Hey guys, haven't been on here in quite a while but.   I've been looking at getting an 450 upper for deer hunting.  From what I have read the 450B is pretty accurate out to 200 yards, which is a lot more accurate than the shotgun slugs I've been slinging for years.  I recently saw that radical firearms makes a 16" upper in 450B and I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with them,  I've never heard of radical firearms until today.

Lots of people will hate on RF. I have a 10.5 556 upper with over 5k rounds through it, it has been 100%. I cant vouch for their larger calibers or their BCGs.

Do a search on RF.   They are inexpensive for a reason.

They are cheap and that is for a reason, but I have a buddy who shoots pigs with one and he loves it.  Would I trust it for personal defense, no!  Would I trust it for hunting deer or pigs, yes, I would give it a try for those prices to make it a entry level gun for a new caliber.

Thanks for the info guys

pickle, I dont think i would ever use it for home or self defense.  450B has the stopping power for it but I'd rather use a shotgun in the house.  
I'm still a little torn between the shorter Radical Armory 16" or the GLFA 18".  Both are pretty close in price between GB and optics planet.  16" would be nice for humping in the timber with, but I've seen on the YouTube's that the GLFA is capable of near MOA to 200 yards.  Which is alot better than minute of milk jug at 100 yards from my 930 JM Pro

I bought a 300 blk and 458 from them during some sale to try out new calibers. Both had issues. Both are gone now, replaced with worthwhile products.

Have 2 RF uppers. 1 16" .300blk and 1 10.5" .223. The 300blk has been great. Only had 1 issue. When new I had to use the FA to lock the bolt for 1 30rnd mag (my bushmaster did the same in 1998 when new. LGS where I bought it said sometimes they need to "break in". Its never gave me issues since). After that, never a hiccup. The 10.5" had a somewhat worse issue. Didn't have the bcg tightness the .300 had. 1st 2 mags were flawless. 3rd mag started not cycling half way through it. Had to cycle it manually. Got home and went to clean them. Noticed the 10.5" there was a dirt "line" just 1/16" behind the gas block. Had a feeling so I touched the gas tube and it moved. Took the handguard off and the gas block was loose. One set screw was really out. Put it back, took one screw out at a time and locktited them (blue). Took the handguard off the .300 and did the same for prevention. Since then the 10.5 runs perfect. Only thing I'm not too keen on with RF is the torx screws they use to hold the handguard to the nut. They are easily stripped. Wish they just used hex key ones.

Just ordered a 20" .450bushmaster RF upper tonight. Going on a Spike Tactical Snowflake lower (I just get a laugh out of the selector markings). Just debating on a collapsible stock or a fixed stock.


I just would recommend to locktite the set screws on the gas blocks.

I have had higher end brands of uppers with loose gas blocks. Now all had clamp on gas blocks, I got to where I prefer set screws holding my gas blocks, I spot face the barrel where the set screws touch and Locktite them in. That way you can get them apart when needed.

Upper came in last night. Went though it with a fine tooth comb. Gas block was tight. Had a hell of a time getting the set screw loose to thread lock them. The upper looks a lot better than the first RF ones I've bought. May be because of their new Mlok handguards vs the MOE style round ones on my other 2 RF uppers. The brake is HUGE compared to what it looked like in photos. Only "issue" I've found so far is the dust cover is hard to shut. May just need some "break in" or some fiddling. Nothing major. Basically is gonna be a hunting rifle. May try it without the brake so see if the recoil isn't too bad to cut down on the noise.

Picked up a Magpul MOE rifle buttsock today to finish it along with a scope mount. This spring it comes apart to have a Woodland Reptile camo job done on it.

Attached File

It is looking good. Do let us know how it shoots.  
I needed to work on my magazines some to get them to feed well. I needed to polish or hone the feed lips and also file on the front edge a little to ensure the cartridges didn't catch on the front edge. Whatever the paint or finish was it caused a lot of friction with the cartridges feeding and being stripped from the magazines.

Radical? No. Shotgun for home defense? Also no.

Took it out to sight the scope in. Bcg would not lock all the way back at first doing single shots in the mag (range rule for public sight in) then started working like it should after 15. Bolt looked fine when I got home.

Probably take about 2-3 more boxes of ammo to "break it in" completely. Recoil isn't as bad as I thought. Ended up just getting the groupings to 2-3" at 100yds. Didn't want to stay long. Probably will go out to the public range Friday (have off of work) and blow through 2-3 more boxes plus load the mag with the 5 rounds to make sure it reloads correctly since I wasn't allowed to put more than 1 in the mag at a time at the place I went to today.