Here we go another Sabatti review

[johneracer]

Hello,

I purchased a new production Sabatti in 450NE. I ready every single piece of information I could find on these rifles and decided to go for it. I spent a lot of time in talks with whosalehunter and IFG (importer) and felt comfortable. I purchased ejector model and 5 days later it showed up at my FFL. My initial impression was to check the muzzle for grinding and there was none. Barrel were very smooth and shiny typical of a hammer forged barrel. Wood to metal fit was great and wood was nicely coated however I might send mine to be redone. I think it could be even better. It is a very nice piece of walnut so it is a shame not to get the mat out of it. We'll see as I am not 100% certain yet but to most people that saw the rifle, wood was amazing.
As people previously reported engraving is deep and sharp, very nicely done. The screw heads are engraved to the point they are barely visible. I am not a fan of the white writing on top of the barrel but as I was cleaning the barrel, the white lettering absorbed some oil and because slightly darker so now it doesn't stand out as much. I think it will keep getting darker so it's not so bad.
My rifle came with accelerator pad installed and according to IFG all 450 and 500 will have the pad installed. The rifle did not come with sling mounts so that was a plus.
The top lever design has been changed from the design of the animal to some kind of generic design. Overall it looks much better. But this is all a waste of time if it doesn't shoot right? Well I'm super impressed as this one grouped 1.5 inch groups all day long. Perfectly horizontal and not crossing. This is hornady factory ammo. It shot high but I will get a new front sight from IFG. I only shot it one day and the range closed on me before I could experiment more but overall I'm very pleased. I had a feeling it shot good because my very first shot was at a gong at 200 and it hit! Setting up targets later confirmed that aside from being high, groups are dead on and tight. Ejectors are spot on and ejected at the same time. i was at 60 yards with this one. I'm hoping this review will help other members. If anyone need more info send me a message. I have big plans for this rifle and will be developing loads for it. Thank you

 

[sierraone]

Keep us up to date on the different loads and more time on the range!

 

[johneracer]

 

[edward]

looking good.

 

[CTDolan]

Modern technology is putting serviceable double rifles within the reach of a great many people. This is a good thing.

 

[enysse]

I would say that is a fantastic value and great accuracy for the $$$.

 

[johneracer]

Well I just took the action apart to examine and tweek if needed. First advice, don't do it. Springs are a nightmare to compress. I had to make tooling to compress them. One almost flew into hyperspace but I caught it. Action is massive and springs are top notch. I don't think I will ever mess with it. I cleaned it and put fresh grease here and there. Didn't do anything else. The coil spring for the lever was the worst. I had trouble pushing with both hands. I will just use it to break in. I examined the safety as I read reports of safety engaging during firing but can't see how that would happen. The notches are very deep and a coil spring pushes the catch in. You could always add a heavier spring but I can't see the need for this. Ever. Now onto loading my own ammo.....

 

[CAustin]

Good to hear that they are getting better with the production. Looks good and close but at sixty yards I would have hoped for much closer to the target bullseye. I wonder if it was calibrated at 100? I bet that if you shot at 100 it would be down a good bit.
Would love to hear more as you take it to the range!

 

[johneracer]

Good to hear that they are getting better with the production. Looks good and close but at sixty yards I would have hoped for much closer to the target bullseye. I wonder if it was calibrated at 100? I bet that if you shot at 100 it would be down a good bit.
Would love to hear more as you take it to the range!

That is really not an issue as all it takes is a talker front sight but yes, ideally should have been closer to the bullseye. I would have been over the top if that was the case. I wonder if the height has anything to do with the way Sabatti regulates these and that is in a lead sled v me shooting it off hand. Could be, plenty of videos on showing them do it that way.

 

[CAustin]

Ok then shoot it in a lead sled for sure to see how close it really is. I was making the assumption that you had used a sled vs off hand.

 

[johneracer]

I respectfully disagree. I won't be using a lead sled as even if the group comes to the ceneter, I will be hunting with this rifle and shooting off hand so that is all that matters. When I shot at the target I had the front hand supported by a stand but I still call that off hand. I guess it was semi suported. I'm a rookie at doubles so please take what I'm saying with a grain of salt....

 

[johneracer]

Come to think off it, it is probably zeroed, for me, at 200 yards. I did shot at 200 and hit dead on but shot over 100. 200 is hard to see so I just assumed a lucky shot.

I just glanced at "shooting the British double" and Graeme used a lead sled and said it did not affect regulation so,,,,,,

 

[sestoppelman]

Lets hope it continues to do well for you. I am impressed. Is this the fibre optic sights on this one?

 

[BWH]

What a POS!!!! Just kidding... Jealous

 

[johneracer]

Regular brass dot.

 

[johneracer]

Well this is embarrassing. ... I have been shouldering the rifle to develop mechanics like a shotgun, and asked myself "why am I lining up the brass forward dot deep down into the v notch rear sight when the tops are not lining up? And then it hit me, I was aiming height wise all wrong!!! Brass dot should be centered and level with top of rear sights. I am not used to this type of sight so I did it wrong. I hope you guys understand. The rear v notch is bigger than the front so you float the front tsight level and center. That is why I shot so high. Oh well. Very embarrassing. I guess I am not the expert I thought I am. I am sure rifle will shot see center next session. Crap

 

[petrusg]

I have exactly the same rifle also in the .450 N.E and am very pleased with mine. Ive regulated mine with Peregrine VRG 2 Bushmasters 480gr and I'm getting a inch group so I'm very happy

 

[DUGABOY1]

Hello Johneracer! Looks like you got a good one there! I guess all the bad press Sabatti got initially did some good, and they decided to hire a regulator who knew what he was doing. Lately I've been hearing good news about these rifles. That is very good news for sure because it gives a lot more folks a chance to get into double rifle use than times gone by.

Congratulations sir !

 

[petrusg]

My results

 

[ve7poi]

Very nice