RogueFactor
09-13-2008, 05:55 PM
This was the very first rail I ever made and it was originally offered only as a 'winged' rail. They were machined from stock raw AGD RT Pro rails, as you can visibly see the front mounting bracket holes and the site rail holes.
The design was largely influenced by the Extreme Rage Omega rail, which at the time was no longer in production. Tunaman had purchased the last of the Omegas which he made hugely popular on his custom mags. RogueRails were ready to release in competition with the Omega, but as a dealer courtesy to Tunaman, the release was held until he could sell out the majority of his stock of Omegas.
While these rails appeared similar to Omegas, there were more differences than similarities. The main difference being that the Omega was an Automag/MiniMag based rail which uses Automag/MiniMag sears & pins. The RogueRail was a RT Pro based rail that used a RT Pro sears & sear axle pins. The only similarity to date is the number of cuts in the back wing. The other main differences were 1) The length of the rails 2) The size, length, and distance between the rear 'gill' cuts 3) The Omega was a 'dovetailed rail', the RogueRail a flat-bottomed rail 4) The Omega had a front wing, the RogueRail did not 5) The Omega had a recessed window in the front wing, the RogueRail did not 6) The RogueRail had RT Pro sight rail and foregrip mounting bracket holes, the Omega rail did not.
These RogueRails were special, because they came machined by request from AGD with the square PIM-hole(front gripframe screw hole). This allowed these rails to be 'AGD spec', and to be used with either the aluminum AGD ULE bodies or the AGD Stainless bodies. The PIM-hole according to AGD is a critical spec area of the rail and if modified aftermarket is considered something that invalidated the AGD warranty at the time.
Because the rail was RT Pro length, it could be used on both mechanical mags as well as E-mags. There are, however, a few distinct aesthetic design difference between an RT Pro rail and E-mag rail. The front top of the rail is angled, as is the rear bottom at a nearly 45* angle. The RT Pro was designed like this to match the front mounting bracket that too was angled. I assume the rear bottom was angled from a design perspective to give it some symmetry. Because of this angle though, the front of the bodies(whether aluminum or stainless) did not fit flush with the rail.
There were a few options given after these rails were first released. Because some were looking for the lightest rail, the option of a 'wingless' version was given. Because this feature was popular, the wingless RogueRail became the predecessor to the future RPG Shadow Rail. Another optional feature was the removal of the twist lock hole. Interestingly, even though these rails were made to accommodate both aluminum and stainless AGD bodies, most requested the twist-lock hole to be removed. This feature saved minimal weight(as I recall .1-.2 oz.), but the vast majority of rails were sold in this configuration.
The color options offered were gloss black, dust black, gloss red, and polished raw. I believe this was the first product I ever offered unanodized. And it was also my first lesson that doing so was largely a mistake.
Because these were a production item and most mech maggers were using Automag/MiniMag rails, I also offered them as combo package with a RT Pro sear and sear axle pin at a discount to save maggers some cash:wthumpup:
Thats all I can recall of the history of this rail. I will add to if I recall additional details. And now for the pic of the winged RogueRail:
The design was largely influenced by the Extreme Rage Omega rail, which at the time was no longer in production. Tunaman had purchased the last of the Omegas which he made hugely popular on his custom mags. RogueRails were ready to release in competition with the Omega, but as a dealer courtesy to Tunaman, the release was held until he could sell out the majority of his stock of Omegas.
While these rails appeared similar to Omegas, there were more differences than similarities. The main difference being that the Omega was an Automag/MiniMag based rail which uses Automag/MiniMag sears & pins. The RogueRail was a RT Pro based rail that used a RT Pro sears & sear axle pins. The only similarity to date is the number of cuts in the back wing. The other main differences were 1) The length of the rails 2) The size, length, and distance between the rear 'gill' cuts 3) The Omega was a 'dovetailed rail', the RogueRail a flat-bottomed rail 4) The Omega had a front wing, the RogueRail did not 5) The Omega had a recessed window in the front wing, the RogueRail did not 6) The RogueRail had RT Pro sight rail and foregrip mounting bracket holes, the Omega rail did not.
These RogueRails were special, because they came machined by request from AGD with the square PIM-hole(front gripframe screw hole). This allowed these rails to be 'AGD spec', and to be used with either the aluminum AGD ULE bodies or the AGD Stainless bodies. The PIM-hole according to AGD is a critical spec area of the rail and if modified aftermarket is considered something that invalidated the AGD warranty at the time.
Because the rail was RT Pro length, it could be used on both mechanical mags as well as E-mags. There are, however, a few distinct aesthetic design difference between an RT Pro rail and E-mag rail. The front top of the rail is angled, as is the rear bottom at a nearly 45* angle. The RT Pro was designed like this to match the front mounting bracket that too was angled. I assume the rear bottom was angled from a design perspective to give it some symmetry. Because of this angle though, the front of the bodies(whether aluminum or stainless) did not fit flush with the rail.
There were a few options given after these rails were first released. Because some were looking for the lightest rail, the option of a 'wingless' version was given. Because this feature was popular, the wingless RogueRail became the predecessor to the future RPG Shadow Rail. Another optional feature was the removal of the twist lock hole. Interestingly, even though these rails were made to accommodate both aluminum and stainless AGD bodies, most requested the twist-lock hole to be removed. This feature saved minimal weight(as I recall .1-.2 oz.), but the vast majority of rails were sold in this configuration.
The color options offered were gloss black, dust black, gloss red, and polished raw. I believe this was the first product I ever offered unanodized. And it was also my first lesson that doing so was largely a mistake.
Because these were a production item and most mech maggers were using Automag/MiniMag rails, I also offered them as combo package with a RT Pro sear and sear axle pin at a discount to save maggers some cash:wthumpup:
Thats all I can recall of the history of this rail. I will add to if I recall additional details. And now for the pic of the winged RogueRail: