I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
I want to focus on two things in this after action report: 1) ammo and reliability; 2) shooting – accuracy and recoil management
About shooting reliability —
So, I took the SAS II to the range today. I took maybe 200 rounds of various types of ammo. Much of it was JHP. Some was actual defensive ammo. Some was light for caliber. Some was heavy for caliber. Some was FMJ.
I shot Inceptor ARX (65 gr), Winchester Silvertip (115 and 147 JHP), Federal Hi-shok (115 gr JHP), and Fiocchi (115 gr FMJ).
2 of the ARX failed to feed, but I expected as much with this ammo…not the fault of the gun.
There were two failures to feed with the Federal Hi-shok (of 100). Hi-shok is considered to be personal defense ammo, but it’s bottom-feeder ammo – I wouldn’t carry it but it’s good enough for the range. And again, the SAS II ate 98 of 100 of it.
I shot a total of 175 rounds. The actual defensive JHPs fed without issue. Of note, the 147-gr ammo also fed without issue, which was great (Bul Armory recommends using no higher than 124-gr).
Excluding the ARX failures, the failure percentage of this range visit is 1.14%.
I know 175 isn’t much, but JHP ammo isn’t cheap, especially legit defensive ammo.
IMO, the gun is reilable enough. I know some folks have been complaining of FTFs, extraction issues, and even some fails to return to battery. I’m not seeing any of that, but my gunnery has improved quite a bit in the last few years. There were many times where I thought a few of my guns had issues and they all turned out to be issues with me. Folks who’ve been shooting for far longer than I have can sometimes experience limp wristing, for example. The SAS II is light – it needs a firm grip, IMO.
Speaking of limp wristing, we’ll now speak on accuracy and recoil management —
I don’t consider this gun to be generally snappy, although I was shooting some loads from it today that made it snappy as hell (defense ammo). Even so, I was able to manage recoil quite a bit, which is saying a lot, because I’m not the strongest guy in the world. I did come home with fatigued forearms and wrists, but that means I’m going things correctly (from my undstanding, if you’re going home with tired arms/hands/wrists, you’re executing properly).
I keep hearing folks say that the SAS II is snappy. Recoil impulse is a subjective thing, but for such a light gun, I’d have thought the recoil would’ve been much worse than it is. I remember first shooting my Glock 22 – that was an eye-opener, as I’ve shot 40 S&W without issue in the past, but not from a Glock. The G22 is light and the 40 S&W is not known for light recoil. I’d previously shot 40 S&W from metal-framed guns without issue. The G22 took me for a ride and I was very disappointed, because the recoil was harsh. The SAS II is on par with my Springfield Armory XD9 subcompact (which I shoot very well), as far as recoil is concerned, in my opinion, at least.
Accuracy-wise, it’s extremely easy to hit where you want, at realistic distances. This is not a long distance gun, but some folks can easily hit steel at 25 and even 50 yards. The trigger is crisp, as is the sight picture of the sights, which helps.
I also was able to fit the SAS II into my Tenicor Certum holster without issue (had to loosen the retention since the SAS II is thicker than my current carry gun). I then put it inside my waistband and was quite surprised – it carries far better than my single stacked Commander! The grip is much shorter and tucks in better.
Overall, I had a great time tonight. I need to continue to test ammo with this gun. Once I find a good reliable batch of ammo and I’ve shot the gun a while, I’ll start carrying it.
Range target photos are below:
First two mags; first mag was center-mass and second mag was the lower left group.
First five mags, 7 yards, various types of ammo.
Four mags (one per target). I didn’t write down at what distance I was shooting, but I keep thinking its 9 yards.
15 yards out; me being tired and not be able to see where to aim; 2 mags
Range Footage – not pretty but not meant to be; I film my shooting for training purposes and focus on my hands and the gun so that I know when I’m limp-wristing, when I’m slapping the trigger, when I’m letting the gun control me, or other things. Sometimes it’s worth showing though.
It took some effort to get it today, but I did! It’s here – my first 2011!
I thought it would be a quick thing, as I’m usually in and out of a gun shop within 30 minutes when retreiving a firearm. Something happened, though.
I found that my driver’s license expired a month ago. They wouldn’t let me get my gun without a license renewal. I went straight to the DMV and, luckily, it wasn’t packed, nor was it slow. It took me maybe half an hour to get my new license – well, they gave me a temp until the new one arrives in the mail.
I went back to the gun shop and gave them both the expired and the temp license and was able to get the gun.
I used a new-to-me FFL. The experience wasn’t bad but was unusual. What I didn’t like was that they didn’t let me see the gun before the transfer process was completed. I definitely didn’t like that, as that gun could’ve had damage or could’ve been missing a mag. I like to get a looksee of the gun before the transfer is finalized.
Anyways, I checked out the gun in their parking lot while in my car. The very first thing I noticed (and everytime I pick it up, I notice it immediately) was that the firearm is extremely light. Another thing I noticed is that it’s very small. It’s not my smallest handgun but it’s close. It’s definitely my lightest 1911 handgun, though, and would be the lightest if it weren’t for my Glock 19 (it’s lighter by 3 oz). The SAS II grips are a tad bit slippery, IMO, but my hands are sometimes dry and ashy.
The sights are NICE. The fiber optic element is bright and the rear sight is blacked out. The rear sight notch is also small, so I have no doubt that this gun is probably accurate, too.
The gun racks well. Slide to frame fitment had a miniscule bit of play. The extractor at the back of the slide is flush. The trigger is money! I did a 3 pull average with my trigger gauge and it averaged at 2 lb 14 ounces.
It comes with two mags. I’m thinking on ordering two more. I’m also thinking on getting an optic, the Holosun 507K X2 ACSS or EPS Carry.
I did have issues field stripping it. I had issues getting the slide catch out while keeping the slide back at the takedown notch.
I will be shooting this gun a while before trying to carry it, because there are many folks that have had issues with their SAS II ULs. Either their guns won’t feed JHP properly or their guns exhibit limp-wristing-like symptoms.
If I have similar issues as to what others are having, I’ll give Bul Armory a chance to fix it, but I won’t have a problem selling the gun and using the cash to get a Staccato instead.
