Savage Impulse

The History of Savage Arms

Savage Arms was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage in Utica, New York. Arthur Savage held two important patents at the time: a patent for a repeating rifle with a single-column magazine lever-action rifle, which he acquired in 1891, and a patent for a hammerless lever-action design. That paved the way for Savage’s quick rise to success.

The company’s first breakthrough came in 1895 when it introduced Model 1895 – the first hammerless lever-action rifle on the market. It was modeled after Model 1892, an earlier design that never saw production due to losing a bid for a US Army contract. Model 1895, however, won the contract for New York National Guard, but it was soon canceled due to getting caught in a contemporary political climate.

Savage continued investing efforts into the production of military-grade weapons. It was named one of the two finalists in the US Army trials for a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and it lost only to the now-famous Colt M1911. Savage used the gained experience to produce high-quality pocket pistols, though, which resulted in the introduction of Model 1907, 1915, and 1917.

During World War I, Savage was merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance company. The joint company focused all its efforts on the production of Lewis machine guns and heavy equipment for war purposes. 

Between the two wars, Savage decided to expand its business inside the USA. In 1920 it bought Stevens Arms of Chicopee, followed by A.H. Fox Gun Co. of Philadelphia and Davis-Warner Arms and CrescentArms Co. of Norwich in 1930. Success followed and in 1939 Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun which sold over a million copies.

When World War II commenced, though, Savage was once again ready to answer the call of duty. It focused all its resources on war efforts, producing a staggering number of weapons. It already signed a contract with Auto Ordinance Co. in 1938 to manufacture the famous .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun, and most of these submachine guns that were used in WWII were produced by none other than Savage. The company was also contracted by the US government in 1940 to produce .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine guns. On top of that, Savage manufactured one of the most mass-produced bolt-action rifles of WWII, the British No. 4 Lee–Enfield. A record of 1.2 million Lee-Enfield rifles was produced by Savage during the time of war.

Production dialed down after the war, though. In 1946, Savage closed its facilities in Utica and moved all its operations to the Stevens manufacturing premises. Even though the Model 110 was introduced in 1958, which remains one of the company’s most successful rifles to this date, Savage started to experience some issues. In 1960 all production was moved to the current location of Westfield, Massachusetts, and what followed was a series of different ownerships over the company. Savage gradually ran into serious financial problems and in 1988 the company declared bankruptcy.

The company had to cut back on its manufacturing costs to the point where it even stopped producing short-action configurations of its most successful model, the aforementioned Model 110. It wasn’t until 1995 when Savage returned to private ownership led by Ronald Coburn who sort of rejuvenated the whole company.

In 2002 Savage introduced and patented AccuTrigger – a safe and user-adjustable trigger that soon became a success. The following year, in 2003, the company was named Manufacturer of the Year by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, further reaffirming Savage’s distinction. Four years later, on May 15, 2007, Savage 93R17 BTVS has been named the best rifle in the Best of the Best presentation by Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and Shooting Gazette magazines.

In 2013 Savage once again changed ownership. It was acquired by Orbital ATK for 315 million dollars, and it was later handed over to Vista Outdoor which later sold it for $170 million in 2019 to a group of private investors led by Savage’s management.

The company also had its logo changed in the middle of the 2010s when it decided to retire its old logo that presumably featured Chief Lame Deer, a native-American tribesman leader. The latter supposedly approached Arthur Savage in 1919 to purchase rifles for his tribe. In exchange for a discount, Lame Deer agreed to a deal. According to the deal, Savage was allowed to use Lame Deer’s face for promotional purposes. Many doubt the authenticity of this story, however, and Savage itself removed it from its official website as well.

Savage Impulse Rifle Review

Figure 1: Savage Impulse Big Game in 6.5 Creedmoor (Source: https://gunsmagazine.com/discover/savage-impulse-straight-pull-rifle/)

The Savage Impulse series was introduced in 2021 and it features a selection of straight-pull rifles that aim to combine speed and accuracy.

