I said I would do a review in a previous thread so here we go.....
Finally got to feeling better from a sunburn and resulting blisters on my legs and shoulders so I took the Archon out to my range yesterday. Along with it I took 335 rounds of 124 grain Blazer brass ammo and some 2 inch round targets. Now, for those here who know me you know I am not going to brag about something just because I own one. This is my fair and honest opinion of it. Not to sound like I am bragging but I consider myself a better than average shot so accuracy is important to me too. After seeing some of the other stories on here I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this gun. Alot of my findings are nothing new after watching YouTube reviews while waiting for mine. I tried not to let them influence me one way or the other but I did want to see what they were saying so I could pay more attention to the pros and cons pointed out.
First, there was a couple of very obvious things for me when I opened the box. One, being the fiber optic sight on the pistol. I have hated them every since I had a tube from one bounce off my forehead one time and thought well, that could put someone's eye out. So, first thing I did was change out the sights. I went with Meprolight 3 dot tritium sights as they are my favorite. These are easy to find since the pistol uses Glock sights at my local shop. I just bought a pair for 9mm Glock and the worked just fine.
Another thing obvious immediately was the trigger. I thought it was spongy with too much take up. Maybe I am spoiled with my Agency Arms triggers in my Glocks but that is my opinion of it. Also, just the overall design I knew it would take some getting used to. It feels much different than say a....Glock. this also had me a little concerned about accuracy. Not due to the gun but due to how I was going to shoot it as compared to others I was much more used to that all at least kind of, feel the same. By this I am referring to how high up on the Archon I was able to get my hands and how low it sat in my hands.
Of course most people say the lower the better for the bore axis but, I just knew it was going to take a little getting used to before I could shoot it as well as my other pistols. And this proved itself to be true. I was doing better with the gun after a shooting it and little while but at 1st I will admit I didn't think it was too promising. For example when I shot my 5 yd target and walked up to it to examine it closer my 1st thought was how much better I did with a glock.
For shooting the Archon type B I went with some 2" round peel and stick targets. I used these every time I get a new toy or change out sights on a new toy. Figuring if I can put all the rounds in one of these at different ranges (5-20 yards) It is good enough. Most rounds were on target after a little getting used to with the gun but, my groups were honestly never as tight as with other pistols. This is me MOSTLY, and mostly My fault and I would leave it at that except for how hot the gun was getting and how I had to change my grip but I will get to that in the CONS section.
All shots were 2 hand nonsupported
5 yards: This was my 1st time shooting the pistol at a actual target. I fired a magazine out of the gun the day that I brought it home just to see how it felt but I was so burned I didn't want to mess with it long. While all 5 rounds hit the target as you can see I was getting groups that weren't touching. I will take the blame for this and say I was trying to get used to a new gun with a totally different grip from what I was used to.
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10 yards: Getting a little better I think I have a decent group of 4 rounds with one going its own way there. Again, that is on me and still trying to adjust to this new grip.
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15 yards: Again, pulled 1. I will admit at this point I was finding myself struggling to adjust and get used to this new pistol. As I walked up to the targets to examine them I was also getting frustrated with myself as I know I normally shoot other pistols better than this.
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20 yards: I decided at this point instead of shooting at a small circle I would shoot the face of the target I was taking the small targets on. Partly out of frustration from my results with the little targets. I also decided to pick up the pace just to see what happened. I would say I fired 2 shots every 1.5 seconds roughly during this period as you can see in the results I experienced two misses and one grazing hit with the other 13 being good probably dead right there hits. The misses were simply me trying to go too fast with a new toy at a farther range and nothing more.
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After all of this I started shooting the gun at my 3-D rubber dummy target for a while doing double taps and failure drills(2 to the body 1 to the head). After shooting that for a while I took the gun over to my plate rack and shot a few rounds with it. I was getting pretty decent times all being under 4 seconds with no misses while shooting it from 25 yd. Now, I am thinking OK, I am getting better with it now let's try it on paper again.
When I went back to the paper target I decided to shoot her hands area. ( It was a spot with no holes and easily seen at 10 yards.) I then put 15 rounds into her hands from the 10 yd line as fast as I could pull the trigger.
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Here are some of my observations of the pistol I will start with the positive.
They pistol has an extremely low bore axis allowing for fast follow up shots
I am a press check person myself so, I really like they cut out on top of the slide to make that easier.
I appreciate the light rail on the gun as I used mounted flashlights on all my home defense pistols.
I have very large hands and like the undercut only trigger guard as well as the longer than normal grip. But, I will also agree with others who have stated they don't know why it doesn't hold 17 rounds instead of 15.
The pistol shot reliable with no miss feeds, jams, smokestacks or any other issues.
I really like the trigger reset. Even though my 1st pull is mushy and a little long the reset is awesome.
The pistol points very naturally. I did a few shots with it just pointing the pistol without using sites and was very pleased with the results.
The slide stop or slide release which ever Archon Is calling it was easy to manipulate.
