Single Malt
Member
Very clever...
marshman
Well-known member
I am looking for owner reports for this Savage Impulse rifle, any owners out there? I am left handed one of the attractive points of this rifle. I am wondering about the weight; 8.8 pounds seems really heavy for synthetic stock and all.
338BearHunter
Active member
As a Savage junkie (all of my hunting rifles but one is a Savage), I gotta weigh in.
The Impulse intrigued me as a great excuse to buy another rifle, but I held back. Like me, Savage rifles need to go on a diet. IIRC, the lightest of the Impulse rifles comes in over 8 lbs without optic. Yes, they include the rail, but I think that had more to do with an aluminum receiver than any generosity for the consumer. (Savage uses a steel barrel extension so they can get away with an aluminum receiver.) Weight is why I also didn't buy their High Country when it came out.
So I finally got to handle one in a store. Nice, but heavy as expected. Although you save motion steps with the straight pull, the Savage takes real elbow grease to cycle. Even their advertisements allude to this: phrases like "A strong, sharp pull of the handle disengages the bolt". They weren't kidding. I know this is a hunters forum with the requisite testosterone, but I feel no need to prove my manhood by carrying an unnecessarily heavy rifle, or manhandling a stiff bolt. It seems like it would be easy to lose your target with the strong pull.
Perhaps the strong action gives comfort to those worried about bolt blowback, but the weight is kind of a deal-breaker for me. I bought one of their now-discontinued Storm rifles in .338 Federal. They use heavier barrels above 30 cal, and the bedding added another lb. I was foolish enough to add a 24 oz scope and 6 oz rings, bringing the rifle over 9.5 lbs. The same year, I bought my daughter a Lightweight Storm in .308. With the 1lb scope, it comes in under 7lbs. Big difference!
The Impulse intrigued me as a great excuse to buy another rifle, but I held back. Like me, Savage rifles need to go on a diet. IIRC, the lightest of the Impulse rifles comes in over 8 lbs without optic. Yes, they include the rail, but I think that had more to do with an aluminum receiver than any generosity for the consumer. (Savage uses a steel barrel extension so they can get away with an aluminum receiver.) Weight is why I also didn't buy their High Country when it came out.
So I finally got to handle one in a store. Nice, but heavy as expected. Although you save motion steps with the straight pull, the Savage takes real elbow grease to cycle. Even their advertisements allude to this: phrases like "A strong, sharp pull of the handle disengages the bolt". They weren't kidding. I know this is a hunters forum with the requisite testosterone, but I feel no need to prove my manhood by carrying an unnecessarily heavy rifle, or manhandling a stiff bolt. It seems like it would be easy to lose your target with the strong pull.
Perhaps the strong action gives comfort to those worried about bolt blowback, but the weight is kind of a deal-breaker for me. I bought one of their now-discontinued Storm rifles in .338 Federal. They use heavier barrels above 30 cal, and the bedding added another lb. I was foolish enough to add a 24 oz scope and 6 oz rings, bringing the rifle over 9.5 lbs. The same year, I bought my daughter a Lightweight Storm in .308. With the 1lb scope, it comes in under 7lbs. Big difference!
338BearHunter
Active member
Sorry marshman (or should I call you "Damien"
) All I can offer is a "handler's report".That said, if the dreaded bolt blowback had happened even once, I suspect you would have heard about it.
marshman
Well-known member
Thank you for the report, I have not found one to hold in person. The weight I think will be a deal killer for me it is too heavy, I do a lot of hand carrying in the timber. My searching continues. Being left handed really narrows down the field to choose from that is for sure.
338BearHunter
Active member
Not too long ago, Savage had left-handed versions of almost every centerfire rifle they made. It's been cut down a bit, but I still think they're one of the best for lefties.
SFC B
Well-known member
We have had several in the shop. For reference, we have already had to send 2 back BEFORE purchase for defects and problems. I think the action is a VERY poor interpretation of straight pull actions available from several European manufacturers. Horrible to cycle vs the others (although they ARE quite a bit more). In fact, Beretta just announced the BRX1 which will be at a lower price point (+-1500). If you want to a straight pull THIS is what you want (as mentioned above) .......just have to save those pfennigs!!!!
338BearHunter
Active member
That ad seemed very "European" - tells you nothing about the product.
So SFC, I take it the Blazer action is very smooth? Will be interesting to see what Beretta comes up with.
What kinds of problems did you find with the Impulse rifles? I had to send back a Savage rifle once. They left a burr in the chamber. You could chamber and fire, but it made insertion and particularly extraction very difficult.
So SFC, I take it the Blazer action is very smooth? Will be interesting to see what Beretta comes up with.
What kinds of problems did you find with the Impulse rifles? I had to send back a Savage rifle once. They left a burr in the chamber. You could chamber and fire, but it made insertion and particularly extraction very difficult.
KingOfTagSoup
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2022
- Messages
- 160
"Devil's children" I'm gonna have to remember that
Anywho, on the Impulse, I bought the Hog Hunter version in 30-06. It is a really cool action, as fast as a pump and as accurate as many bolt guns. BUT, as others have said it is just darn heavy, and I want to be able to take it into the mountains. Of course about two weeks after I bought it they released the newest version with the carbon fiber barrel lol. My plan is to re barrel mine with carbon fiber myself and top it with a 1-8x LPVO for tracking in the timber. I will post pics and range results when it's done
SFC B
Well-known member
Sorry, I just saw this. Neither of those would cycle normally and one would not lock back in on the forward stroke. We got several more back from customers and have discontinued selling them altogether.
Yes, the Blasers are butter smooth and fast. We got an update from Beretta and looks like the BRX will be a LONG wait on this side of the pond..... they have sold out their production capacity for it in Europe fir 2 years.
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