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 then 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. 😎
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