I was looking through the press kit Savage sent out on the new Savage Impulse rifle. Wow. Anyone else seen these and dying to try one?
The Impulse is Savage’s new straight-pull bolt action rifle. Centerfire straight pulls in sporting use have long been the domain of the European rifle makers and (mostly) the high-end ones at that. The best-known is the Blaser R8, which even in basic form commands a $3500+++ sum, so they aren’t cheap. Merkel and Heym also have current or recent production models.
So when Savage announced this new Impulse, I had to have a look. Again, wow. So full disclosure here, we’re all adults, right? OK, me first, confession time. I have fantasies. They involve driven wild boar in some snow-covered European country where I can’t pronounce anything. They come one after the other after the other. I’m there in a stand with a stupidly expensive straight-pull rifle laying down a withering rate of fire that would make a Blackhawk helicopter green with envy. After the last drive, it takes 20 minutes for the smoke to clear and for the beaters to emerge from foxholes to collect the many boar who weren’t quite quick enough…
But back here in RealityLand, I have to say the Savage offing is pretty damn impressive. A $1500 price tag for a straight pull action is very appealing, and if it shoots like a Savage, it’s a fantastic deal. My only criticism is that it may be a bit on the heavy side, by my figuring it’s somewhere around 8 pounds 12 ounces, of course without scope or mounts. That would put it in the “quite portly” category by modern standards, but then again do we REALLY need sub-7 pound rifles for most of our hunting anyway?
Anyone else see the news of this rifle and think they have to try one? I may not need the rapid fire very often, but I can think of several did-I-hit-him-did-I-not deer where I would have benefitted from faster follow up shots than my bolt actions could provide.
Grouse
