Bul Armory SAS II UL Viper Handgun

With my recent rekindled interest in the Bul Armory SAS II line of pistols, I set out to find another gun that I have wanted for a a long time... the UL Viper (Gen1) or the UL Comp (Gen2), which are now discontinued and very hard to find used. These guns were hard to get even when they were in production! I actually had a UL Viper on order back in 2020, but Bul Armory was right in the middle of updating their production of the Viper to the Comp and my order got ignored for over a year, so I canceled it out of frustration. 

I started searching for a used Viper or Comp to add to my collection several months ago, and finally came across a used Viper for a somewhat decent price (they usually sell for more than what they cost when they were brand new). I upgraded the compact grip module to the newer Gen2 version that came on the UL Comp, which is still available on their website, and textured it in my RFV Tactical Concealed Carry texture with all the same refinement details that I did to the grip modules of my 2022 TAC 4.25 and my 2024 TAC 4.25. I then added my preferred Ed Brown controls, refinished all of the small parts and grip screws in Graphite Black Cerakote to black it out, replaced the cheap optic that the previous owner installed with a Holosun EPS Carry, and installed a Streamlight TLR-7 HLX light. When the TLR-7 HLX light first came out, I immediately thought it would look really good on a UL Viper/Comp and that is when I decided to start looking for one to acquire.

The UL Viper is very light weight just like my original Ultralight, so the recoil impulse is a little snappier than a larger/heavier gun due to some weird thing called "physics", but the compensator definitely helps to reduce muzzle flip. The lighter weight of the gun also makes it a little less stable during presentation with more noticeable movement of the red dot on the target, whereas a heavier gun has more stability and less red dot movement. This isn't a big deal for closer targets, but it is noticeable on longer distance targets.

However, that lighter weight makes it very easy to carry around all day. While I do plan on carrying this gun fairly frequently, I don't plan on using it at action pistol matches very often because the smaller magwell opening of it's shorter grip doesn't allow for fast reloads like a full-size grip does. I am already at a bit of a disadvantage at matches by competing with my actual daily concealed carry gear, so I don't want to make it even harder for myself. 😜 The 3.25" barrel also just isn't quite as accurate as a 4.25" or longer barrel for longer distance shots. Despite its disadvantages in a competition environment, I would much rather carry this UL Viper over a Sig Sauer P365 XMacro or other similar size guns any day of the week.

USPSA Action Pistol Match - 01/04/2025

USPSA Action Pistol Match at the Southwest Shooting Center in Clovis, NM with the Southwest Performance Shooters club. I was shooting my new V6 ported Bul Armory TAC 4.25 in the Open Division from concealment (AIWB). Surprisingly, there were several other people competing from concealment at this match, so maybe I am inspiring people to be "cool" like me. 😂 The weather was really good for January and the new gun ran great (and fast), but I did have some issues...

(new for 2025... individual stage breakdowns)

Stage 1: 4 shots per target = dumpster fire. I had a failure with one of the magazines with an aftermarket base pad and spring/follower kit. The spring had bound up on the base pad retention plate inside the mag tube and wouldn't feed rounds up into the gun after the first three shots (base pad installation error on my part), so recovering from that and the confusion that it caused me wasted an additional 10 seconds on a stage that most people completed in under 10 seconds. 😖

Stage 2: The first four up close but tight targets were slower to engage than I thought they would be, but I still managed to execute my stage plan as desired and I got A-zone hits on all the targets.

Stage 3: A fast close-up stage with some good shooting on the move. My stage plan was solid and I got A-zone hits on all the targets.  I could've easily used one of my 21 round mags and ran the stage about 2 seconds faster without a reload, but I forced myself to do a reload because I need to practice them. 😏

Stage 4: "Can You Count" classifier. All A-zone hits, but my concealment reloads just don't stand a chance against those running competition gear. I did notice in the video that my gun appeared to have a failure to feed malfunction during the reload of my second string, but it fixed itself when I slammed the mag into the gun. 😳

Stage 5: This would've been another all A-zone hit run, but I transitioned between two targets a little too aggressively and got one D-zone hit. Otherwise, it was a great run with a lot of shooting on the move.

Unfortunately, the damage was done on Stage 1 and I ended up in 9th place Overall out of 24 total.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnNcCsXCh8k

Bul Armory SAS II TAC 4.25 Handgun (2024 Version)

I have been trying to acquire one of the new 2024 Bul Armory SAS II TAC 4.25" handguns for quite a while now. The only way to buy one without paying more than MSRP is to order it directly from Bul Armory USA, but they are always out of stock due to being so popular. I've been on a "Back In Stock" email notification list for several months, but every time I get a notification and have a chance to log in and purchase one, they are already out of stock again. A few weeks ago, I received another email notification and was finally able to log in quickly enough to purchase one before they sold out!

