Archon Type B Gen 2: The Pan-European Pistol

Developing a new gun isn’t easy, unless your desired level of quality involves a piece of scrap lumber, a length of galvanized pipe, some hose clamps, and a nail to serve as the firing pin. Professional firearm designers must first tackle the design and mechanical engineering phase, creating a mechanism that functions reliably while navigating a minefield of existing patents that cannot be infringed. 

Then comes prototype testing, revisions, tooling, and mass manufacturing. Even if an objectively excellent product is produced, it must be priced and marketed appropriately in order to achieve even a modicum of commercial success. And ultimately, many consumers will write it off as an oddball and stick to tried-and-true alternatives — we call this the “why not just buy a Glock 19” effect.

Over the years, we’ve seen countless new firearm designs come and go. Some get stuck in endless “development hell,” others get embroiled in heated legal battles with competitors or stakeholders, and a few make it to store shelves only to sell so poorly that the parent company goes bankrupt. The Archon Type B could’ve fallen victim to any one of these fates, and yet, it survived. Not only that, the end result is better than you might expect.

BIRTH AND REBIRTH

The story of this pistol — originally known as the Strizh, meaning “swift” in Russian — dates back to around 2011. It was co-designed by Dimitry Strechinski, a Russian, and Nicola Bandini, an Italian, as a potential next-generation 9mm service pistol for Russian police and military organizations. According to research by Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons, it “was progressing very successfully through testing and trials” by 2014. However, in the end it was not selected by these organizations. 

Some, including McCollum, have speculated that Russian decision-makers demanded some financial “encouragement” to grease the wheels of progress, but there’s no way to know for sure. Regardless, the duo made the difficult decision to pivot toward international sales.

Strechinski and Bandini took their design to Arsenal Firearms of Italy — not to be confused with Arsenal JSCo, the AK manufacturer in Bulgaria — who dropped the Strizh name and began to sell the pistol in Europe under the new name Strike One. Around 2016, Arsenal Firearms also partnered with Salient Arms International (SAI) to establish a U.S. division. The American-market, compact variant of the Italian-built pistol became known as the Arsenal Firearms USA Stryk-B.

In mid 2017, reportedly due to dispute over international licensing and trademarks, Arsenal Firearms USA rebranded as Archon Firearms. This resulted in the Strizh’s lineage branching off in two directions. On one side, Arsenal Firearms continued to sell the Italian-made Strike One, which is currently imported to North America by American Precision Firearms. On the other side, Archon Firearms (formerly Arsenal Firearms USA) renamed and revised the design to create the Archon Type B. Archon contracted some of its manufacturing to RUAG, a Swiss aerospace and defense company operating factories in Germany and Hungary. 

Most recently, Archon opened its own manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic, and PTR Industries became the exclusive partner and distributor of Archon products for the North American market.

After learning of this tangled web of designs, redesigns, mergers, and legal battles, you might think this pistol never would’ve made it to the market. But it’s still alive, and that speaks to the quality of the engineering under the hood. In fact, rather than stagnating, the latest version features some substantial improvements.

ARCHON TYPE B GEN 2

For Archon’s second-generation model, a lot has changed, but the core DNA of the original Strizh remains apparent. This pistol is based on an action that’s inspired by the floating locking block system originally seen in the relatively obscure Bergmann-Bayard Model 1903 pistol. Archon’s version of this system is called AF-Speedlock. 

Rather than tilting upward as the slide reciprocates, the barrel moves straight back about ¼ inch. A U-shaped floating block beneath the barrel moves up and down to lock the barrel in place before each shot. This design allows for a low bore axis and slim, lightweight slide, two factors that make the recoil impulse surprisingly gentle. It also maintains reliability by reducing the angle at which rounds feed from the magazine into the chamber.

The trigger is a flat-faced design with 4.5-pound pull weight, and the teardrop-shaped magazine release can be oriented for left- or right-handed use. The Type B’s slide rides on a steel monocoque frame machined from a single piece of bar stock. Racking the slide reflects the precision of this component, as it feels buttery smooth with minimal play in any direction. A single steel pin through the frame retains the slide, and we appreciate that it’s captive to eliminate the risk of misplacing it during cleaning.

Archon’s first-generation Type B featured a distinctive grip pattern of square teeth cut at an angle and laid out in a grid across its glass-reinforced polymer frame. Archon called this “grip mapping technology,” and it accentuated the gun’s futuristic appearance, but its uniqueness was somewhat polarizing. For Gen 2, they’ve switched to a more traditional grip texture with a trick up its sleeve — it’s user-replaceable. 

Regions of the pistol grip are covered in high-strength Talon Grip tape, and this material can be peeled off and switched out with different textures. The Type B comes with a rubberized orange-peel-style finish applied, but more aggressive Granulate skateboard tape and Pro hybrid finishes are offered. The user can also mix and match, selectively applying a rougher material to key areas.

Speaking of modularity, the most notable change to the Type B Gen 2 is its multi-part grip design. The backstrap and magwell portions are removable, allowing the gun to be assembled in three configurations: full size with 18-round capacity, compact with 15-round capacity, and subcompact with 13-round capacity. Each Type B includes a 15-round mag, an 18-round mag, two grip extenders, and four different backstraps. This allows the user to switch grip sizes and capacities in a matter of minutes without permanently altering the serialized frame of the gun. At time of writing this article, 13-round mags aren’t currently available through PTR, but we’re told they’ll be offered in the near future.

