https://www.primaryarms.com/Radical_Firearms_7_5_5_56_1_9_S_S_AR_Pistol_p/rf7.5pistol556ss.htm?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_content=SLOT_6&utm_campaign=15-07-Ad4_Hot_Summer_Savings

Wow!!! Cheaper than any one can build!

Any issues with a stainless barrel?

Wish that was a 11.5 inch!
What is the concensus on lethal range for that barrel?

Radical firearms though

Seems to have been some issues with their barrel extensions coming off recently when working on the barrels.  I also remember reading about some of the hand guards being crooked/ canted.  They have sold a lot of the short barreled rifles though and that is a great price.

I wonder if that's why these barrels are stainless instead of melonited

I should have actually read the PA description.  These barrels may be GTG because they are stainless and not melonited.  Some people suggested that may be the reason the extensions were coming off because of the melonite being done after the barrels were assembled or maybe just not being torqued correctly.

Ah, what the heck.  I grabbed one.  For that price, who doesn't need another flame-thrower?  

Anybody know anything definitive about whether the barrel extension issue exists on the SS barrels?  Is there a way to check the torque, or should I just keep an eye on the headspace?

how well would this rig work with a suppressor?

I just bought this instead, $378.70 shipped.  Still need a lower (Andersons are $55 + sales tax at my LGS).  So about $438.65 for everything and no FFL fee, probably just a little less than I would have paid for a Radical from PA after shipping and FFL fee.

I love Primary Arms but am resistant about a Radical Arms upper after seeing one personally that had the extension fail.

for what it is worth last time i checked into this question, several manufactures said not to use their suppressors on barrels less than 11" (maybe it was 10.5").

Saker556 is good down to 7" barrels...iirc Saker is the only suppressor that's warrantied for 556 under 10" barrel lengths.  

Thinking that the Saker762 is good for 556-7" barrels too, but only warrantied for 762 down to 10" barrels.

Silencerco, AAC, etc...check their webpages for approved barrel lengths.

So whats the general consensus on this pistol? Im seriously considering it....

I have a Radical Arms barrel and no problem with the extension. The one I read recently with the extension coming loose put the barrel in the vise when torquing the barrel nut.
I don't understand why someone would put the barrel in the vise instead of the receiver.

The only reason I can think of for doing that would be if you didn't have an upper receiver vise block.  Otherwise, it makes no sense for torquing the barrel nut, and puts a very high load into the aluminum notch in the receiver (much higher than torquing a flash hider).  

However, I got the impression that unscrewing the barrel extension has also happened when removing gorilla-tight or loctited flash hiders and reacting the torque through the barrel extension locking lugs.  Even a really tight flash hider shouldn't be anywhere close to the torque of a properly torqued extension, but if the extension dimensionally expands during the high-temperature meloniting process, I can see how it may lose it's installation torque.  Theoretically, the "best" way to react torque from the flash hider is to remove the handguards and gas tube, and use a barrel vise block to grab onto the barrel itself.  Unfortunately, with the popularity of long freefloated handguards, that can be a lot of trouble just to replace the flash hider.  

Presumably, since these barrels are stainless steel and are not melonited, they should still be torqued to spec, but I suppose until someone intentionally removes one with a torque wrench, we have no way to know for sure.

And there is the problem in red above, the extension and barrel should melonited separately and then assembled to the proper torque value.  Seems to be thread after thread about it in the past year.

got mine (from primary arms) just a few hours ago.  my first ar pistol.  out of the box, it's look pretty good; not bad for $399.

I got one of the Radical 8.5" .300BO barrels during their half price sale. Absolutely no problems with the barrel ext loosening during installation or when installing the muzzle device. Seems the problem occurs when the barrel is not properly supported when torquing the muzzle device. Not a problem with the barrel. And it is a very accurate barrel!

I took the plunge and replaced the A2 flash hider on mine with a KX5.  No issues, despite having to untorque and retorque a couple of times to get the clocking right.  The factory A2 was only a hair over hand-tight though.

my observation:

just got back from the range, not bad for an ar pistol.  easily worth the money especially if you are just starting out on ak pistols.  i already have an hbar and m4 patrol rifle...but this is different.  7.5" is short....really short.  no need to sbr this....buffer tube is fine for me.

i'm still an ak fan.  my micro and draco sbr and wasr are better.  sorry had to throw that in.  :)