Preview – Rouge Precision R-Clamp

Photography by Henry Z. De Kuyper

Rogue to the Corps
Rogue Precision’s Logo Is a None-Too-Subtle Play on the Hog’s Tooth Awarded to Graduates of the USMC Scout Sniper School

This 7.62 bullet is worn around the neck on a piece of 550 cord and represents “the one with your name on it.” The legend is that as long as the sniper owns this bullet, he’s invincible. The truth is somewhat different.

As any owner of a startup company will tell you, long hours and sleepless nights are the norm, as the usual functions of product development, R&D, sourcing, finance, and marketing are shouldered by very few staff members. Or in many cases, by just one guy. If you also happen to be learning to walk again after losing both legs in an IED attack, well your job just got a teensy bit harder.

So we didn’t complain when Colin Raaz, founder of Rogue Precision, had to reschedule our appointment to test the R-Clamp rifle saddle, which he developed for urban sniper deployments. In the end, we rendezvoused at a roadside bar on, appropriately enough, Memorial Day 2013, before rolling out to the desert with a sniper rifle, an M4, and an AK74. Raaz graduated top of his U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper class in 2009 and after two tours in Helmand province, still looks every inch the quiet professional. Arriving at our favorite long-range shooting spot, he jumped out of his truck, set up the tripod, and started hammering targets at 300 meters.

RECOIL Magazine: How did you come up with the idea for the Rogue Precision rest?

Colin Raaz: The Marines always get the short end of the stick when it comes to equipment, so you learn to make your own. When I deployed, there were guys bolting together stuff from Home Depot, and I figured there had to be a better solution. Right now, we’re on Gen 1 of the rifle rest and I’m working on making it easier to mass-produce in order to bring the price down.

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