A large beavertail extends approximately half an inch past the rear of the slide to reduce the risk of slide bite. Beneath the beavertail, there’s an angled gusset which is intended to “activate the tendon” in the webbing of the shooter’s dominant hand, applying pressure to tighten the grip on the gun. This is a feature that has carried over from the original Strizh, and it feels counterintuitive, since many modern shooting instructors advise students to tighten the support hand and apply less grip pressure with the dominant hand.

The Type B is available with your choice of iron sights only (plain rear and fiber optic front), RMR cut, RMS cut, or ACRO cut. Base model MSRP is $960; with an optic cut, it’s $999. The Type B ships with a 4.3-inch barrel, but a 5-inch threaded barrel is available through PTR as an accessory for an additional $139.

ROUNDS DOWNRANGE

When I picked up the Archon from my local FFL, it generated immediate interest from staff and other customers. Its proportions are distinct enough to quickly set it apart from other pistols in the display case — if anything, it bears a slight resemblance to a CZ Shadow 2 with its low-profile slide and large beavertail. There’s even a hint of Laugo Arms Alien (minus the $5,000 price tag) if you squint a little. I’d consider that very good company to be in.

The new grip design fit my hands nicely in 15-round configuration, and the combination of a large undercut on the trigger guard and half-inch-long beavertail allowed me to choke up on it without discomfort. The rubberized grip texture is better than smooth plastic but nowhere near as aggressive as a stippled polymer grip — if you’ve ever used rubber Talon Grips, you know exactly what it feels like. 

For better or for worse, the “tendon activator” feature in the backstrap had no noticeable impact on my shooting. Ideally, I’d delete this feature and reduce the beavertail to about half its current size for improved comfort during AIWB concealed carry, but neither feature distracted me while shooting.

Trigger feel, both in terms of shape and movement, is one of the Archon’s strong suits. It’s still a 4.5-pound striker-fired trigger, but the travel is short, the wall is distinct, and the reset produces a tactile click. I also appreciate that, rather than a blade safety that protrudes into the center of the shooter’s finger, the entire flat-faced shoe serves as a pivoting trigger safety.

This makes it comfortable to shoot hundreds of rounds without any annoying hotspots on the finger. Years ago, when RECOIL staffer Rob Curtis reviewed the first-gen Archon, he described the feel as “a lot like a quality two-stage rifle trigger,” and I’d agree with this assessment.

That said, the best part about the Archon Type B — and this should come as no surprise, given its design — is its recoil impulse. With each shot, the gun pushed straight back into my hand with very little muzzle rise. In simplest terms, shooting the Archon feels similar to shooting a run-of-the-mill Glock or SIG with an aftermarket compensator installed. 

There’s far less snap of the wrist, so holding the red dot on a target for immediate follow-up shots feels almost effortless. Ringing steel plates in quick one-two-three-four-five cadences was satisfying, and the gun felt like it was encouraging me to clear each plate rack just a little faster. 

Granted, it’s nowhere near the level of a race gun or the aforementioned Laugo Alien, but I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on aftermarket barrels, comps, and recoil springs to achieve similar performance from other pistols I own. With MSRP under a grand and street price even lower than that, the value is solid.

Since PTR offers a threaded barrel, I tried installing a KE Arms universal double-port compensator to see if I could make a flat shooter even flatter. The Archon ran reliably with the comp and standard velocity Blazer 124-grain ammo. Muzzle rise was reduced from slim to none, but this modification seems like overkill. 

It actually drove the muzzle down slightly below the horizon with each shot. A single-port comp could produce better results, but for those who really want to build a gamer gun, I suspect a few small ports in the barrel and a lighter recoil spring might be the Goldilocks setup.

I also used the threaded barrel to install a SilencerCo Omega 9K suppressor. Given the non-tilting action, I wondered whether a booster (aka Nielsen device) would be necessary, but a PTR rep explained that it’s still necessary for complete reliability. So, I assembled the included SilencerCo piston spring and retainer with a Dead Air ½x28 piston, then threaded the can onto the muzzle. The quasi-compensated recoil impulse makes this a great suppressor host.

Unsurprisingly, holster and aftermarket parts support is limited, but there are a few options if you look around. I ended up installing a SureFire X300U light and using a T-Rex Arms Ragnarok SD holster, which indexes off the light rather than the gun. 

If you don’t mind forgoing a weapon light, LAS Concealment offers a variant of its customizable Shogun IWB holster for the Type B, and PTR themselves offer a basic OWB Kydex holster. Rain6 and Iron Horse Designs — both in Vernal, Utah — are leading the way for third-party upgrades, offering magazine basepads, recoil and striker spring tuning kits, trigger work, porting, compensators, turn-key custom Archon builds, and more. I’m hoping to try some of these items for an Optimized column feature in our sister publication, CONCEALMENT.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

So, why not just buy another one of your favorite mainstream striker-fired pistols? If that’s the only question you’re asking, you’re not the target audience (and you’re probably not much fun at parties). 

The Type B is an unusual design with an unusually complicated lineage, but that’s how innovation happens — somebody has to step outside the box, and doing so is never easy. Archon’s website explains, “The challenging times of the past have tempered our company and only made it stronger.”

What we ended up with is a Russo-Italian design from a company that’s headquartered in the Czech Republic, built by a Swiss contractor in a factory in Germany, and imported to the United States by PTR. More importantly, what we ended up with is a pistol that looks, feels, and performs unlike anything else in its price range. 

With its latest Gen 2 updates, the Archon Type B feels less quirky and more polished than ever. While it may never fly off the shelves like the sub-$600 pistols from major brands, it’s worth a look if you’re open to something that’s not just another Glock clone. 

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