Radical Firearms: An American Made AR-15 On a Budget

Who? Have you ever heard yourself asking someone that when they mention an AR-15 brand? After all, there are lots of companies out there making AR-15 rifles. If you can afford the machinery and obtain the manufacturing license, you can make AR-15 rifles. But there is a little more to it than that. The things that matter most are the quality of machinery used, the material used, and how well you control the quality of the final product.

Not every little gun company that starts producing guns is a worthy buy. Some are good, some are okay, and some are great. The difficult thing is figuring out which one is which. There is nothing wrong with wanting a budget-friendly rifle, but you still want a quality product. Some people think you should stay away from anything that is priced under $1,000 and doesn’t have a big-name label on it.

Most of those expensive rifles will outlast the cheaper ones. But most people will never shoot either version enough to wear them out. If you want an AR-15 for home defense, shooting on the range, or hunting, there are plenty of cheaper options out there. One of these smaller companies is Radical Firearms, a manufacturer based in Stafford, Texas. Like many other companies, they started out small and slowly added machines until they were making most of their own parts. But are they any good? Read on to see the full review.

Radical Firearms RF-15

The RF-15 is a basic mil-spec platform that comes with a free-float 12-inch handguard. The 16-inch barrel uses M4 feed ramps and a low-profile gas block. With budget-priced rifles, the first thing to look at is the type of material used. The barrel on the RF-15 is 4140 Chrome Molly Vanadium steel.

On a higher-end rifle, I like to see 4150-steel with a chrome lining on the barrel, but 4140 will hold up just fine for most applications. If you plan to hunt and want the best accuracy, a stainless-steel barrel works better. If you are wondering what the difference would be, a 4140 barrel is rated for 12,000-15,000 rounds. A 4150 barrel is rated for 20,000+ rounds and I have seen 4150 chrome-lined barrels with more than 50,000 rounds through them. Most people will not be shooting 15,000+ rounds through their rifle, so this would make a great barrel.

If it does wear out, just stick a new barrel on it. The upper and lower receiver is 7075 T6 aluminum, which is a common material for both parts. The trigger, charging handle, flash-hider, and selector switch are all mil-spec parts. The only thing that really makes this gun stand apart from other AR-15 rifles is the price. I’ll talk more about that shortly, but first let’s go over some other details on this budget rifle.

Finish and Performance of the RF-15

One of the things that keep this rifle in the budget price range is the finish. It’s not a bad finish, but there isn’t anything special about the matt-black anodized finish. If I am buying a budget gun, I’m not as concerned about the finish as I am about the performance. Those are two distinct things to remember when selecting a rifle. A good finish will help protect the gun longer, but some finishes are simply cosmetic.

If you are buying a high-quality gun with all the bells and whistles, it needs to look the part. So, expensive finishes are nice, but they do not always mean better quality on the inside. Radical Firearms does not make their own BCG but uses Azimuth Technologies instead. Azimuth makes some good BCGs and is certified by the Department of Defense as a contractor for them. The handguard uses a “fork” rail system for lining up the handguard to the receiver. The sides of the rail stick out on each side and slide over the upper receiver, forcing it to align. This makes it fast and easy when putting it back on the barrel. The rail does not have any built-in QD mounts, but it does have plenty of M-LOK slots.

On the Range With the Radical Firearms RF-15

I can’t tell you this budget rifle blew every other rifle out of the water on the range. In fact, there wasn’t anything special about it. But that’s the point, it was like every other AR-15 rifle you shoot. It went bang when I pulled the trigger and it never malfunctioned one time. I shot out to 100 yards and could easily hit 6” gongs with the iron sights.

I mounted a Vortex Strikefire red dot on it and was able to hit the same targets at a rapid pace. The trigger pull didn’t have any play in it and reset quickly. After shooting some metal targets, I fired two 30-round mags as fast as possible to heat it up. Smoke was coming out of the barrel and receiver from the burning oil and the handguard was very toasty. While it was hot, I fired again at the 100-yard targets without any issue.

I used mostly federal 55-grain ammo but did shoot some 75-grain Frontier 5.56 through it. No matter what I shot, it handled just fine. Some of the other rifles I took with me to the range were my BCM, Black Rain, and custom Aero Precision AR-15s. The action was a little smoother on the BCM rifle, but the Radical Firearms functioned the same as the rest of them.

Need a Budget AR?

This isn’t a rifle that will make your buddy drool, but it’s an impressive gun for the price tag. When I found mine, it was on sale for $450. I have seen them since going from $500 to $650 depending on the model and accessories.

If you want a “bragging rights” rifle, then, by all means, go buy one. You do get what you pay for, most of the time. But if you are on a budget, this is a great choice. Some people look for a cheaper rifle to set up for a specific purpose, and this would be a great option for that too. Make it your fun gun for the range or a home defense tool with a big light attached to it. Either way, this thing will give you the same reliability as most other AR-15 rifles. The only difference is this one won’t cost you an arm and a leg.