Gentlemen:
Allow me to chime in here, If you don’t mind. I’ve handled a few doubles in the past 30 years (1989 was my first double purchase) including several Sabattis.
First, there is more than the muzzle grinding. I’ve seen and shot rifles with the grinding and without the grinding and know have reports from several friends and many who white via my website. A few shoot well. Most shoot like shit. It’s common for one barrel to shoot well and the other to shoot a foot or two off target. Others shoot both barrels way off target. Some shoot fine. An attorney friend asked me to shoot his to get it on target. I could not. One of the muzzles was ground away and the muzzle looked egg shaped. Since the grinding sent the bullet off path, no amount of load adjustment would get the rifle to regulate property.
Second is the construction. Face it, gents, no double rifle can be made properly for the amount of a Sabatti. Remember, whatever the new ones sell for is retail, wholesale is approximately half that, and the amount paid directly to Sabatti is even less. They are priced the way they are because absolutely every step in the manufacturing process has been cut to the bones: time spent, cost of raw materials, finishing, quality of materials, etc.
A good mate in Zimbabwe bought a .500 Sabatti. It was not muzzle ground and it shot fairly well—3 to 4 inches at 50 yards. It probably could have been regulated to shoot a smaller group. Problems soon arose. The ribs began to loosen as the solder was both not well applied and not 100% soldered the full distance (spot soldered). The sights on the rib also began to shoot loose under recoil.
The rifle of my attorney, not only could not shoot accurately, but when shooting it on a foggy and moist day (not raining) light surface rust appeared on the action. This is a sign of soft, low carbon steel. Read cheap steel.
I’ve seen and/or been told of recoil pads that loosen, top levers that quickly become off center, stocks that develop cracks at the wrist, solder separation of the muzzle wedge, top rib coming loose, and front sights falling off.
Several non-English doubles cost more than a Sabatti but far less than those from the UK. Merkel, Verney Caron, Kreighoff, Heym, are four. The English and Scottish vintage doubles are the best in my humble opinion.
The only double of less quality than Sabatti is the Baikal (<$1000).
Personally I believe a good compromise can be had (price vs. quality) in the vintage black powder express English and Scottish doubles. The price of vintage doubles has dropped 25% on average the past six years. A good quality, engraved, tight on the face, perhaps with an original case, in .450 or .500 black powder express can be had for $5000 to $8000. Add another 50% for a .577. These rifles have dropped Cape buffalo and can still do so. Formulas are available to duplicate black powder ballistics with modern smokeless powders and, when combined with Woodeligh bullets, are suitable for plains game, Cape buffalo, bears, cats, elk, moose, bison, water buffalo, etc. Perhaps not hippo, elephant, or rhino. That said, a frontal brain shot on a hippo is easy done with a good bpe double rifle as the skill is only 1/4 to 3/8” thick.
More expensive than a Sabatti? Yes, About the same money as Merkels and other? Yes. I takes some effort to not want something new and to get used to hammers and a Jones under lever (although many hammerless bpe doubles are out there). I know my words will fall on deaf ears and many will disagree. That’s good. It leaves more vintage doubles out there for the minority such as myself. And, are reasonable prices.
Fellas, It’s not just accuracy. A cheap double can shoot accurately—for a while. Sabattis are bottom of the barrel double rifles: the materials used, the construction, and the finish.
Cal
