Author: r2kba.patriot

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1911 2011 9mm AF1911-S15 Alpha Foxtrot Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight

My AF1911-S15 – First Range Visit

This gun can shoot!

I took it to the range today and shot 150 rounds from it (Blazer flat-nosed 147-gr FMJ and Herter’s Target 115-gr FMJ). There were no feed/eject or firing issues.

I shot it at 7 yards then moved to 10 yards. I initially had issues – was hitting low and left of point of aim. Even when I stopped pulling left, I was still hitting an inch low. As I kept shooting, I learned how to better control the gun, and so my groups got tighter as I shot. I began to hit bullseyes.

Even at 10 yards with irons (and I wasn’t wearing my prescription glasses), I was hitting bullseyes.

It’s easy to shoot this gun well – much easier than the Bul Armory, IMO. The differences are that the S15 has great front strap and back strap checkering, which helps greatly with gripping the gun. As well, the S15’s slide is heavier, which helps with recoil management, as the slide soaks up some recoil.

The SAS II UL became a different beast altogether once I added the optic to the handgun. I’m shooting the S15 just as well, without an optic, which is amazing. Yeah, the SAS II still shoots quicker at distance, but that’s solely due to the optic. Once I get the S15’s slide cut for an optic, it’ll be just as good as the SAS II at shooting quicker at distance.

And yeah, I shot 150 rounds through one magazine. it was a pain in the ass, but I had no choice. I had no issues with the magazine (it is a gen 2 Shield Arms mag).

GT Distributors did send me an RMA shipping label and I’ll be sending them back the wrong mags they sent me…once I send them back, I’ll reach out to them and ask them when to expect them to correct their mistake…I still need (and paid for) S15 mags.

I’ll update this post with range footage sometime this weekend.

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1911 2011 AF1911-S15 Alpha Foxtrot

My Alpha Foxtrot AF1911-S15 Has Arrived!

Can’t wait to get this gun to the range – will try to visit the range either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Ordered it Sunday, received it today around 3 PM.

Comes with the one Shield Arms mag (this gun wasn’t cheap – they should think on including two mags with the gun). I ordered 3 more from GTdist.com and they arrived yesterday but they sent the wrong mags – sent me 3 AR PMAGS…WTF. So, I’ve to visit the range with one mag until GTdist.com remedies my order.

The mag doesn’t rattle within the grip, as I’ve seen in Youtube videos, which is very good.

The gun is very tight. The DLC coating looks and feels really good. I will more than likely sent it somewhere to get the slide cut for an optic, but I’ll probably do that 6-12 months from now.

It feels slim. I’ve been carrying the Bul Armory SAS II UL long enough to where this gun feels heavy in comparison, but realistically, it’s not heavy at all.

I love the grip texture (feels less “slick” than the SAS II UL).

The thumb safety is super strong, though…execessively so, IMO. Perhaps it’ll wear-in.

Trigger is super-crisp…no creep whatsoever. It’s the best trigger of any of my 1911s/2011s.

I checked the trigger pull with my Lyman gauge and got 4 lb 15 oz from an average of 5 pulls (lowest being 4 lb 8 oz).

It also fits in my Tenicor Certum 3 holster.

I’m impressed so far. Waiting for some gotcha to show itself, though.

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1911 2011 9mm AF1911-S15 Alpha Foxtrot

Alpha Foxtrot AF1911-S15 – On the Way!

I kept eyeing the AF1911-S15 even after purchasing the Bul Armory SAS II UL, so I took a hard look at it and decided to purchase it.

I bought Gen 2 version of the handgun, which also has a threaded barrel. I bought it from Battlehawk Armory. Since it only comes with one 15-round mag, I ordered three more (generation 3 mags from GT Distributors – I’d have ordered straight from ShieldArms.com, but they our currently out of stock).

Now, I could’ve waited until mid June for their optics-ready version but I’ll be out of the country that timeframe and these were currently in stock (they aren’t always stocked).

I’m excited, as this particular gun is very nice.

If I find that I want/need an optics cut, I can find a business that can perform that modification.

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2011 Bul Armory handguns SAS II Ultralight trigger

I Was Able to Upgrade My SAS II Ultralight’s Trigger Shoe!

I’d mentioned before that I bought a silver and flat-faced trigger shoe from the Bul Armory online store.

The SAS II Ultralight has a modular trigger shoe. At their store, you can chose between 15 different shoes (5 types of shoes, with each being offered in 3 colors).

