One of my “grail guns” has always been the BUL M-5 Ultra-X, dating from my first year of getting into firearms. I’ve always loved its combination of compactness and firepower. For a long time, I had been holding out hope of getting one in 9mm, but it became clear through my research that if any Ultra-Xs in 9mm were ever imported, it was probably vanishingly few. I settled on a Charles Daly .45ACP model that a reader offered at a good price.
My thoughts? Read on!
I recently reviewed a gen 1 BUL M5 in 9mm, and suffice it to say, I think it’s one of the best double-stack 1911 options on the market if you can find magazines for it (which I did, finally).
But, mine was a stock gun, and I’ve never really owned a proper race gun. So, I decided that I could take a chance on a handgun I paid $400 for (not to mention it being a bit of a mutt with a Springfield-marked frame), and decided to do some modifications to it to bring it up to competition standards. It was an adventure, and I have some tips to share.
A relatively new seller on Gunbroker has offered up a pair of BUL Storm Compact handguns. I bought one of them, but there’s still at least one more up for sale. The seller appears to be affiliated with Century in some fashion. (Pro-tip: if you see Fairfax, VT as the seller’s location on Gunbroker, the seller is probably some sort of Century Arms affiliate).
There were supposedly only 300 of these guns made, and it is even less clear how many made it to the USA, since they appear to have been imported piecemeal by Century Arms. The Storm Compact is essentially a TA-90 “Combat Compact” clone (technically, it’s just “Compact”, but I add “Combat” because it has a frame safety). This gets you a small frame and a 3.75″ barrel – about the same as a compact Jericho, but a quarter inch longer. This is nothing terribly special from a design standpoint, but the rarity factor makes it worthy of consideration. (Remember that the Mossad Compact was not made in Israel!)
I assume the BUL Storm Compact will have the same magazine incompatibility issues that plagued the BUL Storm that I reviewed, but I’ll keep you posted once I’ve had a chance to look over mine.
Historically, BUL Transmark’s third pistol line was the BUL Storm. Arguably, it’s the least known line of their pistols in the US, excepting perhaps the new SAS line (which hasn’t gotten very much play in the US yet). The Storm is a straight-out Tanfoglio TZ-75 clone, which is a slightly modified clone of the CZ-75.
Clever readers will note that this is pretty much the same situation as the Jericho, which is a clone of the Tanfoglio as well. What do I think of the Storm versus the Jericho? Read on.
A recurrent “theme” (read: whine) I’ve had about BUL handguns is that the magazine and parts situation is somewhat dire, especially on the 9mm side. On a tip, I did find someone who stocks BUL M-5 magazines and parts. Ask for Lou at All America Sales (870-544-2809). He was able to source some stuff for me that I had a lot of difficulty finding otherwise, and his prices were quite reasonable (to the point where I was wondering if he wasn’t getting out of sourcing these parts to begin with).
I am in the process of upgrading my M-5 using those parts, and should have an article on that process soon.
One of the guns I’ve always had my eye on, but only recently had the chance to acquire is the BUL M5. They’ve had a very diverse import history, having been imported by Springfield, Century, Kimber, Charles Daly, Battle Ready International, and others. It’s a double-stack, polymer-frame 1911, and it’s the first gun that BUL Transmark introduced.
How does it measure up? Read on.
While BUL Transmark is best known for their exceptional 1911 handgun lines, they’ve had extensive experience dabbling in Tanfoglio derivatives, too. The BUL Impact leveraged the magazines of their M-5 double-stack 1911 line; the BUL Storm was a well-made Tanfoglio copy that had some success in IPSC.
The BUL Cherokee was introduced in 2000 to replace the BUL Impact and provide a full-frame polymer pistol to the commercial market. It was updated a few years later with a newer frame (recognizable by its finger swells). Read on for my thoughts.
One of the real oddball guns made in Israel is the BUL Impact. Everyone loves a double stack 1911. Everyone loves the CZ-75. So what if you took a compact polymer CZ-75 and grafted a 1911 double stack magwell on it?
Well, you’d have a BUL Impact. Read on for more.
One of the more sordid corporate firearms-related stories revolving around the Internets has to do with how the Charles Daly / KBI firm was ultimately bankrupted when an Israeli manufacturer, Bul Transmark, decided to screw them in favor of Magnum Research.
The story is interesting, and perhaps not well-remembered today, so I thought I’d write about it.
Continue reading Importer Politics: Magnum Research, Charles Daly / KBI, and BUL
Magnum Research has announced the new Baby Desert Eagle III line of pistols. It took me a few seconds to realize it, but this appears to be the BUL Cherokee with a full length dust cover and a slide safety. It’s not so obvious with the steel version pictured above, but take a look at these two guns:
There are clearly some changes to the frame and slide (probably to more closely mimic the old BDE II), but I’m unaware of any other existing Tanfoglio clone that has a similar frame. The steel version is also using a frame that looks suspiciously like that of the old BUL Storm.
UPDATE 4/3/2015: all4shooters confirmed a couple months ago at SHOT that the BDE III is being made by BUL Transmark. Given the changes over the Cherokee, which appear substantial, I think this qualifies as a completely new model of Israeli-manufactured handgun.
The Hebrew Hammer 