The Archon Type B is finally making its way into the wild.

And there was much rejoicing (as you can see in that picture from @mineraldick, above).

It’s been a long time coming (*snicker), but given how well the reviews have been it may well have been worth the wait. The Archon Type B, began life as the Stryk B quite a ways back (back before there actually was an Archon Firearms, in fact), is available in black nitride or FDE, and with either fiber optic or night sights installed. The biggest attribute people are talking about is its “AF-Speedlock technology” and the low bore axis it allows.

There are several holster options for the Archon Type B, with no doubt more to come.

This is in large part why many reviewers have described it as the “…flattest shooting pistol they’ve seen.” While that might sound like hyperbole, video evidence seems to support it.

Archon Firearms says, “This new unique style of barrel lockup allows the firearm to sit lower in the hand providing the lowest bore axis of any current production pistol. The resulting effect is a completely different shooting experience.”

One feature of the Archon Type B slide design is a recessed and textured section intended to help when conducting press checks.

The Archon Type B has a low bore axis and is railed for lights or lasers.

In addition to the AF-Speedlock locking mechanism, the Archon B boasts several features. Internally, that includes the following:

• Match-grade traditionally rifled barrel coated in black nitride.
• Three-stage recoil rod with uncaptured mainspring (for ease of service and tuning)
• Inner-frame milled from billet steel featuring full-length rails.

For kinesthetics and weapon handling, it has been built with:

• Integrated beavertail with featured contour to activate tendon in hand for better grip.
• Full metal, flat-faced, short reset trigger.
• Oversized trigger guard for use with gloved fingers.
• Metal magazine release that is easily reversible for left-handed shooters.
• Front and rear cocking serrations.

Archon Type B: top-end breakdown.

Other attributes include:

• Fiber optic front sight with blacked-out rear cut from billet steel. The slide uses a standard Glock dovetail and front sight for ease of change if preferred.
• Integrated Picatinny rail for weapon attachments up front.
• “Innovative” Grip Mapping texture designed to actively fight the direction the gun wants to rotate during recoil.
• Integrated magwell “…to make reloads effortless.”
• Full metal magazine with baseplate designed for ergonomic loading with grid pattern for ease of marking.

The Archon B disassembled and on display.

Archon Firearms Real 8 Night Sights (AFR8)

The Archon Firearms Real 8 Night Sights (the ones that are factory installed on the Archon Type B) are available for individual purchase.

Archon Firearms describes them thusly:

AFR8 sights are machined from billet steel and coated in black nitride to withstand the harshest conditions. They feature tritium inserts centered in the front and rear sights for the quickest low light sight acquisition. The vials are guaranteed to glow for 12 years from the date of the original manufacture, and are currently only available in green.

The AFR8s will fit any firearms that accepts Glock sights, including the Type B pistol. Excluding the 12 year half-life of the tritium insert, the AFR8s are backed by the same lifetime guarantee as all Archon products.

Archon Type B Review

We’ve put hands on at Range Day during SHOT, but haven’t yet had the chance to do much with this new striker fired goodness, so here are a few words from people who have.

Gunivore, for instance!

“…the Type B is pretty solid double-stack 9mm in its own right. You might think that it’s just another knock-off polymer pistol, but the extremely low bore axis and innovative AF-Speedlock help it stand out from the crowd.

For starters, notice the unique grip stippling which was carefully designed to improve handling and ergonomics…I noticed they opted for the traditional beavertail frame but added some pretty sweet modern features. For example, I was interested to see a flat-faced trigger, rear and front slide serrations, and standard Glock dovetails. Lastly, I should mention that Archon incorporated a 3-fold safety system including a trigger bar disconnect, firing pin safety block, and a customary trigger block.

Between the effective sight system, innovative AF-Speedlock, short-reset trigger, and aggressive grip mapping, the Type B delivers a great shooting experience…”

(read the rest on Gunivore).

Mr. Guns’n’Gear

Colion Noir

We’ll add more as we find ’em.

The Archon Type B, in an awesome photo by @mineraldick.