Savage Impulse is in fact an upgrade of the famous Model 110. It comes with a heavier threaded barrel than the renowned 110, and it features a barrel extension that allows a proper headspace. The barrel measures from 457 mm to 559 mm in length (18”-22”), depending on the variant, except for the Impulse Elite Precision which comes with a longer 660 mm (26”) barrel, but the Elite Precision model is in a league of its own. The barrels are made of either carbon steel or stainless steel.

Naturally, Savage Impulse also features every “staple” that Savage became known for, namely the AccuTrigger and the AccuFit.

The AccuFit is an impressive and innovative synthetic stock system that allows shooters to easily adjust the buttstock style, length of pull, and comb height from the comfort of their own home. Except for the few selected variants, almost every Savage rifle made after 2018 comes with the necessary tools and several modular parts to make the best use of this new system.

The AccuTrigger, on the other hand, is Savage’s patented trigger mechanism that allows the shooters to easily adjust the pull weight without the extensive help of tools or a gunsmith. It was first introduced in 2002 and has since become a legacy feature for Savage rifles.

Figure 2: The design of Savage's patented AccuTrigger (source: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwSpbbhIIAE0hUO.jpg:large)

Savage Impulse comes with a manual two-position safety that can be found on the tang of the rifle. When it is pushed forward, the rifle is in firing mode which is indicated by a red dot beneath the safety knob. When the latter is in the rearwards position (towards the shooter), the trigger is locked, but the bolt isn’t.

The receiver of Savage Impulse rifles is made of aluminum and comes with an integral 20 MOA Picatinny rail that adds to the rifle’s versatility. That is not all, however. The truly interesting thing about this rifle is the multi-positional bolt handle which is both removable and ambidextrous.

The bolt handle can be very simply detached from the action and then re-attached at the position that the owner finds most suitable. It can also be switched to the other side of the rifle without any additional tools or gadgets.

Impulse models come with either a 10-round AICS magazine or a 4-round flush-fit one, depending on the variant and chambering. The caliber the model can be chambered for is written on the barrel.

Savage Impulse Calibers

The suitable caliber an Impulse rifle is chambered for is marked on the barrel. Savage Impulse can be chambered for:

• 6.5 Creedmoor

• .243 Win.

• .30-06 Springfield

• .308 Win.

• .300 Win. Mag.

• 7mm PRC

Savage Impulse Variants

Savage Impulse is offered in six variants:

• Savage Impulse Big Game

• Savage Impulse Hog Hunter

• Savage Impulse Predator

• Savage Impulse Elite Precision

• Savage Impulse Big Game VSX

• Savage Impulse Mountain Hunter

Savage Impulse comes with an integral 20 MOA Picatinny rail.

Figure 3: The receiver of Savage Impulse with a visible mounting surface (Source: Savage Arms)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Impulse

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Impulse

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

Therefore, all rifles that come with a Picatinny rail will have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Savage Impulse.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Savage Impulse

There’s a similar situation with two-piece scope mounts. Any rifle that has a Picatinny rail mounted on its mounting surface will have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Savage Impulse, too.

Best Scope Mounts for Savage Impulse

Fixed Scope Mounts for Savage Impulse

We believe that these 30 mm Contessa Picatinny rings would be a wonderful choice for your Impulse since Contessa is known to offer a wide range of good mounting options. These rings are of high quality and they are also reasonably priced. They have a 30-year warranty and are made of steel.

Order Contessa Picatinny Rings, 30 mm

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Savage Impulse

This Henneberger one-piece mount earned our top recommendation for a detachable repeatable scope mount for Savage Impulse. It is reliable and extremely versatile and is thus a great choice for your rifle. It is manufactured in Germany, is made of aluminum, and has a 30-year warranty attached to it.

Check out Henneberger HMS Swift Mount for Picatinny

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu