Juggernaut Rogue M14 Buyers First Impressions
I posted my first impression on some other boards I belong too, also. I figure there are some people out there like me that aren't selling the thing that want an honest opinion on the weapon system. Here you go...
FIRST IMPRESSION: The thing is Light, Stock, buttstock, and grip. It is a lot more compact than in seems in the picture, which makes me happy. This ain't no JAllen or ERB. This is a rifle that you could shoulder without any extra burden to patrol.
I am tempted to leave it lightweight for a CQB style, or Heavy Barrel for a reasonable weight counter-sniper?? Still on the fence with this.
I took a look at the trigger, and it looks well designed, not cheap. It has a push button safety. I will have to wait for the build to see how it feels. Reports are it adds a pound. We will see.
The trigger group on the M14 is used to secure the weapon into the stock. It is High Quality Aluminum all over. It goes together real easy judging by the instructions. I have it half way together, checking things out. The installation looks stupid proof easy. The trigger guard is large enough for me to shoot with gloves. I was concerned about that.
I took a look at the grip, and compared it to an Ergo Palm Swell I had. I was going to just put it on, figuring any stock grip would be cheap. Well, I had to put the Ergo back in the box. The Hand Grip on the Rogue is awesome. You can see that this is one place JTact ended up putting a little weight onto the weapon. It is nice and hefty, It is a well engineered rubber grip and ergo friendly. Since this is a bullpup, you want a good center of mass grip. i like it a lot.
The rails come standard with numbers that cost extra on other stocks. They do not protrude in a way that makes them sharp edged. There is not much to snag things on with the Rouge. I am thinking where I want to put a rail attached sling point, or just so with a single point.
The receiver is well covered and provides protection to my face. I like that. It is interesting to see how they engineered it. The top of the stock has a rubberized place for a good cheek-weld. I am wondering if I am going to have to pad that for a large scope.
As some have said, it was up there in price. I compared it to my other builds and it seems every custom build ended up costing around the same. $1000 plus a piece. The difference is you don't have to buy anything else. Even a JAllen needs a separate handguard to get top rail. This weapon includes everything.
Building an ERB, or a Troy are both, just as expensive. If you are going to build battle rifles out of the M14, you know the price. No cry babies here. After good optics you may well be over $4000 for the total weapon.
If you like doing M14 builds, I would recommend buying this stock. It is a quality piece. It is the lightest build out there that gives you a scope rail solution for the M14. This stock is way different than the others. If offers a small signature. No one would think that you were packing a 1000 meter weapon. The Rogue really has a nice light weight small footprint. Nobody would guess you had .308s shooting out of that.
Changing out mags is definitely going to be different. I think that if you want to have a nice portable package like the Rogue you are going to have to enter the world of the Bullpup, and learn a new weapon skill.
