Savage Impulse

Many gunsmiths working in fully equipped gun shops with busy traffic spend a considerable amount of time familiarizing themselves and customers with new and interesting firearms. It pays to be a quick study. Many shooters like to have the gunsmith do simple work on the rifle that isn’t complicated but which requires a bit of finesse. Learning how to do so isn’t at the top of a hunter’s list but it should be at the top of our own.

We have been called upon to properly set and adjust adjustable triggers, such as Savage’s Accu Triggers, for some time as many don’t care to fuss with it. Now, Savage offers a rifle with an adjustable bolt throw and even the option of changing the rifle out from right hand to left hand operation. There is nothing quite like the Savage Impulse and a study of this rifle is well worth your time. Most American bolt action rifles are classic and simple-enough turn bolt designs.

The bolt action rifle remains immensely popular and is regarded as reliable, strong, accurate, and well suited to hunting chores. The lever action rifle hangs Top: The Savage Impulse is an innovative rifle. on and survives in some areas. The self loading rifle isn’t as popular but gets some attention. Only the AR, America’s rifle, seems truly popular in the hunting fields among self loading rifles. So I was surprised to see one of our old line makers offer a modern straight pull action as they aren’t as common.

Savage is a legendary company. The famous Model 99 is still a highly sought after hunting rifle. The Savage 110 rifle may be considered an economy rifle by some but the 110 is on the front line with hunters who could afford any rifle. The short action Model 10, Model 12, and Model 14 American Classic are popular rifles. Savage also offers a full line of economy rifles. Savage recently introduced a modern straight pull rifle to the line up.

With thirteen patents behind this design we should familiarize ourselves with it. First, what is straight pull? With a straight pull rifle the bolt is solidly locked in place for firing. After the trigger is pressed and the rifle fires the bolt is released by pulling straight to the rear. There is no bolt throw and no turn bolt action as the bolt simply is pulled to the rear on rollers ball bearings or some other mechanism.

The bolt reaches the end of its throw and as the spent case is extracted and ejected, and then the bolt is pushed forward to

chamber a fresh cartridge. Only a few examples exist. The Schmidt Rubin is most famous and there is also the Mannlicher and Blaser. Even Browning has offered a straight pull rifle. Among the touted advantages are speed leverage, the maintenance of cheek weld during firing, and the ability to mount a scope relatively low without concern for bolt throw or angle. Some may point to the Canadian Ross and its safety issues.

I am familiar with the Ross and simply don’t see how the Savage Impulse would suffer similar problems. The Savage rifle features a removable bolt head called the Hexlock. The Hexlock eliminates any safety concern so far as I am able to test and confirm. It uses an array of a half dozen stainless steel ball bearings for lock up, all of them acting as locking lugs. The design insures that chamber pressure causes the Hexlock to strongly adhere to the rifle, locking up the Impulse tightly.

As pressure abates the stainless steel ball bearings release their grip. This makes for a smooth handling and a very strong action. The bolt is a full diameter design and very robust. The bolt is where the majority of the Impulse rifle’s innovation may be seen. The bolt knob is easily removable with the cover plate pinned in place. There is a detent pin opposite the knob. By depressing the retaining pin a cover is removed from the bolt, and then a cover unscrewed and the bolt changed from left or right orientation.

There are teeth or lugs on the bolt and corresponding teeth on the bolt handle. The bolt handle may actually be removed from the bolt and re-inserted at a different angle. I experimented with forward and rear rake and straight rake as well. An inch or so and thirty degrees of adjustment are possible. This is quite a bit of flexibility and makes for a rifle that truly suits the end users style and arm length.

Moreover, the cover plate and internal sleeve may be changed and this allows the bolt handle to be changed from right hand to left hand; quite an accomplishment as a standard bolt gun simply could not be configured in this way. The straight pull almost makes it look easy. While this makes Far for easy compatibility with left hand shooters the change is good but not miraculous. The rifle continues to eject to the right after the bolt handle is changed to left hand configuration.

