I haven’t seen much about this gun on PF, so I figured I’d share my initial impressions—which, in a nutshell, are…
It’s neat. It works. It’s accurate. And after 50 rounds… I like it.
But, more specifically…
This gun exists (along with its cousin, the Arsenal Strike 1) because of its unique breech-lock mechanism—the AF Speedlock system. It’s also sometimes called the Bergman System. Long story short, the barrel retracts under recoil, but doesn’t tilt. A separate part locks the barrel and slide together; this gets cammed down under recoil, until it clears some locking lugs in the slide. This unlocks the system and allows the slide to fully cycle.
In a sense, it achieves the same thing as a Walther/Beretta falling block, but via different mechanics. Also… it uses a 3-spring telescoping recoil assembly. Which is pretty freakin’ cool.
If I had to describe the shooting characteristics in one word, I’d say it’s “direct.”
The bore axis is low and the ergos feel very “intimate.” The trigger reach is short and the trigger breaks with a crisp, understated snap… after a touch of squish. I’d say the recoil impulse falls somewhere between a Beretta 92 and Walther PPK—it has some of that plush, buoyant feel you get with a 92, but it’s a bit more jolty and percussive. It’s not abrasive or unpleasant, like a straight blowback… but it does have some visceral punch. I liked it—it makes the recoil feel somewhat communicative. But I can’t say it’s necessarily a soft shooter.
And, not surprisingly, it shoots really flat. That’s kind of it’s selling point. And it’s true… but I think the feel—in terms of its direct, visceral shooting dynamics—is what intrigues me the most about it. But it is fun to tear through rounds super quickly.
Moreover, the build quality feels fantastic. The thing is heavy. It feels more like a metal gun than a polymer gun. And that makes sense, because there’s an all-metal internal frame inside its outer polymer shell. The slide is big, heavy and fat. All this equates to very solid, planted feel while shooting.
I found it to be very accurate—some nice cloverleafed patterns at 10 yards. Though, initially, I was shooting high. I had a hard time seeing the front fiber optic sight. But once I made a conscious effort bury the front post lower in the rear aperture, it started hitting right on.
The “grip mapping” texture is… livable. It’s aggressive. You feel it after a few mags. But it’s not awful and it does improve traction; though probably not as much as Talon grips. Which will also probably feel better.
I probably won’t carry it. Yet. The trigger is SAOy and of course there’s no safety. Though I’ll say it does seem to have a bit more takeup and “weighty squish” than, say, a PPQ trigger.
So, if you like, fast, flat shooting guns and you want something that gives you a visceral, direct shooting sensation—like a car with taught, sporty suspension… you might dig this thing.
Interestingly, this gun was made in 2017—back when the first batch of these things came into the country. In 2023, there was another batch imported and they’re available new, right now. Initially, some of the early guns had light primer strike issues, but I haven’t heard of any issues beyond that—which stands in contrast to the Archon’s cousin, the Strike 1. I often hear the Strike 1s are hit or miss, in terms of reliability.
I put up a YouTube short on it, too: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oIpNmGmTCGg
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Originally Posted by Tokarev
