Bul M5 Goverment, 40S&W Range Review.

**Psychosis** · 25-08-2014, 11:22

Ok. Still early days. Only had this puppy for about 3 weeks, and she has only seen about 500 rounds so far.

She is still 100% stock standard, except for the grip tape which I added.

Initially, coming from a 9mm, I was a little concerned about the extra recoil from the 40. Must say though, that the Bul even with it's polymer frame is surprisingly soft shooting even with PMP 185gr factory JHP's. Obviously, the softer 170 PF loads are even easier to handle.

My splits are only fractionally slower when compared directly with my Glock, but I will officially write this off as being due to being unfamiliar with the gun... it is already getting better.

The Bul comes standard with a relatively light recoil spring, and though I have not measured it (have no way to do so), I would think that it is in the 15lb range... which suites me just fine. The slide has really nice aggressive serrations\grip area's front and rear. Makes gripping the slide for racking a simple task.

It has not been without teething problems though. On my first outing, the gun ran flawlessly during some practice shooting in the morning. I ran both the Bul and my Glock that afternoon in an IPSC club match. The Bul suddenly developed feeding issues, which puzzled me. It turns out that the mags do not like dirt or sand ingress at all (confirmed this again yesterday)... keeping the mags clean is vitally important, especially in the environments that us IPSC guys like to play in. I guess if you 'put junk in, you get junk out'

I didn't do very well with the Bul on the day, compared to the Glock, but it was purely just a chance to run the gun and make some assessments, so I was not expecting too much.

She purred like a kitten yesterday.

I find it difficult to drop mags consistently... have a small issue reaching the mag release button without having to adjust my grip. This will however be addressed pretty quickly, and easily. I do however have a 'unique' issue with my right hand, so not everyone will necessarily experience this problem (I had the same issue with my Glock, due to the special modifications that I made to my right hand, not recommended of course).

The mag changes and feeding problems seemed to be the major downfall of my scoring during that particular IPSC match. As it stands now, my average mag-change time is around 3 seconds (confirmed with the timer yesterday), which is waaaaaay too long (about 2 seconds too long).

I am gaining confidence with the gun. At first I had some issues finding the sights quickly after the draw, but again, this is purely due to the differences in the Grip Angle between the Bul and the Glock, and the 'muscle memory' and indexing from the draw. It is getting better. The Bul is extremely accurate and consistent. Sight picture is nice and positive, and inspires that confidence. The slightly snappier recoil also meant that I initially spent quite a bit more time trying to reacquire the sights, which again I would think has much to do with the grip-angle (due to indexing the gun back to the more familiar position after recoil), and getting a feel for the 'natural' rhythm of the gun. I am starting to find that cadence - and I expect it to get much better with some more practice.

And now onto the best part, for me. The trigger... oh boy, the trigger. Absolutely sweet. Nuff said!

Find myself absolutely loving the gun. Brilliant in terms of value for money, and has proven to be a very well built gun. I have no hesitation in recommending one to anyone who wants to move over to a 1911 based pistol for sport.

Happy shooting.

Some random vids:

**1911** · 25-08-2014, 13:12

Nice review!

Time for a profile pic change...

**1911 Guy** · 26-08-2014, 09:02

Thanks for the good review! Looks like a good pistol at a good price!

**top dog** · 26-08-2014, 10:14

nice review
shot a mates one on friday, love it, great gun great control of recoil and magic trigger
well done on purchase

**PistolBoy** · 26-08-2014, 10:15

Thanks for the review. I shot a provincial with a guy running a bul m5 and asked ghim about the pistol. He said the only issue is the polymer scratches easily. He said his grip looks like crap on the inside. Do out have any experience with that?

**Psychosis** · 26-08-2014, 11:00

Havnt done a hell of a lot of mag changes, so I cannot comment on any wear or scratches on the polymer yet.

**BasieB** · 26-08-2014, 11:44

Looking good, nice review, awaiting licence for mine.... Coming from a 1911 .45...can't wait!

**Psychosis** · 26-08-2014, 14:47

Originally Posted by BasieB

Looking good, nice review, awaiting licence for mine.... Coming from a 1911 .45...can't wait!

I will be running the Bul at our next Club Shoot Basie... you welcome to take her for a spin

On a side note... I made the BIG MISTAKE of taking the Bul to Rescomp for the extended mag release... she is now getting a whole bunch of other 'dress-up' goodies as well...

Feel really sorry for the Credit Card! LOL.

**BasieB** · 26-08-2014, 17:00

Originally Posted by Psychosis

I will be running the Bul at our next Club Shoot Basie... you welcome to take her for a spin

On a side note... I made the BIG MISTAKE of taking the Bul to Rescomp for the extended mag release... she is now getting a whole bunch of other 'dress-up' goodies as well...

Feel really sorry for the Credit Card! LOL.

I can see THAT one coming my way too....need add sights for my 50+ eyes....and some more.....

**neilh** · 06-09-2014, 20:42

Update with the Bul? I *might* take a look at one of these since I now have a spare 9mm pistol

What was the reasoning for going to 40S&W over the 45 model? Capacity?