Savage’s Impulse Elite Precision

I had a brief encounter with this rifle on a dealer day at West London Shooting School and although fun to shoot, I wanted to get it back to base and test it in controlled conditions for a full review. The heavy-barrelled action sits in an MDT chassis and is primarily aimed at PRS shooters, although it is offered in a range of larger chamberings to suit long-range game.

Low recoil
The rifle’s barrel is 26” long, shows a heavy Palma profile, is threaded 5/8x24, and comes fitted with a 4-port muzzle brake. It shows a satin finish to minimise reflection and as usual with Savage, it is button-rifled and hand-straightened to ensure precision. I have watched this being done in the factory and it’s a very skilled dark art of the old school. A barrel nut system is used to accurately set the headspace when the rifle is assembled using go and no-go gauges, so you can be assured of close tolerances. The action is black anodised aluminium with an integral 20 MOA Picatinny rail on top. The Impulse uses Savage’s unusual straight-pull design with some interesting quirks.

Aluminium shell, steel yoke
The aluminium receiver has a steel liner within the front and rear action bridges to increase strength and allow for a smoother bolt stroke. Aluminium just isn’t hard enough to maintain a lifetime of low friction transit against the steel bolt shaft.
The bolt has a push feed face, a right-side extractor claw, and a groove on the left side for a manual ejector. This means the ejection strength depends on the amount of force applied to the bolt by the shooter. The main visual factor is no bolt lugs, as the Impulse uses six steel ball bearings as the locking mechanism. When the bolt is closed, these are forced radially outwards to lock into the groove within the circumference of the steel receiver liner. The lack of external lugs and broached raceways contributes towards fast bolt transit.
The bolt handle is about 70mm long and shows a 22mm conical tip. It rotates like a pendulum from the rear of the bolt shaft, unlocking the action as it swings rearward and therefore allowing straight-pull operation.

Long action capable
The bolt’s stroke is 114mm, and the handle can be removed and positioned on the left side if preferred. Once the gun has been fired, the bolt handle is free to rotate and unlock the action for ammunition cycling. However, if you want to open it having not fired, then just press the button on the back to unlock the handle.
The bolt handle angle can be modified if you want to tinker with exact ergonomics, but I liked it as it came. There is a plunger hidden between the receiver and the top of the bolt shroud, which acts as a primary extraction assistant to ensure you have plenty of leverage to draw the hot expanded brass from the chamber walls.

Right to left
There is a bolt removal catch on the left side of the rear action bridge, and the ejection port is 88mm long. The bolt diameter is 21mm and remains a looser fit within the receiver, as this seems to suit the dynamic operation of the gun. The rifle uses AICS-compatible magazines, and a 10-round unit is supplied to feed rounds in a single column up under the bolt. This clips into the magazine well and there is an ambidextrous release catch ahead of the trigger guard. The mag well is quite snug, and you need to align the magazine carefully. I think this will wear in with use, the Cerakoted aluminium is an inherently matte finish and I suspect after a while, will bed in.

Some users will like them
Savage fits the AccuTrigger system to the Impulse and it’s adjustable from 1.5 to 4 lbs (700 to 1400-grams). My review rifle’s trigger broke at 1180-grams (42 oz). Some people don’t like the inner safety blade, but I find the triggers offer a crisp break, making them quite acceptable, as I use them just as I would a two-stage unit, even though technically they are single-stage. They are very safe, as the main blade can’t release the firing pin unless the inner blade is squeezed as well.

Does PRS have to mean chassis?
It’s no surprise to see the Impulse in an MDT chassis, as this seems to be the assumed norm for PRS shooting. I suspect most PRS buyers will buy 6 or 6.5mm Creedmoor, although the rifle is available in the .308 seen here, as well as 6.5 and .300 PRC, .300 Win Mag, and .338 Lapua, which are definitely not PRS chamberings.
The 450mm long forend is peppered with M-LOK slots on all three sides, as well as an ARCA rail and barricade stop underneath. You can add all the accessories and balance weights you desire for competition, but beware, the rifle already weighs 13.7 lbs (6.2 kg) bare, to which you are likely to add at least 1000-grams of scope and mounts.
The U-channel forend fully free floats the barrel and allows plenty of cooling airflow around the tube, which tapers straight from 22mm at the muzzle to 32mm as it enters the receiver. The forend is 39mm tall and 44mm wide, so when you need to wrap a hand around it or use a rest bag, you are assured of a stable support surface.

Creature comforts
There are anchor points on either side of the action for ammunition quivers, as well as bi-lateral thumb rests above the vertical polymer grip. Pleasingly, the grip offers linear adjustability (80 to 90mm) to control the reach to the trigger, which I found desirable. The grip is not at all cramped like some underslung AR-15 types can be, and there are also stippled panels for grip.
All the way to the back now, the main beam slims down with significant milled material relief to reduce weight, without compromising stiffness. The cheekpiece is both vertically and horizontally adjustable to aid scope alignment and has a soft foam-covered surface to lessen heat transfer from your cheek. The trapezoidal shape fits under your cheekbone and won’t displace your jaw. I liked this a lot, as it was so easy to get repetitive, intuitive alignment from multiple shooting positions.

Alignment perfection
The mechanism for the adjustable butt pad and cheekpiece is the same. There are two locking screws for both and a single fine-tune wheel for precise adjustment. Once adjusted and tightened, both components are 100% secure and there is no rattling.
The length of pull can be altered from 14 to 15.5” (355-394mm), and the recoil pad, which is solid rubber, can be adjusted vertically for a great fit. It’s 135mm tall and 35mm wide, comfortable, and grippy. Also, when locked into the shoulder pocket, it has very little recoil to absorb due to the weight of the rifle and the effectiveness of the muzzle brake.
Finally, there is an underside hand stop, a bag rider, and some M-LOK for a monopod. All the machined edges are chamfered to avoid snags on the otherwise flat surfaces of the butt, whose overall width is 22mm. There are also bi-lateral QD sling stud anchor points on the butt.

Cloverleaf on target
I used this rifle with 168-grain Hornady ELD Match ammunition, as I considered this a likely pairing for the 1:10” twist barrel. I think it’s unlikely that many people will choose the .308 version, but regardless, performance on target was without doubt. I was repeatedly shooting sub 0.75 MOA groups at 100 and 200m. The 26” barrel generated excellent velocities, managing 2779 fps (2700 fps advertised) and 2880 ft-lbs of energy. Most important was the ease and consistency with which the rifle generated precision and accuracy with a relatively heavy recoiling (for PRS) cartridge. The barrel cleaned easily and didn’t require running in on this already-used rifle. The stock was incredibly comfortable from all positions and totally stiff.
Due to its intended use, this Savage is appropriately heavy, and the brake was not as antisocial as I was expecting. This was thanks to the stock’s inherent noise dampening, which helps prevent the transmitting of any concussing vibrations through the cheekpiece and into your head.
The bolt definitely prefers to be driven all the way home and have the handle swung forward to lock it, but you never suffer the dead man’s click from an action that’s not fully closed. There is a tang-mounted safety catch, which although unlikely to be used, is easily accessible.

Conclusion
Certainly, one to look at for a precision rifle, as it’s a pussycat in .308 and will certainly be a real kitten with a smaller Creedmoor chambering, where the inherent precision and accuracy of the chassis build will blend the mechanical tool to your personal fit and balance requirements. I have shot a few chassis rifles in smaller calibres that propagate awful vibration transmission, so I can’t fault the Savage, which was a genuinely surprising pleasure to shoot.