Tag Archives: bul

BUL Cherokee Mini Gen 1 Review

While the blog has certainly branched out in terms of what it covers, I remain very interested in Israeli guns. One of the interesting parts of covering this subject area is discovering when things you didn’t think existed… actually exist.

In this case, the gun in question is the BUL Cherokee “Mini” Gen 1, which I acquired off a very popular auction site. You’ll recall from previous discussion that there are actually multiple generations of the Cherokee, with the first generation being a fairly straightforward licensed copy of the Tanfoglio Force polymer pistol. What sets apart the Cherokee Mini from the Cherokee and Cherokee Compact is the use of a compact (but not subcompact!) frame.

Read on for some more details.

Continue reading BUL Cherokee Mini Gen 1 Review

BUL trigger pull measurements from my own personal collection

During a reddit thread discussion, I took the time to measure the trigger pull weights of various BUL pistols in my collection, which I felt like I should repost on the blog. All measurements were taken with a Wheeler trigger pull gauge, and they were repeatable across multiple pulls:

  • Bullesteros (9mm, gen1 with steel grip): 1.6lbs
  • SAS II TAC SC (9mm, 2021): 3.5lbs (PGW tuned)
  • SAS II TAC Commander (9mm, 2021): 3lbs (Atlas trigger installed, probably some trigger work by someone)
  • SAS II TAC 5 (9mm, 2022): 3lbs
  • SAS II TAC Government Carry (45 Auto, 2020 or 2021): 3.25lbs
  • M-5 Government (45 Auto, gen1): 4lbs
  • M-5 Ultra-X (45 Auto) #1: 3lbs (!)
  • M-5 Ultra-X (45 Auto) #2: 3lbs (!)
  • M-5 SC (9mm, gen1): 3.5lbs (PGW tuned)
  • M-5 Commander (45 Auto, gen1, full compensator): 2.6lbs
  • BUL Storm: SA: 4.5lbs; DA: > 8lbs
  • BUL Storm Compact: – SA: 4lbs; DA: > 8lbs
  • Cherokee (gen1): SA: 4.5lbs; DA: > 8lbs
  • Cherokee Compact (gen2): SA: 6.1lbs; DA: > 8lbs
  • BUL Impact (9mm): SA: 4.5lbs; DA: > 8lbs

As you can see, the SAS II guns are uniformly pretty good. The M-5s vary a lot more due to what I assume is tinkering by their former owners and/or worn in parts. For what it’s worth, my personal favorite trigger is in the Ultra-X (short, light, smooth) followed by the TAC 5. The Bullesteros has a fantastic trigger that is way too light – I need more practice with it.

The Tanfoglio-derived pistols (Impact, Cherokee, Storm) have uniformly average triggers, with the Cherokee gen2 having an oddly bad single-action pull. I almost wrote that they all had bad triggers, but years of shooting the P320 X5 Legion, SAS II, and even tuned up revolvers have made me forget these pull weights are roughly on par with a factory CZ-75. The trigger pulls tended to be smooth, so they didn’t feel awful, but they were certainly heavier than I was used to.

The reality is that a (single action) trigger pull weight under 4lbs is fine for competition use, albeit I prefer something in the 2.5lb-3lb range when practical.

Shot Show 2020 – Trijicon, Polymer80, Holosun (BLPS PROTOTYPE), BUL Armory, Inforce, PTR Industries, Mantis, Ghost Gunner / Defense Distributed, Vortex

After a nice night out with my relatives, I was ready for my last day of SHOT Show coverage today. I have some interesting stuff to share, including pictures and details about Holosun’s unannounced, prototype ultra-low pistol red dot.

Continue reading Shot Show 2020 – Trijicon, Polymer80, Holosun (BLPS PROTOTYPE), BUL Armory, Inforce, PTR Industries, Mantis, Ghost Gunner / Defense Distributed, Vortex

BUL Introduces the AXE

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Saw this news this morning on Facebook. BUL is introducing the AXE pistol at IWA 2019. It looks like a Glock-clone striker-fired pistol. There are supposedly “duty” and “sport” models that will be announced soon. If it uses Glock mags, I think it may prove fairly popular in Israel and Europe, but it’s going to be tricky to market it in the USA.

