“Well, it’s a little old and, umm, gummed up with some, stuff”. We were talking about an AR pistol and suddenly the conversation wasn’t going in a great direction, definitely not one that I was getting excited about. We kept speaking, a better description was forthcoming, a deal was finalized and some days later after some paperwork at a local gun dealer, I owned a Radical Firearms AR pistol in 7.62X39.
The first task was to “de-gum” it which required patience, scrubbing, hot water, plastic picks, dental tools, more scrubbing, more patience, and LOTS of persistence. After inspecting the gun, I discovered that the buffer spring was loose inside the tube, the takedown pins were stuck and difficult to pivot, the hand grip was made of hard, slippery plastic, and the trigger felt like it was scraping across rough sandpaper before finally breaking. Although the gun fired and fed ammunition well, I wouldn’t recommend it for someone to purchase new. Fortunately, I didn’t buy it new or anywhere close to it. After searching the Internet for hours, I settled in on the Palmetto State Armory, PSA, website and went deeper into some of their parts. I called their support line to determine if the parts I wanted would work for my gun. I have to be careful when ordering some parts due to the caliber 7.62X39, a lot of parts are made for 5.56. I learned then that when you call PSA, their operators can talk to their engineers who designed their parts and you get the answer directly from the “horse’s mouth” so to speak. I had chosen wisely so I begged my wife for the cost of the order, (another cost savings measure on my part) and soon had the following parts on the way to my house:
1, Armaspec Sound Mitigation “H” Buffer
1 Set, Armaspec Titanium Takedown / Pivot Pins with EZ-Set
1 Kit, PSA AR-15 EPT MOE + Lower Parts Kit
After the parts arrived, I consulted an expert for assistance with the trigger. I’m not very experienced in it and to do it right the first time I needed some expertise, plus he had the required punches too. Cleaning as we went our finished product looked much better than when we started albeit with different color trigger, takedown and pivot pins. The Magpul MOE handgrip was a very pleasant surprise, it has a rubber coating that isn’t thick or super squishy but is easy to grab and keeps your grip secure. The Fire Control Group is PSA’s own, is nickel boron coated, and has great reviews on their site. The Armaspec buffer was a bit tricky to get installed but once in, it stays right where it should, as advertised.
After all the fun getting to this point, I still needed a stock or brace of some sort, a site system, a light, and a forward handguard. In my barn I found an STI brace, I begged/borrowed/whined/appropriated an EOTech from somewhere and finally bought a light/hand guard combo from OLight and took off to the range. The most immediate and noticeable improvement was the trigger, it’s almost impossible to describe how much better the new trigger is. It was described on PSA’s site as “silky smooth” and its dam close, breaking cleanly at the end just as it should. Shooting 7.62X39 creates a lot of vibration so after 4 magazines I stopped and broke it open to see how things looked. Buffer was fine, normal amount of fouling and powder around the chamber but nothing amiss. I gave the Radical to a buddy to “evaluate” with the condition it was still going home with me, if nothing else the EOTech and OLight were worth some good money, and he took it to task. His first comment after one magazine was, “Hey this trigger is nice, I like it”, then after another magazine, he asked me about the rattle I spoke of in the weeks prior. It dawned on me that the buffer spring rattle had been very noticeable but now there was almost complete silence.
By the end of the day we had shot over 300 rounds through the Radical and another 200 rounds through various other weapons in drills testing all weapons in different scenarios and distances. I managed to pry the Radical from my buddy’s hands and went back to my bench to clean it up and see how everything survived.
Again, the standard fouling and powder but no other damage or wear and tear, nothing seemed out of place or jarred loose by our drills or the vibration of the rounds.
Since that day I have run through another 700 rounds at least with no misfires, stove pipes, misfeeds, excess wear and tear, loose parts, nothing out of the ordinary. I get strange looks when I tell people it’s a Radical and they see the EOTech sitting on it but these days I mostly don’t tell them it’s a Radical I just say it’s a custom work, which it kind of is. I’ve had it out at night to test the Olight and it’s 1400+ lumens gives ample light to everything I’ve needed it for so far.
I think the next addition will be a better flash suppressor for this little weapon. Having a short barrel shooting 7.62X39 creates a lot of NOISE and FLASH, there is no hiding at night once you start firing this little girl so any help in mitigating it will be appreciated at night and during the day.
Self-storage software free
Free self-storage software
Taking stock of where I am with this weapon, counting the minimal (VERY minimal) price I paid, the order from PSA, and the OLight handguard, I’ve invested less than $600 in this build. The PSA Lower Parts kit with the Magpul grip has been exceptional and was exactly what this weapon needed. Even though the parts kit came with Takedown and Pivot pins I’m glad I ordered the Armaspec titanium replacements, they are smooth and easy to work with, and the takedown pin holds very well against the abuse I put the weapon through but still manages to easily push through when opening up. Learning about PSA’s support line and their ability to call the engineering department to get the correct answer to my questions was a big plus in my book and greatly assured me I was purchasing the correct kit.
Next time I’ll try and have a video of some range time with my “custom work Radical”!
Garfield Out.
