What’s going on guys it’s Hai and in this post, I want to talk with you about my Radian Model 1. This is the newest addition to my arsenal and I have to say it’s a nice one.
At this point, I only live fired it once putting about 70 rounds downrange so this isn’t going to be a review of the system, more so a first impression and to show you some of the things that I’ve altered.
Let’s start at the tip. This firearm comes with a SilencerCo ASR Muzzle Brake. This brake doubles as a suppressor mounting platform. I don’t personally use this platform and invested in Dead Air so will be replacing this ASR brake with the Dead Air Xeno brake. I’ve ordered it but will keep this on for the time being until my suppressor clears ATF jail.
Next, we have a Match Grade 416R Stainless Steel Barrel. My particular Model 1 has a 9” barrel and is chambered in 300 Blackout. This is the only barrel length currently offered for 300 Blackout. If you want other barrel lengths, Radian does offer that but only chambered in .223 Wylde. With the Model 1s, Radian guarantees sub-MOA accuracy with Black Hills Match Grade Ammo for both calibers. That’s great but that’s more so something that should be expected considering the price of the Model 1, which currently sits right around $3k depending on barrel length and color options.
Moving on, we have an M-LOK handguard with a proprietary lock up system and that’s because the Model 1 does use a proprietary vented/milled out barrel nut. This does mean that you’re stuck with this handguard until someone makes something that works with this barrel nut unless you want to change everything out.
Further back we have the billet upper and lower receiver. As you can see, the Model 1 does have a proprietary milled design. It’s very angular and aggressive but Radian actually took the time to round out all the corners of this design to help reduce snagging. I personally like this design which is why I got into this system.
Now, one of the most notable features of the Model 1 is Radian’s patented Ambidextrous Dual-Action Control or A-DAC lower. This lower offers a full ambi design, meaning ambi safety, mag release, and both right and left side bolt catch and release. More and more manufacturers are offering ambi lowers but a lot of them will only offer what I call half-assed ambi because the right side will offer bolt catch but no release. Again with the Radian, it’s a real full ambi but it wouldn’t seem so at a glance. The right-side bolt catch is actually integrated into the mag release. Whenever the mag release is pressed, the bolt catch is also raised. I believe this is a patented design which is why you don’t see any other manufacturers offering this. The idea is that this helps to decrease the time that it takes to clear malfunctions. With this, you drop the mag and lock the bolt back in one move rather than two separate actions. This is definitely new to me and will require some training but I’m here for it.
When buying a Radian firearm, you get all the typical Radian parts. This includes a Radian Raptor charging handle. This particular one is the SD version which is designed to reduce gas back at the shooter during suppression. As previously mentioned, I do plan to suppress this gun so this is an added benefit considering that this is a direct impingement gun.
This firearm also comes with the Radian Talon safety selector. I have this on a few firearms and no complaints. They work as they should and look good. This safety allows you to choose between a 45 and 90-degree throw. Mine is currently set to 45.
In terms of the trigger, I’ve seen Model 1s come with a few different kinds depending on when you buy it. Most recently, the Model 1 comes with Radian’s own Vertex Trigger. I personally decided to drop a Triggertech Adaptable flat face trigger in my lower. Again, I haven’t done too much live fire with this gun so I’ll hold off on any hard comments but so far so good. This seems like a really nice trigger. Fit and finish alone is the best that I’ve seen with any AR trigger.
Moving to the back of the gun. If you buy a Model 1 rifle, it’ll come with a buttstock and a nice fluted buffer tube but if you buy a pistol, it’ll come with an SB Tactical SBA3 with a normal-looking buffer tube. I personally don’t like the SBA3 so I took that off and installed the Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 2. I personally think that this is the best brace on the market for those times that you accidentally and occasionally shoulder a brace and especially if you actually want to use a brace as a brace. The various Tailhooks are the best in my opinion and I use them on a few different firearms.
Then to hold the buffer tube in place there’s the Radian Lightweight Endplate and I added the Spikes Tactical Lightweight Castle Nut just to spice things up a bit. Also, with the Tailhook fully collapsed, I essentially have all the buffer tube threads hidden. It’s always annoyed me how the buffer tube threads are typically exposed so this is a good setup for me.
Another thing that I’ve changed is the buffer spring setup. Instead of the H2 buffer and spring that comes with this system, I’m running the H2 Armaspec Stealth Recoil Spring. A recoil spring is just one of those things that I’ve always wanted to try in an AR so I thought that this would be a good build for that.
Finally, we have my optic. I currently have the Vortex Razor HD Gen II-E 1-6 scope on my Model 1. Putting a scope on a shorter barreled gun seems to be a controversial topic but I’m all about being practical and have very much so opened up to LPVOs. I’ve been running the red dot and magnifier combo for a while but for my personal use, a dedicated scope just works so much butter anytime I need more magnification. The Razor is currently installed but I don’t know if this will be the optic that stays on the build. I have a few optics to try out so we’ll check back on this in a future review.
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