I am pretty open about guns in the sense I like most of them. Some will not go with my body or lifestyle, but that does not mean I will dislike them, they just simply are not important to me.
That was till yesterday when I was handed a Savage Impulse. It was hate at first manipulation.
At first look I liked it: Scout Rifle! And then I picked it up and “reality” happened. It is a straight pull bolt action and not intuitive. But I will say that is on me since I had never manipulated one before and it is a brand-new manual of arms I would have to get accustomed to. This particular example was in 6.5 Creedmore, heavy, and seriously unbalanced in my opinion. The muzzle feels like it wants to go to ground if that makes any sense and I had to fight with it to keep it level.
Mind you, I did not shoot it. It may be a very accurate rifle, capable to give a colonoscopy to a fly at 200 yards, so do not make a buying decision based on this post but on your own personal experience with the gun itself. I am just pointing out my own initial reaction which surprised the hell out of yours truly.
This particular rifle was designed primarily for rapid shots, resting on a bipod within a tree-stand, blind, or from 2-500 yards away laying prone on a hilltop, with sights on the prey. Other than that scenario, it’s cumbersome at best. Stalking is almost out of the question…. unless you are young, and or very strong and like carrying ten-pound fully accessorized rifles all day. The heavy barrel and straight-pull fast-action bolt is perfect for follow-up shots while keeping line-of-sight intact as you cycle the bolt. And the Creedmore accomplishes this better than the Nato round. So as a Scout Rifle, it’s not really for that purpose of accomplishing scout-stalking.
I forget the weight we measured, but plain jane naked out of the box weighed the same as my Ruger American with a scope and muzzle brake. But it is not the weight (Although I am getting too old for heavy sticks) but the balance that bothered me more.
I’m saving my pennies for one of these but I do appreciate your thoughts and input on it. Would love to see one set up with iron sights and a bigger bore.
I have a Savage 110 Scout and it IS a heavy beast. I don’t know why Savage makes their short barrels so damn heavy.
It’s a fine gun, good shooting, the stock with it’s adjustment options is great and the trigger is fine.
But man is it front heavy.
We had other versions of the Impulse in stock and they are good guns – especially in their price range compared to the other German or Austrian straight pull rifles but I haven’t warmed up to them yet for various reasons.