The gun comes with the short curved black trigger shoe. I bought the short flat silver trigger shoe.

It took me a while to determine how to remove the trigger shoe (sounds simple to do, but not if you don’t have the correct sized allen key).

When I finally got the short curved shoe off, I found that the short flat shoe wouldn’t fit. It required fitting.

Now, I understand what fitting is and why there’s the need to fit 1911 parts, but this is a damned trigger shoe…marketed as modular. It should be immediately swappable, just as most mag releases or slide catches should be immediately swappable.

I was going to let it sit until I went on vacation but this was bugging me, so, today, I fitted that shoe. It was just a hair off. It took maybe 15 minutes to remove just a bit of material from the shoe. The most difficult part was trying to determine where to remove the material (the part that needed to be fit was curved. I ended up taking a bit of material from each end of the curved part, taking my time, removing a bit, then attempting to fit (wash, rinse, repeat).

Once I got the part on, I added a bit of blue thread locker to the overtravel screw (needed to be removed to remove the trigger shoe).

The new trigger shoe looks GOOD!!

SAS II UL with new trigger shoe
SAS II UL with old trigger shoe
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Bul Armory Optic range report SAS II Ultralight video

Four Week Review of the Bul Armory SAS II UL

This is just a video-captured 20 minute summary of my experiences with the SAS II UL.

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1911 2011 Bul Armory handguns range visit SAS II Ultralight

SAS II UL Optics Adjustment Issues – The Wedge Was Not Needed!

My range notes for today’s range visit:

This is the first time I’ve tried a range other than Elite. Elite closed last weekend, so today I visited XCal in Ashburn (30 min drive – 30 miles).

Shot 48 rounds of Norma 115-grain FMJ. There were no fails.

I also shot 64 rounds of Fiocchi 115-gr FMJ. There were no fails.

Total rounds this session was 112 rounds of FMJ. There were no fails.

I spent a majority of the 1-hour session adjusting my new optic (Holosun HS507K-X2 ACSS). It was initially frustrating because I couldn’t hit point of aim at all. I kept adjusting the sight and was able to get proper windage but couldn’t get the proper elevation…no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get the dot lower than 6-8″ above the bulls-eys when shooting at 10 yards.

I finally stopped and decided to remove the optic wedge I’d installed (was supposed to fix an issue with the SAS II UL having elevation issues when an optic is mounted). Once I removed the wedge, I reinstalled the optic and was immediately hitting the bulls-eye. It still needs to be fine-tuned, but I’m quite happy with the functionality of the optic and that I solved the elevation issue!

I bought a crapload of ammo, but only got to shoot 112 rounds, since I was attempting to adjust the optic’s point of aim and since I had the issue with elevation.

I wish I’d shot a bit more to break the 500 round count.

I’ll attempt to visit again next week. I’m probably going to apply for membership before then.

I almost decided to put the irons back on tonight, at the range. The only thing that stopped me was that I’d forgotten to bring the irons with me. That forced me to bird-dog the issue – I didn’t need that optic wedge I’d installed and I shouldn’t have immediately installed it. That’s what I get for believing an internet source – bottom line is, don’t believe everything you read on the internet! Trust but verify. If I’d have installed just the optic and not the optic wedge, I’d have not had an issue at all.

Before removing the optic wedge

After removing the optic wedge
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1911 2011 Bul Armory handguns SAS II Ultralight

This Video States That The SAS II UL Is Snappy!

The below video is the ONLY video I’ve seen that complains (more than once in the video) that the SAS II UL is snappy.

WTAF – it is not. All the other reviewers I’ve seen shoot this gun (Sootch00, Graham and Teya of GBGuns, James Reeves of TFB, Talon Sei, Roger Berrera, and more) have said that the gun shoots rather flatly.

As someone who owns and has shot a crapload of JHP from this gun, I’ll say that IT’S NOT SNAPPY.

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Bul Armory Optic Reflex Sight SAS II Ultralight

Holosun HS507K-X2 ACSS Vulcan Mounted to the SAS II UL!

This optic is a lot smaller than I thought it woudl be, but it’s also made for smaller handguns (which is why it’s denoted as 507K).

It was rather easy to remove the “iron” rear sight. In fact, the rear sight was loose and was rattling around! It was probably due to the stout JHP I’ve been recently shooting.

I bought an optic shim (I also bought an extra one, for redundancy purposes), as the 507K has zeroing adjustability issues with the SAS II UL.

