Tag: fails to feed

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1911 2011 Bul Armory feed issues limp-wrist SAS II Ultralight youtube

My Last YouTube Video…

…hit a nerve with at least one guy.

He tells me, “don’t tell me it’s not the gun,” and to “stop that nonsense,” whatever that means.

I’d basically said that most folks having feed issues with the gun haven’t checked (nor care to check) to see if it’s them (the shooter) and not the gun itself. The very first thing folks should always do is to ensure that they’re not causing the issues that their guns are exhibiting.

Suggesting that folks may be limp-wristing their guns almost always offends them, which is kinda wild. Folks act as if they are infallible? Why? The typical reasons folks get offended is because they think that they’re masters of shooting after shooting X amount of years.

This particular commenter said that he doesn’t have issues shooting his micro-compacts. He mentioned that he has a P365 Macro, Hellcat and Shield Plus and none of them have feed issues. I told him that you can shoot one gun (or even several small guns) well and still have an issue with recoil management with another small gun, because they all have different grip textures and grip lengths, and each person’s hands on this Earth are going to differ. It’s not a problem with the gun – it’s a problem with the person wielding the gun. I also said that some guns are more sensitive to limp-wristing than others, too. Some guns will flat-out not tolerate limp-wristing.

This guy also didn’t say how many rounds he’d shot through his SAS II UL, nor how many mags he had. He didn’t say what ammo he was shooting through it, either. There are MANY variables that can contribute to feeding issues, but limp-wristing is the big one.

Factoring out limp-wristing, the next thing to troubleshoot would be the magazines. I’ve four magazines. I’ve NO feed issues whatsoever. I’ve shot a shitload of different types of ammo through the gun, but I’ve not had any misfeed trends.

The commenter could actually be experiencing an issue with both mags (I’m assuming he has two since he stated he’d just bought the gun two weeks prior), but, as I already stated, he didn’t supply any other data – he mostly gave me salt. I also asked him to supply a video so that everyone could see it. That was ignored. He also left a second separate comment saying that Bul Armory is paying me to say what I did, which is stupid. I used straight-up logic to explain it all (and I explained the logic below)…it’s not something that Bul Armory needs to tell anyone. He sent the gun to Bul Armory and they sent him a video showing that they shot a mag of ammo from the gun without misfeeds. If someone shoots the gun that you’re complaining won’t feed properly and they can’t generate those same misfeeds, logic dictates that you may be the issue.

There have been numerous Reddit posts showing videos of Bul Armory gunsmiths shooting guns that were returned to them and the guns not having issues. I’ve seen some videos where guns go through a full magazine without feed issues. I’ve seen videos where guns go through two mags without feed issues. The gunsmiths use the customer’s mags when shooting, as well. The gunsmiths send the guns back to the owners and the owners shoot the guns, generating feed issues. In all cases, the gunsmiths send the ammo they were using back to the customer, so when the customer tests, they’re using the same ammo as the gunsmiths were. This tells me that there could be an issue with limp-wristing, especially if the gunsmith can’t replicate the misfeeds.

The gun is small – it is closer to 3″ than 3.25″. It is light. It’s a known fact that Officer-sized 1911s tend to have more issues than larger-sized 1911s. The gun could be faulty, yes, BUT I believe shooters should always try to ensure that they are not generating the issues.

I explained in my video that I’d run into a similar problem with a particular 1911 and was about to sell the gun. I kept thinking that the issue could be me – there was like a very small percentage of doubt that I was causing the issue, so I started forcing myself to troubleshoot both the gun and myself. I shot a lot of ammo through the gun, even when it was failing to feed. The gun didn’t have a ton of ammo shot through it, so I didn’t think it needed another recoil spring, but I ordered a new one anyways. I bought new grip panels, too. The misfeeds lessened but didn’t stop. I then decided to wear a helmet camera and record one hour of range shooting. When I got home and checked the footage, I was shocked and humbled. I was very loosely controlling the gun and it was plainly viewable. The next time I visited, I focused on my grip discipline and I didn’t have a single misfeed.

In my opinion, if you’re not checking yourself, you’re setting yourself up for problems. I don’t have an issue letting folks know that when they have feeding issues, the shooter could be the issue.

The video is here:

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Bul Armory fail to feed FMJ FTF range report SAS II Ultralight

SAS II UL Range and Progress Report for 10/2023

I’m currently very near to crossing over the 1,000 round threshold with the Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight.

I visited the range a few days ago, bringing 200 rounds of ammo. I ran out of range time before I was able to shoot it all. I visited after work since I’ve to be at work every Wednesday now. I may make this my range day every Wednesday since my work isn’t far from XCal.

While I was waiting in line for a lane assignment, I happened to see some of the range’s rental selection. They’ve Staccatos, as well as several really nice 1911s. What I really want is to try the G43X and G48 (I may be purchasing one of those next year). I didn’t see those guns in their rental section but their rental section is very large and I’m sure they’ve a good selection of Glock rentals. I’ll check next time I go. I also wanted to try their P365, since I’ve seen more than one person asking, “Why buy a SAS II UL when a P365 is better?” In my opinion, that’s a rather lame comment since most folks aren’t cross-shopping those two guns (due to price as well as platform — both of those being quite different frome one another). Yeah, a P365 will conceal better, but P365s are also more difficult to shoot quickly and accurately. The SAS II UL has a bigger grip than the P365, but that doesn’t mean that an owner will have issues concealing a UL. The UL will almost certainly be less snappy and quicker to shoot. It’ll probably outshoot the G43X, too.

I shot 187 rounds of the 200 that I broght with me. Most of it was Fiocchi 115-gr FMJ, although some of it was Blazer 124-gr FMJ and Remington 124-gr FMJ. That puts me at 986 rounds through the SAS II UL, thus far.

I had 6 fails to feed (FTF) prior to the pistol course I attended a few weeks ago. I had one FTF during that class and one at the range visit this week. The total FTF count is now 8. 8 of 986 is 0.81 — that is the current failure rate in percentage.

The prior percenage was 0.96, with 6 fails at 623 rounds (back in May 9, 2023). I had several range visits where I didn’t have any failures. This could be due to me learning how to better grip this handgun, as well as me not shooting as much JHP (which tends to be high pressured, which may induce limp-wristing).

Why do I report this as a percentage? So many folks look at failure counts as hard numbers. They want it to be zero. In my opinion, to expect no failures is an impossible ask. Sooner or later, a gun will fail, especially since failures can be induced by the shooter, as well as out-of-spec ammo. Some ammo will be in-spec but will have large hollowpoint projectiles (which do not meet a specification). I don’t think it is logical to expect a handgun to meet every single variation of ammo specification, as well as account for owner-induced failures. So, I post the round count and count of failures and then convert both to a percentage. Percentages have better meaning, IMO. It tells a better story than a raw number of failures.

I still need to purchase the targets that were used in the pistol course I attended (as well as the target stickers).

I’ll post some range footage as soon as I’ve cropped a few sections for viewing. I mainly shot at 7 and 10 yards, some at somewhat fast paces. I also tried to practice accuracy. I shot several times at 15 yards, too. I’m still struggling with grip. I keep readjusting my weak hand after a shot — I need to find a better way to stop doing this. I’m subconsciously doing that.

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ammo Bul Armory defensive ammo fail to feed range report range visit SAS II Ultralight

Bul Armory SAS II – First Range Visit

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.