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.