I specifically wanted the non-ported version because I prefer the DSC Gunworks V-ports over the factory V8 ports. However, with this one I decided to be a little different and get V6 ports instead of V8 ports.  I already have several 2011-style guns with V8 ports and several with V-Slot ports, so I figured the V6 ports might be cool and I was curious as to how they would perform. The V6 ports do not disappoint! 😁 They definitely reduce muzzle flip more than V-Slot ports without having as much of a violent concussion like the V8 ports do. They also don't get the gun dirty as quickly as the V8 ports do. It's definitely a nice compromise, which is what I was trying to achieve.

I thought the wider steel frame of this 2024 TAC 4.25 with it's new full length dust cover might make it a bit heavy, but it's actually slightly lighter than my Springfield Prodigy 1911DS and my 2019 STI Staccato P and only about 4 ounces heavier than my my aluminum frame 2022 Bul TAC 4.25.

While the slide and barrel were away getting ported, I textured the grip module in my Concealed Carry texture as well as all the other refinements that I did on my 2022 Bul TAC 4.25 grip module, which turned out identical. When I received the slide and barrel back, I installed the larger Holosun 507Comp optic and a Surefire X300 light, but I may put the new Cloud Defensive EPL on it when it finally becomes available in 2025. 

Its Great, But There Were A Few Problems...

Now that I've spent some time shooting both my 2022 and 2024 TAC 4.25s, I will tell you that they were not perfect out of the box by any means. The thumb safeties on both guns are not large, but they are wide farther back towards the pivot point, so with my high grip I inadvertently and unexpectedly engage the thumb safety while shooting them fast. I don't have this problem with any of my Staccato guns which all have the same size/width thumb safeties, but the thumb safeties on the Staccatos taper back at an angle towards the rear of the levers.  I realize that this is a "me" problem with my large gorilla hands and the way I grip the gun, but it's still a problem none the less.  To alleviate the issue, I trimmed the thumb safety levers down to be much thinner and taper back at an angle towards the rear. They are now virtually the same size and shape as the Ed Brown thin safety levers that I've installed on my Prodigy 1911DS and my Bul Armory 3.25 Ultralight. The thinner safety levers allow me to get a really high grip on the gun with my support hand without accidentally engaging the safety lever. After trimming them down and making sure they weren't causing me any more problems, I just simply Cerakoted them black again. If I didn't point out that they had been modified, you probably wouldn't ever notice it.

Both guns also needed their beavertail grip safeties adjusted so that they would disengage sooner but still be functional. This is relatively easy to adjust if you know how to do it, and I've done this to every 2011-style gun that I've owned if I didn't plan to pin the grip safety in the fully depressed position for whatever reason.

This new 2024 TAC 4.25 also had a few fitment issues that I had to correct. The slide's inner rails had a small burr on one side that I had to remove before the slide would cycle really smoothly on the frame.  It was kind of gritty feeling before I smoothed out the burr, but it is now buttery smooth and possibly the smoothest cycling 2011-style gun that I own. I also had to file a little bit on the included RMR footprint optic mounting plate. When I first tried to install the plate onto the slide, it wouldn't even go on at all until I opened up the mounting lug hole enough for the plate to press onto the slide (it's still a tight fit).  Once the plate would go onto the slide, the two screw holes were not aligned properly and had to be elongated slightly so that the optic screws would thread into the the slide.  The plate is made from aluminum, so it didn't take much effort to get everything lined up, but it was still a little frustrating for a brand new gun. I suspect that Bul Armory's QC may be a little off as they try to keep up with the high demand of these popular guns.

After correcting all of these issues, I am extremely happy with the guns and I am looking forward to carrying, training, and competing with them in 2025.

USPSA Action Pistol Match - 12/07/2024

USPSA Action Pistol Match at the Southwest Shooting Center in Clovis, NM with the Southwest Performance Shooters club. I was shooting my custom V8 ported Bul Armory SASII TAC 4.25" from concealment (AIWB) in the Open division. The gun ran great, and my stage plans and executions were pretty good. I had a miss on a swinger target (I should've taken another shot at it!), which landed me in 5th place Overall out of 20 total.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwhlFm2AEAg

Outlaw Action Pistol Match - 11/16/2024

Outlaw "Hit Factor" Action Pistol Match (USPSA scoring) at the Southwest Shooting Center in Clovis, NM with the Southwest Performance Shooters club. I was shooting my recently updated custom Walther PDP 4.5" from concealment (AIWB). The gun ran perfect, but even with a two port compensator it still had slightly more muzzle flip than I am used to compared to any of my ported doublestack 1911s. I feel like all of my stage plans were solid, and my execution of them went well, however I did manage to hit a couple of "no-shoot" targets on two stages which cost me some points. I ended up in 4th place Overall out of 17 total.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwLw1Q-NJA

Bul Armory SAS II TAC 4.25 Handgun (2022 Version)

I was browsing Gunbroker for double stack 1911s again and came across a really good deal on a brand spanking new 2022 Bul Armory TAC 4.25, which is the previous version of their new 2024 EDC line of pistols. For some reason, I've always liked the look of these guns despite the lack of a full length dust cover. I really liked my older 2020 Bul Armory Tac Commander too, but I sold it due to my frustration with the lack of availability of their proprietary magazines in the US at the time and I wasn't really that fond of it's thinner slide serrations.