I cleaned out the optics screw holes and then used the screws that came with the optic to secure the optic to the slide (used blue thread locker).

The optic works well! I have it set to use the ACSS reticle, have the lighting dimmed a bit, and have the setting locked in place. I also have the Shake Awake feature enabled.

I’ll have some time to shoot it tomorrow (will try to visit a new range, as well).

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ammo Bul Armory defensive ammo range report range visit SAS II Ultralight

Summary of the SAS II UL’s 2nd Range Visit

I went to the range yesterday and shot approximately 160 rounds of ammo. Half of it was FMJ and the other half was straight-up SD ammo (none of the cheap stuff).

Some quick observations:

  • I cleaned the firearm for the first time today (a day after the 2nd range visit). It was filthy. I could see preservative oil in the upper reaches of the slide (looked like rust but I know it wasn’t – tell-tale sign of preservative oil). I didn’t deep-clean the gun – I only field-stripped the gun, but I did remove the firing pin and clean it (I didn’t have any pipe cleaners, so I didn’t clean inside the channel). I also cleaned the extractor claw (did not remove the extractor, though). The claw was nasty. The barrel was nasty and had some crud in the chamber that took some time cleaning.
  • I took the opportunity to also take apart the two mags that came with the gun. I cleaned and oiled them (light coat of oil).
  • I noticed that the rear sight was loose. I’ll need to remove the rear sight, clean the threads, and then use blue thread locker to secure it, but for now, I just tightened the rear sight screws – I’ve an optic on the way here, and I’ll be removing the rear sight anyways.
  • I received two more OEM mags today, as well as a flat trigger shoe. I thought I could quickly install the new trigger shoe – nope…I need a 1.3mm allen wrench to remove the trigger shoe. That’s going to be a bitch to get off, too – it will take time, IF it’s not secured with threadlocker. If it is, it’ll take even more time.
  • I also received two optic shims (I only needed one but I wanted redundancy). The HS507K will require the shim, otherwise I won’t be able to adjust it properly (this is a known issue with the 507K and the SAS II UL).
  • The gun fired OK during the range visit. I shot the following ammo: Herter’s Defense in 115-gr JHP, Sig V-Crown Elite Defense 124-gr JHP, Koenig Competition 110-gr JHP, Remington Golden Saber 124-gr BJHP and 147-gr BJHP, and Hevi Duty 100-gr frangible flat-nosed ammo. I also brought some Fiocchi 115-gr FMJ ammo.
  • I had two fails to feed (FTF) with the Sig ammo, one of the FTFs being a double-feed. This ammo shot a tad bit high.
  • I had two FTFs with the Koenig ammo – same deal, one of the FTFs being a double-feed. As well, this ammo shot 2-3″ high! To hit the bullseye, I had to aim 2+ inches low.
  • I had no failures with the rest of the ammo, although the Hevi Duty frangible ammo shot high.

Basically, it seems that any light-for-caliber ammo that is shot from this gun will land high. That was my experience with Inceptor ARX (65-gr fluted tip) too.

So, we’ve shot a total of 336 rounds of ammo from the SAS II UL, thus far.

I still need to master the trigger of this gun. It’s a bit more difficult to shoot (and be precise) than my other 1911 9mm handguns, part of the issue being recoil management. I’ll get better as I spend time with the gun.

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mags RDS trigger

First RDS on the Way, Plus Additional Mags

This weekend, I decided that I wanted more than just two mag for the SAS II, so I ordered two more 16-round mags.

Since I was already ordering something from the Bul Armory USA site, I also ordered a flat trigger shoe in silver.

I have a lot more JHP ammo, as well. I went to Cabelas and bought several boxes of JHP and FMJ 9mm ammo, plus, I’d forgotten that I’d done the same thing maybe two months ago, so I’ve probably 300 rounds of a mix of FMJ and SD ammo.

Today, I ended up buying my first red dot sight (RDS). I bought the Holosun HS507K-X2 ACSS Vulcan, in red, from OpticsPlanet. I had a difficult time chosing between that an the Holosun EPS Carry, but the EPS Carry was expensive (like $400 for the MRS variant). I wanted the ACSS because I’m new to red dots and the ACSS will help with sight positioning. I can buy the EPS Carry next year. As well, the HS507K-X2 ACSS will also fit on my Canik TP9 Elite SC if I decide to go back to carrying that gun.