Small changes can make for big improvements. Seemingly minor additions or modifications to a shooter’s weapon often make a difference out of small proportion to their size. Such is the case from the Radian Talon.
This article is from October of 2018.
The Radian Weapons Talon Safety is a small, futuristic replacement for the AR-15’s safety lever. It really does do wonders for both left-handed shooters and those who’re just looking to make their weapon manipulation a little faster.
Before getting into the details, first a short explanation of how to install the RWS Talon to your favorite black rifle.
Radian Talon Installation
First, unload and clear your rifle, then separate the two receiver halves.
Remove the plunger and factory safety as shown in the first image, above.
Both the Talon ambi safety and the original OEM one are held in place by a spring-loaded plunger that is captured inside the pistol grip. This means gun owners making the upgrade will have to first remove their pistol grip before removing or installing their replacement safety.
Once the grip is removed, one should replace the original spring and plunger with the included ones in the kit. The Talon Safety will slide right in. After the Talon safety is inserted into the lower receiver, replace the pistol grip. Be sure to line up the safety spring.
At this point, the Talon lacks any levers and can’t be manipulated yet.
Decisions, decisions
So in this case, we have four separate levers to choose from. Two long, one medium, and one short. The long levers are roughly the same size as factory ones.
These levers are secured by spring-loaded plungers just the axis they pivot on. The plunger is under a great deal of tension, so Radian Weapons includes a special tool for depressing the plunger.
This is where the Radian Talon gets really interesting. Shooters can change the throw distance from the standard 90 degrees to 45. Just loosen the pistol grip screw enough to take tension off the safety. Then, rotate it 180 degrees and do the same for each safety lever.
It’s deceptively complex, yet still reliable. More importantly, it means shooters can change their setup to fit their current loadout.
Live-fire Testing
In testing, shooters with small-sized hands struggled to actuate the small and medium safeties without shifting their firing grip. Shooters with either medium or large-sized hands had no problems with the small or medium, but some found the large lever impeded their trigger finger when the gun was on safe.
Personally, the perfect setup for me is the large lever on the left side of the gun, and the small on the right. This strikes the perfect balance of usability and unobtrusiveness.
I determined this with just the lower in my hand flipping the safety on and off while rewatching Black Hawk Down. Two observations: After 20 minutes of use you’ll start to get blisters, and after five minutes of flipping the lever, your wife will leave the room because she can’t hear the movie.
Overall, the Radian Weapons Talon Ambi Safety is a solid replacement for the factory lever. It’s not cheap, but it’s very well made and damn comfortable. I especially like the 45-degree throw combined with a long/short levers