It is unclear whether this is designed to replace the Cherokee; there is still a robust market for DA/SA guns, but BUL has traditionally been fairly aggressive in keeping a small product line. If that is the case, it does seem possible we’ll see the usual importers selling surplus Cherokees at a bargain price… keep your eye on Gunbroker. (RIP CDI Sales!)

 

BUL Cherokee Gen1

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I’ve previously reviewed the BUL Cherokee Compact “2nd gen” handgun. Spoiler alert: I liked it a lot.

But before the 2nd gen gun, there was the original “Gen1” BUL Cherokee. The 2nd gen gun has very distinctive looks – an elongated dust cover, finger swells and a rail. The first gen gun, however, looks very much like a Tanfoglio Force 99 copy.

But that’s OK, because I’ve never owned a Tanfoglio Force 99 before, so it’s all new to me. I recently bought a Cherokee Gen1; read on for my thoughts.

Continue reading BUL Cherokee Gen1

New Source for BUL Pistols

It looks like another supplier for BUL handguns has entered the fray: Liberty Gun Sales of Ohio. They’ve got a price list up and everything, and the prices are actually pretty good. (Pro-tip: dealer prices are for dealers, don’t expect it as a regular person. :))  Competition is a good thing, and BUL getting further into the US market can only bode well for us.

LGSOS is selling Cherokees (FS and compact, G and non-G), M5s, and Classics. Alas, no SAS variants, Classic Ultras, or Mini Cherokees. I am super-tempted to pick up an M5 Ultra-X in 9mm, and maybe grab a Classic Commander in 9mm and slap some Recover Tactical grips on it.

Sometimes, mag catches break

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Rating high in the “realm of things I’ve never seen before”, my police surplus BUL Storm Compact came to my FFL with a broken mag catch. Ordinarily, I would not consider this to be a big deal, but since I needed to submit it to the Maryland Handgun Roster Board for approval in a working state, this was less than ideal, as the gun was punted back from the board for fixes… meaning another 4-5 month round trip for approval The magazine would fall out if any real pressure was put on it from the top… such as stripping a round from the magazine.

I wound up using a new EAA Witness mag catch from the Ben Stoeger Pro Shop. He shipped it the same day I ordered, and it came very quickly. This was the newer-style (post-2004) magazine catch, so it’s also a bit of an upgrade. Installing it wasn’t hard, but did require three hands.

BUL Impact Factory Mag Sleeve

I had previously opined that BUL had never released the “official” factory mag sleeve for the BUL Impact. Apparently, this was not quite true, because a pair of 9mm BUL Impacts being auctioned off by Mach1Arsenal on Gunbroker have them:

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These appear to work like the 3D-printed ones that I’m using – slip over the top of a full size magazine and just slide them down. There’s no locking mechanism at the top of the heel of the sleeve, which I had theorized might be a way of keeping it permanently connected to the grip. Unlike in the official shots, this sleeve doesn’t seem to be pinned to the bottom of the magazine. It looks to me like these sleeves are what would have been the bottom of the Impact’s grip if it were full-size.

3D Printing a Magazine Sleeve

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As you’ll recall from my review of the BUL Impact, I loved the pistol, but bemoaned the lack of a way to get a nice flush fit with the full length BUL M5 9mm magazines. There was a product image showing a sleeve adapter, but I had never seen one in the wild.

Well, if you can’t buy it… you build it. Or in my case, you 3D print it.

Continue reading 3D Printing a Magazine Sleeve

Battle Ready International selling 9mm BUL 1911s

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It’s been a long time in coming, but Battle Ready International has updated their website and is now selling BUL Classic 1911s in 9mm. They seem to have them in Commander and Government lengths, but not the oh-so-sexy Ultra / Officer length (or at least those aren’t up on the website). After having handled an Ultra-X, I am a real believer in compact 1911s, and hope they’ll get on that soon.

I also see BUL Cherokee Compacts with threaded barrels now, which may prove a good option for someone looking for a nice, easy-to-suppress Israeli firearm.