Tag: Ultralight

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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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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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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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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.
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1911 2011 Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight

Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight 3.25″ – It’s Here!

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.