Archon Type-B: First Fifty

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03-25-2024, 09:32 PM
Tokarev

Quote:

Originally Posted by pangloss

My pistol arrived today, and I was able to get away at lunch to pick it up. My impressions after just handling it and some dry fire are very positive. It sit really low in my hand, and indexes similarly to my Glocks. Since ~80% of my shooting is through Glocks, the similarity is a good thing. I don't notice the strut thing under the beavertail at the top of the back strap. For now I'll view it as a gimmick, but maybe my opinion will change after I shoot it. Sights seem very good to me. The trigger breaks at about 4lb 4oz when I put the gauge at the very distal tip of the trigger. The trigger feels somewhat like an APX but with more creep and not as clean a break. I'd say that the trigger is generally on par with Glock, but maybe not quite as a good Gen5 pistol.

My big complaint is the location of the mag release. When I grip the pistol, the end of my right middle finger rest half on the mag release. I'd like to see the release moved up a little bit or just switch to a paddle mag release like HK. Having said that, I can't make the mag release release the mag with my middle finger. when I have a firing grip on the gun. I've also pressed hard against that finger with my support hand to try and drop the mag with no luck. I think the risk of accidently releasing the mag while shooting is pretty close to zero.

I hope to get away from work in time to shoot it on Thursday, but work is going to be crazy busy this week. I'll report more once I have some rounds through the gun.

One complaint I've seen from users with big meaty hands is that the bottpm of the shooting hand touches the long aft section of the mag base plate. This keeps the mag from dropping when empty.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
03-25-2024, 09:52 PM
pangloss

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tokarev

One complaint I've seen from users with big meaty hands is that the bottpm of the shooting hand touches the long aft section of the mag base plate. This keeps the mag from dropping when empty.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

I have medium hands, and fortunately my dominant hand doesn't contact the mag at all when I have a firing grip on the gun. Having said that, I can certainly see how it could be a problem for people with larger hands. I don't understand the zig-zig mag plates. That's another things I don't like about the APX. Is this design element just for visual interest or is there supposed to be some functional advantage? I sure can't think of any supposed advantage!
03-25-2024, 10:02 PM
Tokarev

Quote:

Originally Posted by pangloss

Is this design element just for visual interest...

That's my guess.

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03-26-2024, 12:09 AM
MattyD380

Quote:

Originally Posted by pangloss

My pistol arrived today, and I was able to get away at lunch to pick it up. My impressions after just handling it and some dry fire are very positive. It sit really low in my hand, and indexes similarly to my Glocks. Since ~80% of my shooting is through Glocks, the similarity is a good thing. I don't notice the strut thing under the beavertail at the top of the back strap. For now I'll view it as a gimmick, but maybe my opinion will change after I shoot it. Sights seem very good to me. The trigger breaks at about 4lb 4oz when I put the gauge at the very distal tip of the trigger. The trigger feels somewhat like an APX but with more creep and not as clean a break. I'd say that the trigger is generally on par with Glock, but maybe not quite as a good Gen5 pistol.

My big complaint is the location of the mag release. When I grip the pistol, the end of my right middle finger rest half on the mag release. I'd like to see the release moved up a little bit or just switch to a paddle mag release like HK. Having said that, I can't make the mag release release the mag with my middle finger. when I have a firing grip on the gun. I've also pressed hard against that finger with my support hand to try and drop the mag with no luck. I think the risk of accidently releasing the mag while shooting is pretty close to zero.

I hope to get away from work in time to shoot it on Thursday, but work is going to be crazy busy this week. I'll report more once I have some rounds through the gun.

Awesome. Yeah, curious to hear your perspective on how it shoots. As a point of contrast... I don't shoot Glocks at all, and I really like the Archon. Feels natural and intuitive. Though, initially, it did want to point a bit high. But it was no problem adjusting.

My middle finger also hits the mag release. It's not ideal. But I can't say I really noticed it while shooting. I think I just instinctively tucked my finger under the button and forgot about it.

Do you have the fiber optic sights or the "Real 8" tritium sights? I have the latter. I kinda find the front sight hard to pick up, sometimes. The thing also takes Glock sights, allegedly.

Interesting to hear your take on the trigger. Definitely some creep/squish. But the break, I think, has a subdued quality to it that I just... like.
03-26-2024, 08:23 PM
pangloss

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyD380

Awesome. Yeah, curious to hear your perspective on how it shoots. As a point of contrast... I don't shoot Glocks at all, and I really like the Archon. Feels natural and intuitive. Though, initially, it did want to point a bit high. But it was no problem adjusting.

My middle finger also hits the mag release. It's not ideal. But I can't say I really noticed it while shooting. I think I just instinctively tucked my finger under the button and forgot about it.

Do you have the fiber optic sights or the "Real 8" tritium sights? I have the latter. I kinda find the front sight hard to pick up, sometimes. The thing also takes Glock sights, allegedly.

