Arsenal Strike One...I don't love it

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js8588

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About a year ago, a LGS offered me a new Arsenal Strike One at-cost ($800 OTD if memory serves). I loved how the gun sat in my hand with that beautifully low bore axis and the 5 inch barrel balanced well for me. The trigger is VERY smooth but the reset is..."barely there" is probably generous.

I bought it.

Fast forward to yesterday. The thing sat around, unfired, and I finally decided to take it out for a spin.

I had 130 rounds of IMI 115gr FMJ. I have no idea if it was the ammo or the gun but the thing shot very snappy. I would have sworn I was shooting a compact 40 S&W.

That said, it fired every round without fail. Accurate enough for my ability.

The trigger reset was very easy to ride. Only "shorted" it once. Training with it would assuredly prevent that from happening again (and on that one short stroke I just let the trigger forward, aimed, & "bang", good to go).

I've considered selling it off, but the reliability thus far has me strongly leaning towards "keep it". I'm not recoil averse by any means, but it was far jumpier in my hands than even my PX4 Storm Subcompact. Caught me off guard given that it's just 9mm.

Think next time I'll use some Winchester white box or similar & see how it runs. Maybe even a box or two of Tula just to test how reliable it really is. IMG_20170516_150446_623.jpg
 
I can't explain your experience, but I can validate it. In my case it was a S&W mdl. 59 (a 39 with a double stack magazine). I couldn't stand that pistol and was rid of it soon after I bought it (around 1976). Apart from being a jam-o-matic, its recoil was weird. No matter how I tried to prevent it, my head would snap forward the instant the gun fired. And I mean snap. One magazine-full was enough to give me a headache. I've never experienced this with any other handgun, including some with much stouter recoil than a 9mm shooting ball.
 
I thought the entire point of this design was that a low bore axis reduces perceived recoil. Maybe it's just hype.

What does the gun weigh?
 
Is that made of carbon fiber? Searching on the web it seems most call it polymer, but the pictures look different from what your picture shows. What does it weigh? Maybe light for it's size so the perceived recoil is greater than like sized pistols.

What's the tube below the gun, cleaning kit?
 
With a reinforced polymer frame (supposedly with a proprietary formula of fiberglass, carbon fiber, and some sort of elastomer), the gun weighs 26.46 ounces. The Ergal frame gun (Aluminum alloy 7075-T651), weighs 31.39 ounces.

In comparison a Glock 17 weighs 22 ounces.
 
bannockburn said:
With a reinforced polymer frame (supposedly with a proprietary formula of fiberglass, carbon fiber, and some sort of elastomer), the gun weighs 26.46 ounces. The Ergal frame gun (Aluminum alloy 7075-T651), weighs 31.39 ounces.

In comparison a Glock 17 weighs 22 ounces.
Click to expand...

Well, that blows my hypothesis out of the water.
 
<*(((>< said:
Is that made of carbon fiber? Searching on the web it seems most call it polymer, but the pictures look different from what your picture shows. What does it weigh? Maybe light for it's size so the perceived recoil is greater than like sized pistols.

What's the tube below the gun, cleaning kit?
Click to expand...
Just a CF "finish", not actual carbon fiber.

I looked up the specs for the IMI 115gr FMJ ammo:
1280fps out of a 4 inch barrel...that means likely 1300fps or better out of the Arsenal's 5 inch barrel. That might well explain why recoil was more stout than I'm generally used to from 9mm.

Yeah, the tube is just a cleaning kit.

I don't HATE it, but there's an expectation (due to the low bore axis hype) vs reality.

I have a couple guns to pick up from my FFL this week (that will be another post entirely ). I'll grab some more "plinking" ammo while there. The IMI was just what I happened to have on hand at the time as "spare" (not part of my "stash").
 
js8588

While looking up info on the Arsenal Strike One I noticed that it has a somewhat different barrel locking design. They describe it as a "short recoil, inline barrel, patented locking block system". Maybe by the way it operates it gives you a different felt recoil experience that your not accustomed to yet.
 
460Shooter said:
I thought the entire point of this design was that a low bore axis reduces perceived recoil. Maybe it's just hype.

What does the gun weigh?
Click to expand...

I think the low bore axis reduces muzzle rise, AKA muzzle flip. I don't know how it affects the impact on your hand, because I've never had a gun of unconventional design like this.

BTW, reliability with FMJ is good, but not impressive nowadays. Reliability with hollow points seems more important to me.
 
Just picked up 150 rounds of Winchester USA Forged & 100 rounds of Independence Aluminum case.

I have off on Friday. Should make for an interesting range session.
 
Ive shot one that felt really good. No increased recoil perception.

Not Interested at all in another Plastic Fantastic, so I didn't purchase it
 
I thought IMI ammo was pretty hot stuff. That might explain the snappy recoil.
 
Okay, starting to like this gun. Had 4 FTEs with the steel case (which I had no expectations for) & 4 with the aluminum. That's a sub 4% failure rate using ammo I'd never dream of running in a defensive situation.

All FTEs were simple rack, release, back on target, boom. No stuck cases or anything tricky like that.

The recoil impulse was much more what I was expecting from the hype surrounding the design. The snappiness I first experienced was absolutely ammo related.

I'll try some PPU & Winchester White Box bulk next time out. 380 rounds in, & this is getting interesting.

Going to have to put the Strike One on the back-burner for now, though. Stocking up on 6.5x55 at the moment...but that's for another thread ;)
20180608_172515.jpg
 
stchman

I always thought low bore axis helped reduce muzzle flip.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought too but my Browning BDA .45 (a.k.a. SIG P220), which had a rather high bore axis, hardly felt like it had any sort of muzzle flip whatsoever. Beginning shooters could go from a Ruger Mk.II, a Star Model B 9mm., and finish with the BDA and say that the BDA was the softest shooting gun after the Mk.II.
 
Welp, after a bit of thought, I've decided this one will be going off to Gunjoker with the proceeds to go towards a Gen 5 Glock 34. Should work out to even money when all is said & done.
 
From liking it to auction block in no time flat... I’m lost.

If I am reading this right, it’s a short recoil action pistol which might explain a whole lot of the weirdness. Recoil activated guns never have been and never will be known for their soft shooting and enjoyability.
 
?
Nearly all the medium and large caliber autopistols on the market are short recoil operated. The Strike One goes about it a bit differently which may affect the feel.
 
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