You can really get a lot for your money when it comes to AR-15s these days…
And that’s a great thing because ARs are accurate, reliable, ergonomic, fast, and incredibly fun to shoot…
That being said, not all AR-15s are made equal, and that’s especially true when it comes to affordable or ‘budget’ ARs…
So in today’s post, we’re going to discuss one of the most popular budget AR-15s that is currently available… the Radical Firearms FR16…
And in this Radical Firearms review, we’re going to examine how the FR16 stacks up to its competition and see if it’s truly worth the affordable price that you pay for it…
In the end, you’ll know exactly what the Radical Firearms FR16 has to offer, and you should be able to determine if it’s the right AR-15 for you…
Let’s get started!
Radical Firearms Review – Is It The Right AR-15 For You?
Radical Firearms AR-15s are well-built, affordable rifles. They feature a forged 7075 T6 aluminum upper and lower, upgraded furniture, and a mid-length gas system. They also have a good reputation for reliability and a limited lifetime warranty that applies to the original purchaser of the gun…
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Upper Receiver…
The Radical Firearms upper receiver is a very high-quality AR-15 upper. It’s constructed from Forged 7075 T6 aluminum, which is a very strong material and meets military specifications…
Not all budget AR-15s use forged 7075 T6 aluminum in their uppers, so it’s nice to see that Radical Firearms is using a very robust aluminum…
On top of that, with the Radical Firearms FR16, you get a forward assist and a dust cover…
Some budget AR-15s will omit these two features, and there are many people who claim that they’re not important to the AR design or that they’re never used…
I disagree with that idea because I use both of these features, and I like to have them on all of my AR-15s…
Last, the FR16’s upper comes with M4 feed ramps which will help your AR-15 feed rounds more reliably, especially if you’re shooting a lot of rounds fast…
And you get an optic rail, which is pretty standard on AR-15s these days, but it’s an important feature because it will allow you to easily mount a red dot or scope onto your rifle.
Barrel And Chamber…
When you’re AR-15 shopping, you always want to make sure that you’re rifle is chambered in 5.56 Nato (or .223 Wylde) and not chambered in .223 Remington…
The reason why is because ARs chambered in .223 Remington cannot safely fire 5.56 Nato rounds…
However, ARs chambered in 5.56 Nato or .223 Wylde can fire 5.56 rounds or .223 Remington rounds without any problems at all…
The Radical Firearms FR16 is chambered in 5.56 Nato, and again, that’s a good thing because it will allow you to fire 5.56 Nato and .223 Remington rounds safely from your gun…
Now the barrel on the FR16 is 16 inches long and made from 4140 Chrome Moly Vanadium…
4140 Chrome Moly Vanadium is a strong barrel material and for a budget AR-15 like the RF16, I think it’s a good choice because it helps keep the cost of the rifle down while still adding a lot of strength to the barrel…
On top of that, the barrel that you get is Melonite finished which is a very strong finish, and it will help protect the inside and outside of your barrel from corrosion…
I also like that you get a SOCOM barrel profile with the RF16 because it’s a little bit heavier profile than a government profile barrel, and SOCOM barrels can tend to be a little more accurate as well…
Last, I like that the FR16’s barrel features a 1:7 twist rate. Many budget AR-15s feature a 1:9 twist rate, which typically shoots light bullets well but has problems stabilizing heavy bullets…
The 1:7 twist rate is generally considered to be better than a 1:9 twist rate, and it does an excellent job at stabilizing heavy bullets.
So overall, I love that the Radical Firearms AR is chambered in 5.56 Nato, and I think the barrel is very good quality.
Gas System…
The Radical Firearms FR16 features a mid-length gas system, and this is pretty unusual when it comes to budget AR-15s, which typically feature a carbine-length gas system…
Now, carbine-length gas systems can run great on ARs, but generally, a mid-length gas system will run a little bit smoother and create a little bit less recoil on the shooter…
So it’s nice to see that the FR16 gives you a mid-length gas system because it’s an upgrade that will make your rifle shoot a little bit smoother.
