300 Win Mag Savage Impulse

Megalon

Megalon

Well-known member
So my latest purchase is a 300 Win Mag Savage Impulse. Now I am a Savage fan. Two of my favorite rifles are Savages. I love my 308 Scout and my Model 99C. However, I am sorry to say that this was a huge and expensive waste. What a hunk of junk. The straight throw bolt works perfectly until you actually shoot the stupid thing. Then it jams up so bad you have to set the butt on a hard surface and pound it with your fist to get it open. This is a brand new rifle! Accuracy is dismal at best. I like the idea of a straight throw bolt but if this is the best they can do then they should have just forgot about it. This is a warning to anyone thinking of buying one . Do so at your own risk.
 
That hasn't been my experience with my impulse in 243. The only issue I had was picking up a round when I ran the bolt fast. I sanded the magazine follower and adjusted the feed lips, and it's runs perfectly. Was this factory ammo? Did you try more than one type? Hot round, etc? Send it back to Savage, if you are having issues.
 
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Oh I will. However I will never use it again. I hate it that bad. I have already begun to look for a new bolt action (standard bolt) 300 Win mag. I own a lot of firearms. This is by far and away the worst. When it comes back it will make a great paper weight
 
Megalon said:
Oh I will. However I will never use it again. I hate it that bad. I have already begun to look for a new bolt action (standard bolt) 300 Win mag. I own a lot of firearms. This is by far and away the worst. When it comes back it will make a great paper weight
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That's too bad that you are giving up on it so soon.

Good luck on your next purchase.
 
Well I have never and probably never will, own an Impulse. I thought the action was a little cheezy with a ball bearing (?) looking thingy to lock up the bolt. I know the straight pull bolt has been around a long time but this is Savages first go at it and maybe they need to "lick their calf" a little longer. A brand new out of the box rifle shouldn't give you issues. I have played with a few in the LGS's and just didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling about them at all. I won't tell anyone how to spend their money but doubt you'll ever see me with one.
 
William Suter said:
Well I have never and probably never will, own an Impulse. I thought the action was a little cheezy with a ball bearing (?) looking thingy to lock up the bolt. I know the straight pull bolt has been around a long time but this is Savages first go at it and maybe they need to "lick their calf" a little longer. A brand new out of the box rifle shouldn't give you issues. I have played with a few in the LGS's and just didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling about them at all. I won't tell anyone how to spend their money but doubt you'll ever see me with one.
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I was a victim of bright shiny new technology. I really should have known better. I really value reliability in a firearm. So when this happens I get really ticked off. You can bet that the replacement for this rifle will be a standard bolt action.
 
My Savages are accurate. I always had good luck with them, however, the last 2 I bought and the turnaround time spent sending them back has lost me as a customer for future buys. I bought the impulse in 22-250. I sent it back to them to repair feeding and bolt issues. 90% of the time it fires, the other 10% the trigger is locked forward and needs to be recycled to fire. I have gone to shoot several coyotes and the trigger is locked and I have to recycle the bolt, it cost me several coyotes. When it does fire, there is an auditable click before the firing pin breaks. It also jams if you don't cycle the bolt slowly.

My 110 predator, on the second or third hunt I shot a coyote, and the bolt locked completely shut. I sent it back and they had it for six months and then sent it back. The bolt was so sticky you could not cycle it smoothly and you had to jiggle it after shooting. I sent it back for another 4-month turnaround, it seems to be working now but I wonder if they have quality control anymore. their rotary magazines lock up too, they sent me new mags but none are 100% reliable.

My older savages are reliable and accurate
 
Infidel 762 said:
My Savages are accurate. I always had good luck with them, however, the last 2 I bought and the turnaround time spent sending them back has lost me as a customer for future buys. I bought the impulse in 22-250. I sent it back to them to repair feeding and bolt issues. 90% of the time it fires, the other 10% the trigger is locked forward and needs to be recycled to fire. I have gone to shoot several coyotes and the trigger is locked and I have to recycle the bolt, it cost me several coyotes. When it does fire, there is an auditable click before the firing pin breaks. It also jams if you don't cycle the bolt slowly.

My 110 predator, on the second or third hunt I shot a coyote, and the bolt locked completely shut. I sent it back and they had it for six months and then sent it back. The bolt was so sticky you could not cycle it smoothly and you had to jiggle it after shooting. I sent it back for another 4-month turnaround, it seems to be working now but I wonder if they have quality control anymore. their rotary magazines lock up too, they sent me new mags but none are 100% reliable.

My older savages are reliable and accurate
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Exactly! My Scout and my model 99c are bomb proof. I don’t know what is going on. They seem to think it is easy to send them back for repairs too. It is a pain in the butt. I have to drive to Plentywood, MT for the closest Fed Ex . That takes a half hour each way. Then you wait forever for it to come back. I don’t know but, take for instance my Browning x-bolt 22-250. No rifle takes more punishment than that one. It has literally never failed me,
 
One other thing. I don’t think I would be as chapped if these new rifles didn’t cost so much. However they do. As a result, you expect more quality
 
A friend won a rifle at a RMEF banquet. He really wanted a Savage High Country, the dealer let him trade the cheaper rifle in for the ordered 300wm High Country. We were hunting in Wyoming, he decided he would kill a cow instead of going home without an elk(would be his first elk). I spotted 2 cows and calf bedded in some sage. It was well below zero, windy. I lead him in and we sat down about 130 yards away. A few minutes later the elk stood and started moving left to right in front of us. He was to my right so I finger plugged my ears, I heard a click, than he recocked the bolt and another click. Elk started walking, I told him chamber a round. He ran the bolt and picked up the round that ejected, not a mark on it. The elk fed up into a draw, I had him slip up above while I watched. Several minutes later he shot and got a cow. I went up to him, he said the rifle failed to fire twice again. It had not failed to fire during any range sessions. I did ask him if he had pulled the bolt apart, cleaned and relubed it with -50 rated lube. He had not, I do that with all my hunting rifles. He thought he missed where he was aiming for by about 10", because the fail to fires had him jerking the trigger harder. Totally went out of shooting form because of the rifle issue.
 
I have an Impulse Predator. Started as a 243. I rebarreled to 22 Creedmoor. It is an absolute laser.
However... the firing pin occasionally won't hit a CCI BR4 primer hard enough to set it off. I switched to CCI 400s, and it hasn't missed a beat, but it's not confidence inspiring. I couldn't figure out how to take the bolt apart, and Savage support told me it's not meant to be user serviceable, so I doused the innards with break cleaner, then compressed air, then Hornady OneShot. Not sure if that "cleaning" or the primer switch fixed it, but it seems ok now.
I've not had any issues with feeding or jamming. The only problem with running the bolt hard is finding your brass later.
 
I hate to hear all of this about their new rifles. On a good note, a lot of people are reporting .5'' groups with factory ammo out of their new 110 Trail Hunters.
 
I rather like some Savages, I've had bunch over the years, 1920, 340, 1899/99, 10/11, 93 and a 24(on the dislike list). Won the Egg Shoot with a Savage 10 in 222 Rem and shoot it in postal BR matches in the varmint division, it does need a new barrel but that's not savages fault.

Accutriggers if set too light will trip if you press the blade sideways without firing the rifle and you need to cycle the bolt again to reset it.
 


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