Note, there is only one way the small cover comes off when the detent pin is pressed and one way back on. The lower cover was very tight and difficult to remove on the first try. Once you have studied the rifle, the controls are simple and intuitive. A push button plunger releases the bolt without firing if the bolt is locked and the action cocked; press this plunger button to release the bolt.

I recommend never pressing the trigger even with an unloaded gun simply to release the bolt—all safe shooters know the rule about "unloaded" guns. There is a bolt release that allows removing the bolt for maintenance, cleaning, and inspection. This release is a plunger type on the left side of the receiver. Toward the bolt head is a spoon-shaped lever that releases the Hexlock bolt head. This allows easy access for cleaning and access to the firing pin.

Disassembling the rifle is straightforward, however, reassembly may require more concentration. When the bolt is removed re-assembly requires the bolt be in the cocked position. The ball bearings used for lockup are lowered in this ready mode. Otherwise the

stainless steel ball bearings will not allow the bolt to close. In order to be certain the rifle bolt will run forward, be certain to cock the bolt handle. I did so by holding the bolt with the left hand and cocking the bolt handle sharply to the rear with the right hand. I then placed the bolt head in the re-assembly position and lined up the bolt carefully with the locking groove in the bolt body as I depressed the bolt release allowing the bolt to move forward.

Mounting a rifle scope isn’t any different than with most rifles with an integral rail. No need for a separate base here as it’s included and integral to the rifle. This attachment allows mounting a rifle scope low on the receiver as there is no need to worry about bolt clearance.

Concerning lubrication on the bolt and bolt head (after all, this isn’t a normal manually operated bolt action rifle) it doesn’t seem that the stainless steel ball bearings need Savage Impulse Manufacturer: Savage Arms, SavageArms.com Type: Straight pull bolt action Cartridge: 6.5mm Creedmoor, 308 Winchester (tested), 30-06 Springfield, 300 Winchester Magnum Capacity: 4 rounds (308 Winchester) Barrel: Carbon steel, heavy contour, threaded muzzle (5∕8-24); 18", 1:10 RH-twist rifling (tested) Overall Length: 39.75 inches Weight: 8 lbs., 6 oz. (tested) Stock: Savage Accu Stock; molded polymer and aluminum, adjustable comb height and length of pull Trigger: Savage Accu Trigger, adjustable; 3 lbs., 9 oz. (tested) Sights: None; 20-MOA integral rail MSRP: $1,377 lubrication.

For feed reliability, my short testing confirms good reliability using standard FMJ and soft point factory ammunition. The rifle fed, chambered, fired, and ejected sharply. There is real speed with the straight pull. Additionally I tested handloads and the loads performed well, including maximum limit 308 Winchester handloads with a 220 grain Sierra bullet. I also used a small quantity of Wolf steel case ammunition.

I don’t like to abuse a fine sporting rifle but I felt that twenty rounds of steel case ammunition was a good test—there were no problems at all. The rifle is very fast in handling and offers a great option for American hunters. I think that there is also some utility with tactical teams who have used the bolt action rifle almost exclusively. All in all the Savage Impulse is an innovative rifle with much to recommend. Some additional notes.

The 18 inch barrel tested features a 5/8 x Far 24 thread for a suppressor or muzzle break. Magazines are the same as a Savage Model 10 308 Winchester rifle I had on hand. The Accu Trigger will be no surprise to Savage rifle owners and the Impulse also uses the innovative Accu Stock, fully adjustable for comb rise and length of pull. These features are straight forward and not difficult to address. I think that quite a few customers will be asking you for help in properly setting up this rifle.

The Savage Impulse straight pull is among the few true innovations in hunting rifles to come along in along time. AG Bottom: The Savage Impulse rifle is impressive in its innovation. The bolt handle is easily changed.