Muzzle Device…
The muzzle device that comes with the FR16 is an A2 Flash Hider. The A2 flash hider is a good muzzle device because it does a fine job at flash suppression and offers a little bit of muzzle compensation as well…
I don’t think there’s any reason why you need to change out the A2 flash hider that comes on the FR16 with another muzzle device unless that’s something you want to do (I love personalizing my AR-15s with different accessories)…
And because the barrel features a 1/2×28 thread pitch, you can easily install another muzzle device (again, if you want to) or screw on a suppressor if you have one.
Bolt Carrier Group…
Radical Firearms doesn’t really share much information about who makes their bolt carrier groups, but I have heard that Azimuth Technology makes BCGs for Radical Firearms…
If that’s the case, you’re getting an extremely high-quality BCG with your AR-15…
Now, I can say for certain that the FR16’s BCG does feature a full-auto profile, and it has a melonite finish, which as I mentioned before is an excellent finish…
The bolt is also Magnetic Particle Inspected to ensure that there are no cracks or weak spots running through it, and the carrier is made from 8620 Tool Steel and is case hardened…
So overall, I think the BCG that you get with the FR16 is strong and made from high-quality materials.
Rail/Handguard…
The rail that you get with the FR16 is very exciting in my opinion. Radical Firearms calls it their RPR rail which stands for ‘Radical Parallelogram Rail’, and there are several things that I like about it…
First of all, the RPR features M-LOK slots in the 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 9 o’clock positions. So you can easily mount things like lights, lasers, vertical foregrips, and any other accessories you can think of…
In addition to that, it’s a fairly lightweight rail, which is important because it makes the rifle handier and easier to manipulate when you’re shooting…
On top of that, the handguard portion of the rail is rectangular rather than circular, which is why it’s called the RPR rail…
This is a very unique design choice among AR-15 rails in general, but I really think it’s ergonomic and feels great…
Other characteristics of the RPR rail that I like are that it’s a full 15-inch rail (so it fully covers your 16-inch barrel), it has anti-rotation tabs (so it mounts very securely and won’t turn), and it free-floats your barrel (which is good for accuracy)…
So all in all, I think the RPR rail is fantastic, and it’s a massive upgrade over the plastic M4 handguards that you often find on budget AR-15s.
Radical Firearms Lower Receiver Review…
Radical Firearms lower receivers are very good quality. They’re constructed from forged 7075 T6 aluminum, which is a very strong material, and they feature Type III Anodizing. They also include fencing around the magazine release, and a standard mil-spec magazine well…
In the following sections, we’ll discuss the components that are included with the FR16’s lower receiver.
Trigger…
The trigger that comes with the FR16 is a standard mil-spec trigger. It’s a single-stage trigger, and with the right amount of practice, you can shoot very quickly and accurately with it…
I don’t really see a need to change it, but of course, if you want to, you can easily upgrade it with one of any number of high-quality AR triggers that are currently available…
That said, I don’t think you need to change it because it works reliably, and as long as you do your part with marksmanship fundamentals, it’ll get the job done.
Pistol Grip…
The pistol grip that you get with the FR16 is the Mission First Tactical (MFT) grip, and there are a few reasons why I think it’s a big upgrade over the A2 pistol grip that is commonly found on budget AR-15s…
First of all, it has no finger ledge, which is a big deal for me. I can’t stand the finger ledge that comes on A2 pistol grips because my third finger always sits right on top of it (and that’s the case with a lot of other shooters as well)…
So having it completely removed on the MFT grip is a great benefit for me because I can quickly shoot the gun without having to shift my fingers around on the grip beforehand…
Another problem I have with the A2 grip is that it’s very skinny. The MFT grip that you get with the FR16, does a much better job at filling your hand and is just more ergonomic in general…
Last, I like that the MFT grip sits at a more 90 degree angle than the A2 grip. For me, it’s just a little bit more natural of an angle, and I find that it makes for a more comfortable experience when you’re shooting the gun.