To me the pistol felt lighter than the glock 19 I had right beside it. I wish i could weigh them but the battery and my scale went dead. Something else i need to fix lol
Interesting look. You're not going to have any issues with people not wanting to see it. Everyone in the store when I picked up the pistol wanted to see and hold the gun. So, if you're one of those who likes to share this isn't going to be a issue.
Now for some Cons of the pistol. They all have them and some people might think these aren't a big deal or that something else I didn't mind is far worse than what I have listed. We all have opinions these are mine and some of them fall into line with reviews I saw on YouTube but some don't.
1st trigger pull is mushy and long
The grip of the pistol was a little sharp. At least for me I found the texture of the pistol to be uncomfortable after shooting it for a while. Those middle square things can get sharp.
Holsters for the gun. If your wanting a carry gun the holsters for this are a little hard to find at this point. The ones that I did find are limited in selection at best and also very expensive. Where similar holsters for a glock are running around $30 the ones for the Archon Are running closer to $70. Same design and material involved. Chalk it up to supply and demand I guess.
The magazine sticks out of Bottom of the mag well leaving a bit of a gap between the magazine floor plate and the bottom of the mag well.
Heat. This was a biggie hit on by MAC (Military Arms Channel) on you tube. I was surprised that I ran into this issue also. Because I was only using one magazine. So, after each magazine I had to stop and reload it. That low riding slide started getting hot fairly quick causing me to have to adjust my grip a couple of times. Also the metal trigger while never getting hot enough to burn me such as claimed by MAC It did get uncomfortable, and I'm not calling him a liar, he was shooting much faster than I was using multiple magazines with others reloading them. He also shot a lot more ammo than I did so I don't doubt what he said about the trigger leaving a blister on his finger.
Due to the heat issue I experienced I would not recommend taking this pistol to a class where your going to be doing a lot of shooting in a fairly short amount of time period this thing got warm quick.
Final thoughts:
Having said all of that over all I like the gun and what they did with it in design. Do I think there are a few issues that could be improved upon yes, I do. But after shooting it and getting more used to it I started liking the pistol more and more. But, also having said that I will also say that I don't know that the pistol warrants the $850 price tag on it. There is some innovation in it like parts moving sideways instead of up-and-down to get the lower bore axis but was those innovations so hard that they had to Run the price up that much? Especially with the cost you are paying with the heat issue during extended shooting? I don't know, and can't answer that for you, it is one of those things you will have to make that determination for yourself. But, once again over all alike the gun just don't know if I like it well enough to keep it at this point. A few more range trips will be in order for me due to determine that.
Here it is dirty and you can see where it is hottest right after shooting with the discoloration on the metal.
![Image]()
Finally got to feeling better from a sunburn and resulting blisters on my legs and shoulders so I took the Archon out to my range yesterday. Along with it I took 335 rounds of 124 grain Blazer brass ammo and some 2 inch round targets. Now, for those here who know me you know I am not going to brag about something just because I own one. This is my fair and honest opinion of it. Not to sound like I am bragging but I consider myself a better than average shot so accuracy is important to me too. After seeing some of the other stories on here I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this gun. Alot of my findings are nothing new after watching YouTube reviews while waiting for mine. I tried not to let them influence me one way or the other but I did want to see what they were saying so I could pay more attention to the pros and cons pointed out.
First, there was a couple of very obvious things for me when I opened the box. One, being the fiber optic sight on the pistol. I have hated them every since I had a tube from one bounce off my forehead one time and thought well, that could put someone's eye out. So, first thing I did was change out the sights. I went with Meprolight 3 dot tritium sights as they are my favorite. These are easy to find since the pistol uses Glock sights at my local shop. I just bought a pair for 9mm Glock and the worked just fine.
Another thing obvious immediately was the trigger. I thought it was spongy with too much take up. Maybe I am spoiled with my Agency Arms triggers in my Glocks but that is my opinion of it. Also, just the overall design I knew it would take some getting used to. It feels much different than say a....Glock. this also had me a little concerned about accuracy. Not due to the gun but due to how I was going to shoot it as compared to others I was much more used to that all at least kind of, feel the same. By this I am referring to how high up on the Archon I was able to get my hands and how low it sat in my hands.
Of course most people say the lower the better for the bore axis but, I just knew it was going to take a little getting used to before I could shoot it as well as my other pistols. And this proved itself to be true. I was doing better with the gun after a shooting it and little while but at 1st I will admit I didn't think it was too promising. For example when I shot my 5 yd target and walked up to it to examine it closer my 1st thought was how much better I did with a glock.
For shooting the Archon type B I went with some 2" round peel and stick targets. I used these every time I get a new toy or change out sights on a new toy. Figuring if I can put all the rounds in one of these at different ranges (5-20 yards) It is good enough. Most rounds were on target after a little getting used to with the gun but, my groups were honestly never as tight as with other pistols. This is me MOSTLY, and mostly My fault and I would leave it at that except for how hot the gun was getting and how I had to change my grip but I will get to that in the CONS section.
