BUL SAS II 4.25” EDC

[Sensei]

Got this gun directly from BUL for $1850 plus tax. This gun replaces their previous alloy framed SAS II TAC, and the current version of the TAC has a stainless frame and full railed dust cover. This EDC and the rest of the SAS II product line has several notable upgrades from the prior years. First, the gun is now all forged parts. Second, all components are PVD finished in black; previously the grip safety and screws were left stainless to save costs. Next, the grip module is full textured and a little more grippy than a Gen5 Glock.

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This gun weighs 26.7 ounces without a magazine which nestles perfectly between their stainless TAC version (32 oz) and a G47 (23 oz). For perspective, a railed commander length 9mm TRP 1911 (aluminum framed) will weigh 27 oz.

The gun holds 18 rounds in their proprietary flush fit 126mm mags, but will accept up to their 28 round 170mm mags.

I divested from the Staccato P a few years ago because it was objectively less reliable than my G17. Supposedly, BUL magazines are very, very reliable and start at $50 on their website. Thus, I’m not already heavily invested into 2011 magazines, and adopting this platform will not mean a departure from existing compatibility for me.

However, got this pistol mostly because of the excellent optics mounting system that contains a large center post recoil boss while supporting optics that directly thread into the slide. I’ll provide pictures once I’m ready to mount my EPS on Monday.

I took it to the range yesterday, add some oil, and functiion checked it for 50 rounds. I was shooting 3 other guns, so I didn’t dedicate much time to it. All mags feed flawlessly.

I fired 18 rounds off hand at 15 yards and got this 3” group (mostly 2” except for one at 5 o’clock) using irons:

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Rounds so far:

50 rounds 124 grain Lawman

FTE 0; FTF 0

[Sensei]

My Holosun EPS and the extra +2 baseplate 126mm magazines arrived today. Here is a of pic of the 18-round magazines compared to the 20-rounders:
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As you can see, the +2 magazines are just a few mm longer than the 18 rounders and don’t seem to cause much printing:
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Next up was removal of the optics patent. The BAO system has a large center recoil post and holes to accommodate RMR, DDP, K/RMSc screw patterns. Notice the extra slide material to accommodate the wider RMR hole patterns:
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Next, the appropriate steel adapter plate (DPP, RMR, and K/RMSc ship with each gun) fits over the recoil post and the optic screws engage the side through the plate much in the same manner as the Staccato HD.
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A chart with recommended screw lengths comes with the instructions. For example, they recommend M4X11.5mm T10 screws for my EPS. This is a bit of an oddball screw pattern and Holosun said that they could send me some spares that are countersunk; the ones that I have on hand are 12mm length and raised which seem to work OK. Regardless, 11.5-12mm provides a ton of screw engagement. This should be a very stable, low profile mounting scheme. Of course a dab or two of E6000 between the plate and slide is added security.

[Sensei]

I ordered a variety countersunk, M4x12mm screws from Accu.com to get my Holosun EPS mounted. Unfortunately, the head diameter was too wide on all of the torx head screws and I had to go with with a hex head. I tested the screws before mounting since BUL’s instructions called for an 11.5mm length screw. Fortunately, the screws didn’t bottom out until well below the EPS deck height. So, I got the sight mounted and there appears to be roughly 5mm of screw engagement through the adapter plate and into the slide. Despite the hex head and close proximity of the screws to the lens, I was able to torque the screws down to 15 in-lbs without stripping them.

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Of note, the EPS’s low deck height and taller rear produces a lower 1/3 co-witness. This is a good bit higher than my preference of a lower 1/5-1/6 co-witness. The gun seemed to be shooting a couple of inches high at 15 yards. Fortunately, BUL uses a Glock pattern dovetail for its rear sight, so swapping it out for a lower height should be a breeze if I find that it’s shooting high at 25 yards when I bench it this week.

[Sensei]

Took the gun out to zero the EPS and for some fun. Here is a B8 with 5 rounds of 147 grain Speer Lawman from sandbags:
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The hole above the red arrow is 2 rounds.

I adjust down what should have been 2” and loaded shot 5 rounds of 147 grain Federal HST and got this group:
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Since repitition is the mother of all learning, I loaded 5 more rounds of 147 gain HST and got this:
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That’s a 4-round cloverleaf and me pulling the 5th.

Next, I shot some steel challenge plates at 25 yards from AIWB to warm up my draw. Then, I set the par time for 10 seconds, drew from AIWB, and delivered these 5 rounds at 25 yards with 0.6 seconds to spare:
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Rounds so far: 140

50 rounds 124 grain Lawman
40 rounds 147 grain Lawman
50 rounds 147 grain Federal HST.

FTE 0; FTF 0

[Sensei]

Back to the range with 50 rounds of 124 grain Lawman and 25 rounds of 147 grain HST. I made the mistake of shooting this 27 oz gun after shooting my 42 oz Specialist. Thus, it felt a good bit more snappy than my last outing. Still, no malfunctions and I like it so much that I ordered an Ultralight from BUL.

Rounds so far: 215

100 rounds 124 grain Lawman
40 rounds 147 grain Lawman
75 rounds 147 grain Federal HST.

FTE 0; FTF 0

[BPMan]

Know however that, Heaven forbid, you are involved in a self defense shooting that your firearm may very well be taken into evidence where it's thrown into a locker and will languish there uncleaned or lubed for quite possibly months if not years until the legal matter is resolved one way or another. Some people are not bothered by that. Your decision.