A new 3.5" slide and stippled grip for my Bul SAS II FS

A little over a year ago, I was perusing the internet one day and stumbled upon the new Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight. I just couldn't believe it. I'd been looking for this pistol for quite a while, but it hadn't really existed before then. Although I like my carry pistol to be as light as possible, I wasn't a big fan of all of the weight saving grooves on the UL. That's when I noticed the SAS II FS, which was essentially a UL without all the lightening grooves I ordered one that day.

I waited about 6 months for the pistol (during the Covid crisis) and loved it when I got it. But, I noticed the barrel had some downward movement in battery and contacted Bul. They took it back and held it another 3-4 months and sent it back with a new slide stop and the same play in the barrel. I was not happy with their solution. I found that Sig used to make the exact same length barrel for one of their pistols and found a new replacement barrel for $50. After removing just a hair of material off the top of the chamber, the slide racked smoothly and the barrel was absolutely rock solid in battery. Some bench testing confirmed that the groups shrank as a result of the tightly fitting barrel. I'd also noticed that the extractor had some rotational play due to a poorly fitted firing pin stop, so I replace both parts with Wilson parts and had the little pistol totally straightened out. It has been my carry pistol ever since.

Recently, I began wondering how the pistol would handle with a 3.5" barrel and slide. I found an excellent slide on Ebay and ordered a barrel from Fusion. I did have to do some fitting work on the barrel and on the recoil spring rod, but finally got everything fitted up nicely. A trip to the range recently confirmed that it shoots pretty accurately (target is below). But one thing that was detracting from the shooting was the fact that the factory molded checkering just wasn't very grippy, and was in fact just a bit slick. That's when I stumbled upon some work by our very own forum member, Kduly. I asked him if he'd take a shot at stippling my Bul officer sized grip and he said, "Sure, send it my way." He got it on a Monday, stippled it that day, sent pictures that night, and it was on its way back to me the next morning. Two days with USPS Priority, and it showed up today. To say the least, I was ecstatic with the results. I think Kent has stippled a handful of his own pistols and maybe a couple more, but my grip looked like he's been doing it for years. It was well worth what he charged me.

One last thing...my match pistol is an STI Guardian 2011. I love that pistol and have won quite a few matches with it. It sports a Dark Precision reduced, undercut and stippled grip. But the lower rear sharp corner on the grip always kind of dug into my hand. Well, last summer, I grabbed a wood rasp one night, and decided to bob that portion of the grip. The difference in how I was able to grip the pistol more easily and firmly in my hand was a huge improvement. So, before sending my grip to Kent, I also bobbed the MSH on my Bul. I'll admit to being pretty shocked when I took the first pass with the rasp and it turned silver. Turns out the MSH is aluminum. But I went ahead and bobbed it anyway because of how much better it made my STI grip feel. While Kent had the grip, he applied some Birchwood Black to it and got it close to the factory finish. I noticed that Bul offers a plastic MSH, so I may purchase one and have Kent stipple it in the future.

So having told this story, I thought I'd post some pics of this project. I am super pleased with how it turned out. There's nothing like taking a great pistol and making it better.