This 2022 TAC 4.25 has the wider and deeper slide serrations that I prefer and is also optics ready from the factory with an RMR/SRO/507 mounting plate included. The frame rails on these Bul Armory pistols are much longer than other double stack 1911s, so the aluminum frame on this gun should theoretically be more durable than other aluminum frames and makes it a little easier to daily carry versus a steel frame.

Bul Armory's magazine availability in the US is also much better these days, so I'm no longer concerned with not being able to get extra magazines. This gun actually came with 4 magazines, and I ordered two more directly from Bul Armory USA. I installed +2 extended base pads and spring/follower kits from Arredondo Accessories on the four mags that came with the gun (each has a 21-round capacity now), and the two new mags with flush fit polymer base plates are for daily carry. While it would be nice to be able to use STI/Staccato magazines in these guns, their proprietary magazines hold one extra round in the same flush fit length and have been proven to be very reliable.

To take advantage of the factory window cuts in the slide, I sent the slide and barrel to DSC Gunworks to have their V8 barrel ports done as well as to have the end of the barrel flush cut and reverse crowned so that it doesn't protrude out of the end of the slide. I refinished the beavertail grip safety, grip screws, mainspring housing pin, and hammer/sear pins in Graphite Black Cerakote to black out the gun. The barrel modifications and the small parts coating update the look of the gun to the new 2024 EDC Pro. I also installed a Holosun 508T optic and a new Streamlight TLR-1 HLX light that I acquired for holster making at RFV Tactical.

I textured the grip module in my Concealed Carry texture (because that's what I do! 😁), chamfered the sharp outside and inside edges of the trigger guard, put a smooth border on the bottom of the mainspring housing to match the magwell border, and chamfered the magwell opening as well as the outside edge of the bottom of the grip. Just some little details that make the overall look and feel of the gun a bit more refined and higher quality. 👌

A step cut grip chop is not really feasible on the Bul Armory full-size grip modules because their proprietary compact magazines are much shorter than the Staccato C2 compact magazines, which would leave the mainspring housing and the back of the grip hanging down lower than the bottom of the magazine, so I just removed the magwell to make it more concealable as I will be carrying it and shooting it at matches for a bit before I go back to rotating through all of my regular carry guns, which are pretty much all double stack 1911s these days. 😎

Walther PDP Handguns

After acquiring my Walther PDP 4" Compact for holster making purposes at RFV Tactical, I quickly started liking the gun. I made a few tweaks to the gun to fit my large gorilla hands better like shortening the slide release levers and recontouring the beavertail and modifying the large backstrap. I also cut three coils off of the factory recoil spring to make it shoot a little softer, as PDPs are notoriously over-sprung from the factory. With those modifications, it worked surprisingly well for me and earned it's place as my absolute favorite striker fired pistol.

I then acquired a full-size 4.5" PDP and did a lot of custom stuff to it including having the slide and barrel ported by Impact CNC Machine, changing out the recoil spring assembly with ZR Tactical components, and I also installed a Walther Performance Trigger.

I've shot the full-size 4.5" at several action pistol matches and did really well with it. I really wanted to build another completely custom full-size PDP with a compensator, so I acquired a factory gray polymer 4.5" lower and a 4" upper so that I could add a Parker Mountain Machine barrel and 2-port compensator to give it a 5" slide length (I really wanted a 5" lower, but I couldn't ever find one). Once I got the 4" upper and compensator put together, I decided to use it on my original full-size 4.5" lower, and put the ported slide and barrel on the new gray frame along with a ZR Tactical long-stroke recoil spring assembly and a Holosun 507Comp optic. The performance of the compensator is noticeably better than the ported barrel, so I really wanted to pair it with my custom stippled and Cerakoted frame and the Trijicon SRO optic.

While the performance of  the two full-size guns is awesome, there was just something about them that didn't feel as good as the Compact. I determined that the modified large backstrap of the Compact just felt so much better in my hand and gave my support hand more room to grip the gun. Unfortunately, the large backstraps for the full-size frames do not have the same shape and feel as the Compact's large backstrap, so I sacrificed an unused backstrap and melted pieces of it onto the two full-size large backstraps to build them up and then contoured them to be almost identical to the modified large backstrap of the Compact. This was a time-consuming and tedious task, but it was definitely worth it!  Now all three guns feel the same in my hand, and I am really happy with the way they turned out.

These PDPs are very similar in performance to all of my double stack 1911s, which is not easy to achieve with a polymer frame striker fired gun. While they are noticeably snappier than a lot of my other custom guns, they return back to zero so quickly and consistently that it honestly amazes me every time I shoot them. 😁