Tag: handguns

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firearms handguns rifle

Which Of My Guns Do I Hate The Most?

I’ve a bunch of guns. Some I shoot a lot while there are some that I rarely shoot.

For example, my first gun, which is a very nice gun (Sig Sauer P220 Equinox), has less than 300 rounds through it. It was a Christmas gift from my wife. I love the gun, but it’s difficult to control. It’s chambered in 45ACP and has an alloy frame; that and the grips make the gun difficult to shoot, so I don’t shoot it all that much. I do have some Hogue rubber grips that work well with it, but the grips aren’t as pretty as the wooden panels it comes with.

There are some guns that I don’t shoot because I flatout don’t like them:

I’ve a Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact – it has less than 600 rounds thorugh it (that’s actually a fair bit of ammo being shot through it, in my opinion). What I hate about this gun is that the recoil spring is super stiff – I hate racking the gun. As well, it’s grip doesn’t have the best traction, so it’s difficult to control.

My wife’s Ruger SR9C is in a similar space as the above-mentioned Canik. The recoil spring is stiff as hell. That gun has less than 130 rounds through it. It shoots extremely well (it has an outstanding trigger), but I just can’t stand racking it.

I’ve a Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra that is chambered in 10mm. I hate it. It’s a huge and heavy gun and it wasn’t even cheap ($700). I’m not accurate with it. The grip is so wide that I’ve issues with grip control. The recoil spring on that gun is stout AF, too, which I hate, even knowning that the spring’s stiffness is a necessity. I’ve 199 rounds through that gun.

I also have a Ruger AR-556 that I’ve not shot at all. I bought it back in 2016 (owned it 9+ years). I’ve just not been driven to shoot it, mainly because it’s all I ever shot when I was in the military. I’m familiar enough with the platform to where there’s no drive to shoot it at all. I’ve extra mags for it, and I’ve stockpiled some ammo for it. I’ve also bought optics for it, as well as harnesses (I eventually plan to take it to a carbine course).

I have two AKs (of four) that have very low round counts. One is an Arsenal SAM7-UF, which has like 30 rounds through it. I love everything about that gun and had held off on shooting it because I kept hearing folks say that underfolders were the devil and that they’re difficult to shoot. When I took it to the range, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all to shoot – there’s nothing wrong with it. The other AK, a bastard build by Classic Firearms (AK-63D), has a total of 223 rounds through it. It has a flawed FSB (front sight block) install, I believe, as it was difficult to zero.

Most of my guns that have low round counts are great guns. I don’t shoot them much because I’ve so many and I’ve favorites that hijack most of my time and interest.

That being said, the guns I truly dislike are the TP9 Elite Subcompact and the Rock Ultra 10mm. I would not miss those two guns if I got rid of them.

The ones that I like the most are the Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight, the Alpha Foxtrot S15 1911, and the Fusion Firearms XP Pro (new gun). In fact, I love all of the 2011s and 1911s (all but the 10mm Rock Ultra). I live the PSA AK-V too (that’s my favorite AK pistol).

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Beretta DA/SA handguns PX4 Storm The Firearms Blog

The Firearms Blog – 2023’s Most Underrated Pistol

It’s nice to see two very knowledgeable individuals who understand how good the Beretta PX4 Storm is!

If I weren’t on a 1911/2011 fixation, I’d probably be shooting this gun more!

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1911 2011 handguns

What’s My Next Gun Buy? Also, Thoughts On Staccato

So, I’m done with my gun purchases this year. I’m quite happy with my recent purchases.

What’s for next year’s gun buy?

I’m looking at the Costaint COS21, which is a semi-custom 2011. It starts at $2200, comes with 2 x 17-round mags, and is optics-ready

I’m also considering the Stealth Arms Platypus – I’m aware that this isn’t a true 2011, but more of a double-stacked 1911 that uses Glock mags. I’ve spec’d one out at $1535 with all the options I want. Not sure if it comes with mags, though, but I can certainly order them without issue and it won’t break the bank!

Another consideration would be the Bul Armory SAS II UL Comp ($1890). Or, the 4.25″ SAS II Tac ($1760).

I’ve also been looking at Alpha Foxtrot’s single stacked 1911s, Fusion Firearms’ single stacked 1911s, and Bul Armory’s single stacked 1911s. No, I don’t need a Dan Wesson. I’d be happy with one, but I’d also be happy with any of the aforementioned 1911s.

Whatever I’ll buy next will be almost certainly a 2011 or 1911, though.

Someone asked me on Reddit, “Why not a Staccato?” I’ve no interested in a Staccato at all. Why? Everyone has one. It’s is THE gateway 2011. I don’t necessarily want what everyone else has. The Staccato is $1000 more than my most expensive handgun (the Bull Armory SAS II UL), but I’m that guy that believes in diminishing returns.

A Staccato C2 is $2000. A Staccato P is $2199. A Staccato CS (probably what I’d want and is very equivalent to the SAS II UL) is $2499, which is $1000 more than the cost of a SAS II UL but I’m not getting double the value of a SAS II UL.

I get that the Staccatos have no MIM and that they’re built in the US. I’m not afraid of MIM – most good gun makers that use MIM have never had issues with dependability of those MIM parts. I’m also not afraid of buying high end items from foreign companies.

Staccato mags are expensive at approximately $70…that’s $20 more than the SAS II UL mags, which I thought were expensive AF but still bought 2 of them. The saving grace is that each Staccato comes with 3 mags.

Staccato optic plates are REALLY expensive, at $160 for the 507K optics kit (they don’t include them with the gun as a package deal, either).

Why would I pay $2500 for a Staccato CS and then want to also spend another $300 on optics mounting gear and two extra mags? That’s close to $3000 at that point.

Basically, I don’t have a problem not owning a Staccato while owning Bul Armory 2011s. I’m not a brand snob and a non-Staccato will suffice, while I’m absolutely sure that I’ll shoot a non-Staccato as well as I would a Staccato.

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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
Categories
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.