetailed into them so you'll always have a rear sight. The sights are plain black, but could be replaced easily enough.

Other positives are the design itself, if you have an FNX or FNS/509 it comes apart exactly the same way. The mags are very easy to load thanks to a large tab, though it's only on one side.

Shooting impressions:

I took it out today without an optic installed, just wanted to see how it'd shoot out of the box and am happy to report it shot very well. It grouped much better than my G44 with a mix of ammo, on par with my TX22s.

Without a suppressor or red dot, my FNX 45 puts the bullet at the tip of the front sight round after round, and the 502 does as well. Was kinda impressed that despite the differences in calibers, they shoot exactly the same.

The SAO trigger is wonderful.. In a way, the trigger reminds me more of the P226 Legion SAO than an FN, but I'm not complaining at all. It is very, very good.

275 rounds in and I'm happy with my purchase. Had one dud round, but besides that, my 502 ate up and spit out everything I fed it.

I'm just hoping to find an FDE version down the road, I know I'd like it better, but so far the 502 gets two thumbs up for quality/value and reliability and is a keeper in my .22 collection.

 

[ontarget]

I am currently in the market for a good quality 22 automatic. Hopefully I can run across one of these to fondle. Looks good.

 

[CNobbe]

The Taurus TX22 and this FN 502 are my favorites, though the Bersa Thunder .22 has a place in in my heart as well. My Glock 44 is going bye bye, the FN is much more fun to shoot.

 

[Walkalong]

Looks/sounds very cool

 

[doubleh]

Sounds like a nice gun. Enjoy.

 

[DarkswordDX]

I hate Umarex .22s because they're always so damned picky on ammo. Have you tried shooting anything other than Mini-Mags in it yet?

 

[sigarms228]

I was very interested in the FN 502 at first but yeah being made by Umarex is a real turn off but hopefully it will prove to be a reliable and durable pistol. Interesting that Smith and Wesson had Umarex make their original M&P 22 but designed and manufactured the M&P 22 Comact themselves instead.

Some things in the reviews so far that have been a turn off to me so far have been.

-- SA only trigger. A nice DA/SA trigger would have been sweet.
-- More than a few reports of a very meh trigger. like this one below. A couple video reviews say pretty much the same
-- No real accuracy tests yet but those should be coming, Just subjective reviews that it is "very accurate". Would like to see somthing more definitive.

https://www.recoilweb.com/review-fn-502-tactical-subcaliber-sleeper-170392.html

The FN 502 Tactical does share another common aspect with several FN guns; namely, a trigger that leaves much to be desired The weight of the trigger isn’t the issue in this case: Our gauges clock the FN 502 Tactical as having a mere 2.5-pound pull. The break of the trigger is plastic-spongy with a ton of flex, and there’s a heap of overtravel and a long reset.

-- The sights not being the greatest but to be fair this pistol seems to be for people that plan on using a red dot on it. Not sure what other sights are available at this time.

Oh well time will tell but at this point I think I will just continue using my P226 with the 22 LR conversion kit when I want to shoot a DA/SA 22LR pistol and probably just buy another Buckmark since my wife pretty much confiscated mine after she learned how much fun it was to shoot LOL. Easy enought to put a red dot on a Bauckmark too if I want to try that. The Buckmark is by far my favorite 22 LR pistol.

However glad to hear the OP is really happy with his FN 502 and nice to see a first hand report from a forum member.

 

[CNobbe]

I hate Umarex .22s because they're always so damned picky on ammo. Have you tried shooting anything other than Mini-Mags in it yet?

It's had a mix of ammo through it including: CCI standard velocity, Aguila HV, CCI Quiet, and some Winchester/Federal bulk. A friend blasted some mini mags through it the other day without an issue. It will not run on CCI quiet, but not many 22 autos will. It's not a picky eater by any means, nor was my Umarex made PPQ .22.

Maybe I got lucky with my 502 as it has a great trigger, absolutely no complaints with that or the accuracy, it groups very well. It's wearing an old Burris Fastfire 2 now, fits on the Vortex Venom plate just fine.