Thanks guys for the advice. Followup to a previously asked question. In short, I had a rocksetted flash hider I tried to remove. Put my upper on a Wheeler Reaction Rod, grabbed an open ended wrench, and loosened the flash hider with a good amount of force. It definitely took more than I'm used to for loosening a muzzle device.

I'm nervous I might have twisted my barrel loose. Gas block seems fine and top dead center, barrel nut tight, and feed ramps lined up.
However, I did notice that the text labeling on the top of the barrel is slightly off center now and I could have sworn it was perfectly centered before...

My question is, if the barrel was broken loose from the barrel extension, or if the barrel alignment pin sheared or bent, would I be able to easily tell? Would the barrel just twist off by hand? Would it be loose or rattle back and forth?

My barrel seems tight but this made me nervous and now I'm second guessing. Thanks guys for the input.

Well that wasn't a good move, everywhere there are warnings to NOT use a reaction rod type device to work on muzzle devices.

The only way really to know for sure is to disassemble the barrel from the upper and check it over.

If you removed the gas block you could eyeball the gas port's orientation.

+1^^^^

https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/-/66-786334/?

If there is any concern at all, you really should just take it all apart and inspect the upper for cracks/damage and the barrel extension for looseness or pin issues with everything apart and cleaned up so you can see what's going on.  Disassemble it, inspect it all, lube it, and put it back together.  Then you can have peace of mind.  Anything else is just a guess.  

It's most likely fine.  Ideally, if you twisted the barrel loose from the barrel extension, the flash hider would still be attached to the muzzle threads.

JT

Im reading constant conflicting info on this. What's the point of a reaction rod then? This one has a fin that goes into the charging handle channel which many claim makes it safe. Every manufacturer video I see of installing muzzle devices uses a reaction rod.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have a habit of worrying, digging in, and creating more harm than good when dealing with potential issues, so not going to tear her down.

I just wanted to know if a barrel did become loose, if it'd be obvious or not. Ie, if I purposely tried to loosen the barrel from the extension, once it was broken loose would it just twist off?

I'm thinking I'm good too. Just trying to understand more. Thanks again

I would like to read these warnings. I've read numerous warnings to avoid using most reaction rods for barrel nut installation but, most manufacturers specifically state that their products are designed for use for muzzle device installation. Where can the information you reference be found?

The issues arise during removal of stuck or overtorqued MDs when the amount of torque exceeds the torque value of the barrel to extension.

And yes, one can spin a barrel in an extension and still have resistance at the threaded joint. Turning a barrel 90 degrees (or any hypothetical increment) does not necessarily mean that the barrel will spin freely (w/o resistance) in the extension.

Clamping the barrel between the extension and MD is the safest way to remove a stubborn MD.

always clamp the barrel using barrel blocks when un/installing a muzzle device.  if you don't have a vise on a bench you might want to rethink how much gunsmithing you want to do.  

unless it's a rare barrel, barrels are cheap compared to the ammo I'll shoot in a year.  get a different barrel if you've got concerns.