I will say, that the Radian lower won’t lock the bolt back like a BAD lever does. Radian’s system is to depress the magazine release to catch the bolt. The ambi paddle only drops the bolt. Take a look at the ADM UIC or Griffin MK2 lowers. They have a paddle that you can push up or down to catch or release the bolt, similar to a BAD lever, but it’s integrated into the lower and isn’t in the trigger guard. Sounds like a good build though.
I personally feel the ADM ambi system is superior, especially the bolt catch. The ambi bolt release on the radian is tied into the mag release and is harder to use in my humble opinion. They use criterion barrels as well. You could basically buy the same setup from ADM
Congratulations sir, the heart of a good rifle is the combo of the barrel, bolt, buffer system and trigger. You are squared away there. The Radian lower is nice, but I think you are going to dig the ADM/Griffin lower as well.
That'll be a nice stick for sure and the price is not that steep considering the parts. I'd ditch the Radian Talon safety for an Forward Controls ambi safety. The Forward Controls safety ain't cheap but my God it is simply amazing. Such a postive and snappy movement. To parrot others an A5 receiver extension with a Crirterion barrel is smoooth. Sprinco spring all the things, however I went with a Tubbs flatwire to get rid of the "sproooing!" noise in my 11.5 Criterion. lol
IMO Criterion Core , Centurion MIDWEIGHT HF , Noveske HF or SS and Hodge Defense make the best barrels . Roscoe K9 GREENLINE 13.9" is my favorite for balling on a budget lol.. Radian ADAC Lower is one of the best Lowers ever made . Radian used to be called another name I believe it was AXTX or AXTS . I'm long Gun Lefty shooter so I only need right side bolt release . All my lowers are AMBI either from the factory or I installed PDQ AMBI Bolt Catch myself . I'm still an old school Quad rail fan for most builds . Some of these new Heavy Duty MLOK Rails weigh the same amount as modern QUAD rails . SOLGW M89 is of the best MLOK rails on the market and it's practically the same weight as my BCM QRF12 . In general BCM , Centurion , Midwest Industries and SOLGW are my favorite Rails . I do favor BCM and Midwest Industries. I love rails that use the same barrel nut like BCM and MI Combat Rails . Centurion C4 is just a classic RAIL because it uses standard GI Barrel nut . . Colt , Centurion , SOLGW , LMT Enhanced and BCM are the only BCGs I use . I favor MILSPEC Phosphate or Chrome BCG / Bolts . The only other wonder finish that I would use would NP3 . LMT does use Nickel Tephlon for their Enhanced Bolts. I'll never use NIB BCG / Bolt because too many tolerance issues .. FCD , BCM and Geissele are my favorite Furniture and Parts to use for the Lower Receiver . I prefer BCM SOPMOD MOD 1 Stock , BCM Mod 3 GFG , FCD Ambi STS / Ambi Mag Release and Geissele SD3G trigger. Springco Springs are the only springs I use and Colt H or H2 Buffers.. SOLGW Nox Keymo Hybrid Flash Hider is my Go Too QD Muzzle Device because i run Keymo ADAPTERs on all my Cans .
Sounds like a quality collection of parts. Criterion fanboys are all over the place, so I look forward to seeing how the barrel shoots after 15,000 or so rounds. (Disclaimer for Criterion fanboys: I own a Criterion barrel. I have not put 15,000 rounds through it.)
So many peeps telling what to do so I’ll politely ask. Can you try a larue mbt 2 trigger at some point? I have one and I neither have the time nor money to compare to guysleee trigger.
Hey Ben, have you heard the often parroted opinion that BAD levers can cause NDs? I've used one since my first rifle and I'll never understand how anyone could ND when the part you press is outside the trigger guard and it requires a downward motion to press and not back towards the trigger.
This will be interesting. As someone who has thrown home-brew AR’s off our ranges for not functioning, I get a fair amount of “theoretical” hate over it. My counter is if your freaking gun would run, I wouldn’t even notice it’s a home build. However, I am open to the possibility that someone out there can do it, but those folks usually end up starting actual AR companies.