From the bench, the Impulse delivered all the accuracy you expect from Savage, and then some. As you can see in the accompanying chart, the rifle produced sub-m.o.a. 100-yard accuracy with all four loads I tested. Champ of the day was a 0.3-inch group at 100 yards with Hornady's Precision Hunter.

IMPULSE is a straight-pull bolt action rifle built and engineered for the demands of the American shooter by combining the confidence and accuracy of a traditional bolt action with the speed of a semi-automatic.

Impulse's straight-pull design provides exceptional safety with Hexlock. As the bolt closes into battery, Hexlock's six hardened steel bearings secure the action. Inside the bolt, a plunger forces the ball-bearings on the bolt head into channels machined into the barrel extension.

The savage 110 doesn't use a barrel extension. The barrel screws directly into the receiver. On the impulse, the barrel screws into the barrel extension and then the extension "bolts" into the aluminum receiver. The barrels are the same.

Though able to make effective use of the MK-12, Kyle more often used a similar weapon, the MK11 Special Purpose Rifle. Also known as the SR-25, the MK11 is a scaled-up version of the M16, chambered for the larger 7.62 x 51mm cartridge, known to civilian hunters as the . 308.

That would be the . 950 JDJ with 277 lbs of recoil making the 50 BMG feel like a . 22 long rifle. It uses 240 grains of powder and fires a 2,400 grain projectile at 2,100 fps.

From the bench, the Impulse delivered all the accuracy you expect from Savage, and then some. As you can see in the accompanying chart, the rifle produced sub-m.o.a. 100-yard accuracy with all four loads I tested. Champ of the day was a 0.3-inch group at 100 yards with Hornady's Precision Hunter.

The new Impulse, available in three different configurations, was big news, especially in a year when few truly new introductions hit the big game rifle market. The three configurations include Predator, four chamberings from . 22-250 Rem. to 6.5 Creedmoor; Hog Hunter, four chamberings from . 308 to .

We take accountability for every shot made with Savage. Just like a local gunsmith does. It's why we hand-test and verify the accuracy and performance of every barrel, trigger and action of every gun that leaves our U.S. facilities.

The Impulse is an excellent rifle just as it comes from the factory. It's incredibly accurate, dependable and faster than a standard turnbolt.

But custom-like fit - and the tack-driving accuracy that comes with it - doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars. A number of accurate hunting rifles come off the retail shelf ready to punch bullseyes, and of those we've tested, the Savage 110 Storm has been among the most reliable.

The SEAL Recon Rifle (nicknamed the "Sniper M4" and "Recce") is an American designated marksman rifle and assault rifle used by the United States Navy SEALs.