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  • Sporting Shooter

    Acting on Impulse

    Sep 13, 2022 7 minutes
    BY NICK HARVEY

    STRAIGHT-PULL rifles have long been popular in Europe for driven game hunts. The speed of a fast-cycling straight-pull rifle is ideal when game such as moose, deer and boar come running past, hotly pursued by a pack of hounds and beaters making a lot of noise. The action is fast and the speed of a bolt that is worked on a linear plane allows a smoother swing and faster follow-up shots at fleeting targets.

    Previously, all of the available straight-pull centrefire rifles were made in Europe and they cost an arm and a leg. Blaser led the way and others followed. Over the years I’ve tested a number of straight-pull rifles: the Blaser 93 and R8, Mauser 96, Merkel Helix, Heym SR 30, Anschutz 1927 and Browning Maral, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a Strasser.

    All European rifles of this type are ingenious designs, well engineered, precision made, and show fine craftsmanship.

    Now Savage has swum against the tide by introducing the Impulse, the first American-made straight-pull rifle. A modular design, it has all the bells and whistles of the competition.

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