Hunting Rifle

In keeping with Browning’s penchant for continuously improving the X-Bolt line, that model has now evolved into the new X-Bolt Speed rifle.

While having no previous experience with a straight-pull rifle before testing this Savage, I have grown to love his design.

The world of hunting rifles tends to be relatively stable. We have single shots, bolt actions, lever guns, and a few semi-autos. Nothing crazy, and most hunters don’t seem to want anything crazy anyway. Well, Savage decided to shake things up with the Impulse. The Savage Impulse is a bolt action rifle but isn’t your traditional rotary bolt. Instead, Savage went with a straight-pull bolt.

With its Super Lite model, Howa has set a new standard for affordable factory rifles weighing less than five pounds.

One of the lightest rifles in Weatherby’s lineup, this bolt-action affair clocks in at as little as 4.7 pounds, depending on configuration.

y guarantee on the Lupo, and I found that to be true with all three brands of ammunition when shooting from 100 yards and off a sandbagged rest. 

If you ask the folks at Browning Firearms which X-Bolt rifle model is the finest built to date, they will likely tell you it is the X-Bolt Mountain Pro. After testing the rifle at the range and in the field, the author completely agrees.

As so often happens when stalking pronghorn antelope, failure comes before success. I was hunting on the vast Crow Reservation in southeast Montana – an area that defines big, open country with little stalking cover – and had already blown one attempt when a previously unseen band of pronghorn materialized and spooked the herd I was stalking.

CZ’s goal with the Eclipse was to distill the 557 down to its basics while retaining the same good barreled action in a package with a more affordable price tag. After putting an Eclipse chambered in 308 Win. through its paces, I would say that CZ has succeeded admirably.