All shots were 2 hand nonsupported
5 yards: This was my 1st time shooting the pistol at a actual target. I fired a magazine out of the gun the day that I brought it home just to see how it felt but I was so burned I didn't want to mess with it long. While all 5 rounds hit the target as you can see I was getting groups that weren't touching. I will take the blame for this and say I was trying to get used to a new gun with a totally different grip from what I was used to.
10 yards: Getting a little better I think I have a decent group of 4 rounds with one going its own way there. Again, that is on me and still trying to adjust to this new grip.
15 yards: Again, pulled 1. I will admit at this point I was finding myself struggling to adjust and get used to this new pistol. As I walked up to the targets to examine them I was also getting frustrated with myself as I know I normally shoot other pistols better than this.
20 yards: I decided at this point instead of shooting at a small circle I would shoot the face of the target I was taking the small targets on. Partly out of frustration from my results with the little targets. I also decided to pick up the pace just to see what happened. I would say I fired 2 shots every 1.5 seconds roughly during this period as you can see in the results I experienced two misses and one grazing hit with the other 13 being good probably dead right there hits. The misses were simply me trying to go too fast with a new toy at a farther range and nothing more.
After all of this I started shooting the gun at my 3-D rubber dummy target for a while doing double taps and failure drills(2 to the body 1 to the head). After shooting that for a while I took the gun over to my plate rack and shot a few rounds with it. I was getting pretty decent times all being under 4 seconds with no misses while shooting it from 25 yd. Now, I am thinking OK, I am getting better with it now let's try it on paper again.
When I went back to the paper target I decided to shoot her hands area. ( It was a spot with no holes and easily seen at 10 yards.) I then put 15 rounds into her hands from the 10 yd line as fast as I could pull the trigger.
Here are some of my observations of the pistol I will start with the positive.
They pistol has an extremely low bore axis allowing for fast follow up shots
I am a press check person myself so, I really like they cut out on top of the slide to make that easier.
I appreciate the light rail on the gun as I used mounted flashlights on all my home defense pistols.
I have very large hands and like the undercut only trigger guard as well as the longer than normal grip. But, I will also agree with others who have stated they don't know why it doesn't hold 17 rounds instead of 15.
The pistol shot reliable with no miss feeds, jams, smokestacks or any other issues.
I really like the trigger reset. Even though my 1st pull is mushy and a little long the reset is awesome.
The pistol points very naturally. I did a few shots with it just pointing the pistol without using sites and was very pleased with the results.
The slide stop or slide release which ever Archon Is calling it was easy to manipulate.
To me the pistol felt lighter than the glock 19 I had right beside it. I wish i could weigh them but the battery and my scale went dead. Something else i need to fix lol
Interesting look. You're not going to have any issues with people not wanting to see it. Everyone in the store when I picked up the pistol wanted to see and hold the gun. So, if you're one of those who likes to share this isn't going to be a issue.
Now for some Cons of the pistol. They all have them and some people might think these aren't a big deal or that something else I didn't mind is far worse than what I have listed. We all have opinions these are mine and some of them fall into line with reviews I saw on YouTube but some don't.
1st trigger pull is mushy and long
The grip of the pistol was a little sharp. At least for me I found the texture of the pistol to be uncomfortable after shooting it for a while. Those middle square things can get sharp.
Holsters for the gun. If your wanting a carry gun the holsters for this are a little hard to find at this point. The ones that I did find are limited in selection at best and also very expensive. Where similar holsters for a glock are running around $30 the ones for the Archon Are running closer to $70. Same design and material involved. Chalk it up to supply and demand I guess.
The magazine sticks out of Bottom of the mag well leaving a bit of a gap between the magazine floor plate and the bottom of the mag well.
Heat. This was a biggie hit on by MAC (Military Arms Channel) on you tube. I was surprised that I ran into this issue also. Because I was only using one magazine. So, after each magazine I had to stop and reload it. That low riding slide started getting hot fairly quick causing me to have to adjust my grip a couple of times. Also the metal trigger while never getting hot enough to burn me such as claimed by MAC It did get uncomfortable, and I'm not calling him a liar, he was shooting much faster than I was using multiple magazines with others reloading them. He also shot a lot more ammo than I did so I don't doubt what he said about the trigger leaving a blister on his finger.
Due to the heat issue I experienced I would not recommend taking this pistol to a class where your going to be doing a lot of shooting in a fairly short amount of time period this thing got warm quick.
Final thoughts:
Having said all of that over all I like the gun and what they did with it in design. Do I think there are a few issues that could be improved upon yes, I do. But after shooting it and getting more used to it I started liking the pistol more and more. But, also having said that I will also say that I don't know that the pistol warrants the $850 price tag on it. There is some innovation in it like parts moving sideways instead of up-and-down to get the lower bore axis but was those innovations so hard that they had to Run the price up that much? Especially with the cost you are paying with the heat issue during extended shooting? I don't know, and can't answer that for you, it is one of those things you will have to make that determination for yourself. But, once again over all alike the gun just don't know if I like it well enough to keep it at this point. A few more range trips will be in order for me due to determine that.
Here it is dirty and you can see where it is hottest right after shooting with the discoloration on the metal.