Interesting to hear your take on the trigger. Definitely some creep/squish. But the break, I think, has a subdued quality to it that I just... like.

I have the fiber optic front sight. I think this is actually the first pistol I've had with a fiber optic front sight. These sights are much finer than the Ameriglo Agent/Bold sights on my Glocks. My guess is that I'll be a little bit slower, but I'm hoping I'll shoot better at 15-25 yards. I really hope I get to shoot it on Thursday!
03-28-2024, 09:24 PM
pangloss

I left work early enough to make it to the range today. Overall, I like the Archon. I lubed the pistol before I shot it, and the gun didn't have any problems over the course of 200 rounds. The first 100 rounds were 124 gr NATO, so a bit hotter than regular range ammo. Then I put 50 rounds of 124 gr Norma through it followed by 50 rounds of 115 gr New Republic. The recoil impulse is different from the Glock. I feel like the gun shoots flatter, but it's definitely not softer. I'm not the best at tracking my sights during recoil, but after about 180 rounds, I could do that fairly well--probably better than with my Glocks.

I've dry fired it a lot this week, and I've noticed that when the striker releases, the gun jumps a little to the right. I'm right-handed and spent a lot of time curing myself of the down and left problem that plagues a lot of Glock shooters. Having this gun bump to the right was weird, and 100% predictive of how I shot live fire. My first run at the 2" dots on the Langdon Tactical Target showed about half the shots hitting an inch to the right of the dot. I was able to clean this up with some extra concentration, so no big worries. Sights are "drive the dot" for me, which matches how my other pistols are set up.

The directional texturing on the pistol seems like a really good idea, but I don't think it works very well. My other complaint is that the gun frequently "auto forwards" when I reload. This is my biggest complaint about the gun. Aside from that, it seems like a solid pistol. Right now my plan is to go ahead and attempt the 2K Round Challenge. No buyer's remorse here. I doubt I'll ever use this as a carry pistol, but honestly the novelty of the design is reason enough for me to own it. Now I need a P08 Luger and a Remington R51...
03-28-2024, 10:05 PM
MattyD380

Quote:

Originally Posted by pangloss

I left work early enough to make it to the range today. Overall, I like the Archon. I lubed the pistol before I shot it, and the gun didn't have any problems over the course of 200 rounds. The first 100 rounds were 124 gr NATO, so a bit hotter than regular range ammo. Then I put 50 rounds of 124 gr Norma through it followed by 50 rounds of 115 gr New Republic. The recoil impulse is different from the Glock. I feel like the gun shoots flatter, but it's definitely not softer. I'm not the best at tracking my sights during recoil, but after about 180 rounds, I could do that fairly well--probably better than with my Glocks.

I've dry fired it a lot this week, and I've noticed that when the striker releases, the gun jumps a little to the right. I'm right-handed and spent a lot of time curing myself of the down and left problem that plagues a lot of Glock shooters. Having this gun bump to the right was weird, and 100% predictive of how I shot live fire. My first run at the 2" dots on the Langdon Tactical Target showed about half the shots hitting an inch to the right of the dot. I was able to clean this up with some extra concentration, so no big worries. Sights are "drive the dot" for me, which matches how my other pistols are set up.

The directional texturing on the pistol seems like a really good idea, but I don't think it works very well. My other complaint is that the gun frequently "auto forwards" when I reload. This is my biggest complaint about the gun. Aside from that, it seems like a solid pistol. Right now my plan is to go ahead and attempt the 2K Round Challenge. No buyer's remorse here. I doubt I'll ever use this as a carry pistol, but honestly the novelty of the design is reason enough for me to own it. Now I need a P08 Luger and a Remington R51...

Nice! Thanks for sharing. Some of your impressions match mine—definitely agree with “flat but not soft.” I mean, it’s not like the recoil is in any way unpleasant. But it recoils toward you, not up… thus, as logic would dictate, you feel it.

I’m also not a fan of the grip texture. Granulate grip tape made all the difference for me.

As far as the trigger, I find the gun stays pretty planted when the trigger breaks. But who knows how much mine has been shot/broken in. Looking forward to your 2000-round challenge.

I’m finishing up a review on my Daewoo DP-51, then I plan to start shooting the Archon a lot more.
03-29-2024, 08:41 AM
Tokarev

Some historical info:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...tryk-b-pistol/

And possibly a long slide (aka Strike One?) version:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...arms-archon-a/
03-30-2024, 03:15 PM
pangloss

I put 200 more rounds through the Archon today. I shot 115 gr New Republic, made in Hungary, purchased from Target Sports. This is some of the dirtiest brass-cased ammo I've come across. The auto-forwarding still happens more often than not and more frequently with one mag than the other. In any case, the pistol completed the cycle each time it was fired, so no failures to report yet.
03-30-2024, 03:29 PM
pangloss

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tokarev

Some historical info:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...tryk-b-pistol/

And possibly a long slide (aka Strike One?) version:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...arms-archon-a/

That's for posting those links. I'd not seen either before.

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