Stock…
The stock that you get with the FR16 is the Mission First Tactical Minimalist stock, and again, it’s a huge upgrade over the plastic M4 stock that comes with most budget AR-15s…
To begin, the MFT Minimalist stock is much stronger than the plastic M4-style stocks, which I have seen break before…
In addition to that, the Minimalist stock is extremely lightweight, so it doesn’t weigh down your gun and make it unwieldy, and it has a comfortable rubber butt-pad which fits my shoulder like a glove…
Last, the MFT Minimalist has a QD sling swivel, so you can quickly attach and detach a sling, and it’s adjustable for 6 different positions depending on the length of pull that’s comfortable for you…
So all in all, the MFT Minimalist is one of my favorite AR-15 stocks, and I love that Radical Firearms chose it for this rifle.
Safety…
The safety is another area in which the FR16 is upgraded over most other budget AR-15s…
It features an ambidextrous safety rather than a standard mil-spec right-handed safety…
And here’s the cool part, the safety lever on the right side of the gun is shortened so that it doesn’t interfere with your trigger finger if you’re a right-handed shooter…
Having a long ambi safety has created problems for me as I right-handed shooter in the past. So it’s nice to see that you get an ambi safety that won’t create ergonomic problems for right-handed shooters as well.
Magazine & Mag Well…
The Radical Firearms AR-15 comes with one 30-round magazine. I recommend that you get at least 4 more, because I think 5 magazines per gun is a minimum of what you should have (remember, magazines can break and it’s good to have extras)…
Aside from that, the magazine well that comes on the Radical Firearms lower is a standard mil-spec mag well…
There’s nothing special about it, but because it’s a standard AR mag well, you can easily load and unload your rifle very quickly with it.
Mag Release & Bolt Release…
One of the reasons why AR-15s are so popular is that the platform is inherently ergonomic, and that’s certainly the case with the magazine release and bolt release that come on the FR16…
There’s nothing special about them, but there doesn’t need to be because you can quickly drop mags when you need to and drop the bolt when you reload with the standard AR controls.
Shootability And Accuracy…
The FR16 is an accurate gun because it features a fairly well-built barrel, and the AR-15 platform is inherently accurate…
On top of that, the free floated rail that you get with this gun allows the barrel to do its thing without anything touching it, and that usually translates to better accuracy as well…
When it comes to shootability, the FR16 is a reliable AR-15, and because it has that mid-length gas system (rather than a carbine-length system) it’s also a pretty smooth-shooting AR-15 too.
Radical Firearms AR15 Accessories…
I love the rail, the grip, and the stock that come with the FR16, so I don’t think that there are many accessories that you need to upgrade on it…
That being said, it does come with a standard mil-spec charging handle which works ok but is typically a part that I replace on my ARs…
I like charging handles that have a large lever because they make clearing malfunctions and even some types of reloads much easier…
Aside from that, I do recommend putting either a red dot or a scope on your FR16 because having an optic will allow you to shoot faster and more accurately.
Radical Firearms Warranty…
Radical Firearms AR-15s come with a limited lifetime warranty, which is fantastic…
So if you’re the original owner of the Radical Firearms AR (or any of their products) and there’s an issue where something stops working or breaks…
…Radical Firearms is more than likely going to take care of you and fix the problem.
Radical Firearms AR 15 Review – Final Thoughts…
To sum it all up, Radical Firearms AR 15s are very good guns for the money. They have a Forged 7075 T6 aluminum upper and lower receiver (which are both very strong), a 4140 CMV steel barrel, and a mid-length gas system (which makes them reliable and smooth shooters)…
On top of that, with the FR16 you get an awesome free-float M-LOK rail (unlike many other budget ARs), an upgraded stock and pistol grip, and an ambidextrous safety…
All of that is included, and the price of the rifle is still extremely affordable…
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So I highly recommend the Radical Firearms FR16 because I think it’s definitely a quality AR-15 and right now, it’s one of the best ARs you can get for the money!