Sabatti help please!!!

[Rare Breed]

Please look at my two pictures please. Just got my Sabatti 500 NE DR. Can someone tell me two things please:
1. What kind of rail should I get so I can mount my Red Dot scope (notice 4 screws in scope rail)
2. The gun came without a front sight. Even though I am using a Red Dot I still want to have a front slide. Forgive blurry picture but you can see it is some type of slide in front sight…I am just clueless what to order

appreciate everyone’s help so very much. Would greatly appreciate telling me what and where to order please!!!

 

[ay2626]

Sabatti used a weaver rail that attached to the top of the rib where those screw holes are for scope or dot mounts. You can see pictures of the rail in this thread:

For Sale Sabatti 450 NE Double Rifle

Decided to sell my sabatti double rifle in 450 nitro express to fund some other projects. I also have a Krieghoff 470 Nitro so too much overlap in ballistics between these two. I also prefer the Krieghoff safety. This is a cabelas gun but has been properly regulated. No grinding of the muzzles...

www.africahunting.com

Looks like the front sights used in a Ruger No. 1 or M77 might work as a replacement. New England Custom Guns sells them. If you take measurements of the slot that sight slides into and send them pics, they could probably tell you if the Ruger would work, or they might have a better suggestion.

 

[Rare Breed]

Please look at my two pictures please. Just got my Sabatti 500 NE DR. Can someone tell me two things please:
1. What kind of rail should I get so I can mount my Red Dot scope (notice 4 screws in scope rail)
2. The gun came without a front sight. Even though I am using a Red Dot I still want to have a front slide. Forgive blurry picture but you can see it is some type of slide in front sight…I am just clueless what to order

appreciate everyone’s help so very much. Would greatly appreciate telling me what and where to order please!!!

Sabatti used a weaver rail that attached to the top of the rib where those screw holes are for scope or dot mounts. You can see pictures of the rail in this thread:

For Sale Sabatti 450 NE Double Rifle

Decided to sell my sabatti double rifle in 450 nitro express to fund some other projects. I also have a Krieghoff 470 Nitro so too much overlap in ballistics between these two. I also prefer the Krieghoff safety. This is a cabelas gun but has been properly regulated. No grinding of the muzzles...

www.africahunting.com

Looks like the front sights used in a Ruger No. 1 or M77 might work as a replacement. New England Custom Guns sells them. If you take measurements of the slot that sight slides into and send them pics, they could probably tell you if the Ruger would work, or they might have a better suggestion.

THANKS SO VERY MUCH!!!!!!

 

[Rare Breed]

My problem is the only site I see that sells the Weaver rail you show is Optics and they no longer carry it. I cannot find this anywhere.

 

[rookhawk]

Please look at my two pictures please. Just got my Sabatti 500 NE DR. Can someone tell me two things please:
1. What kind of rail should I get so I can mount my Red Dot scope (notice 4 screws in scope rail)
2. The gun came without a front sight. Even though I am using a Red Dot I still want to have a front slide. Forgive blurry picture but you can see it is some type of slide in front sight…I am just clueless what to order

appreciate everyone’s help so very much. Would greatly appreciate telling me what and where to order please!!!

View attachment 477778View attachment 477779

The original scope mount for sabatti is a low quality aluminum rail. Looks hideous, makes the gun look dime-store quality. The good news is custom bases can be made to work with the existing screw holes. My highest recommendation for quality-meets-price would be to order "blank" bases from Talley manufacturing and their QD scope rings in whatever height and tube size is warranted. Milling the hole spacing in the scope mount blanks is straightforward and would be relatively low cost, <$200. All the other "proper" alternatives are going to run you into the $2000+ scenarios like EAW pivots, german claws, etc.

If it were me, I'd box that gun up and send it to Ken Owen in Moscow, TN if he would agree via phone to take on the gun's work. First, he's the top sabatti barrel mechanic in the world. He'll ensure you have good regulating loads and if that is impossible, he'll regulate the barrel wedge flawlessly. Second, he'll fit that front sight and may even have one on hand for you, saving you a bundle. Third, he can address the scope mounts for you.

 

[Rare Breed]

Ken did the regulation work and worked up the regulation load. That paperwork came with the gun. Thanks!

 

[rookhawk]

Ken did the regulation work and worked up the regulation load. That paperwork came with the gun. Thanks!

That's A+ good news.

Just get some nice custom mounts and you'll be good. A call to Ken and he may have the correct front sight height/size you can install yourself. If not, he may know the precise height required and you can call NECG for something that can be filed to fit.

 

[Rare Breed]

Thanks so much for your help!!!

 

[Rare Breed]

Problem solved!!! What would we do without JJ!!! He told me to just send him the barrel and he can fix both the front site and the rail. He said for me not to buy a mount since the red dot would sit too high. He did my 450-400 and it was well worth the money to get the mount insert instead. Thanks so much everyone for your help!!!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

RB please can you keep us informed of how this progresses. A couple of my buddies want double rifles and can afford Sabatti, but need a bit of reassurance.

 

[Rare Breed]

You bet Kevin. I found out today from my gunsmith the gun already had an 8 oz lead insert placed into the stock. The original weight of the gun was 9.5 pounds which is too light. Now it is 10.3 pounds. I wish it was more like 11 pounds but no extra room for any more weight. Once I get the barrel back from JJ with the red dot insert and front sight I will post new pictures and go shoot the gun for the first time. Ken Owen regulated the gun with IMR3031 at 80 grains shooting 570 grain bullets. I will absolutely let you know!

 

[rookhawk]

You bet Kevin. I found out today from my gunsmith the gun already had an 8 oz lead insert placed into the stock. The original weight of the gun was 9.5 pounds which is too light. Now it is 10.3 pounds. I wish it was more like 11 pounds but no extra room for any more weight. Once I get the barrel back from JJ with the red dot insert and front sight I will post new pictures and go shoot the gun for the first time. Ken Owen regulated the gun with IMR3031 at 80 grains shooting 570 grain bullets. I will absolutely let you know!

As is usually if not always the case with Ken, he steered you right. 3031 is a fast burning powder and it will duplicate the original cordite loads while giving you some of the mildest recoil for a given velocity. With a reflex sight on the gun you’ll be at 10.5lbs and the recoil of a full power 3031 load will be very manageable.

When Ken did my 470NE loads for 3031 my perceived recoil went down by what seemed like nearly half. Previously I’d have a horrible bruised shoulder and would wince after the 2nd shot. With 3031 its like shooting an old 458 or a zippy lightweight 375HH.

 

[Rare Breed]

Thanks! Looking forward to shooting it

 

[Rare Breed]

Thanks! Looking forward to shooting it

I wanted to provide an update per request on my Sabatti 500 NE. I had the bright stock and fore-end stripped and refinished with a nice oil finish. Forgive the shadows showing shine. JJ just got the barrel back to me with a new front site and a custom Trijicon site base. The really great news is I was able to take the gun from 9.5 pounds up to an even 11 pounds which should be just about right for this caliber. I was able to add both a reducer and some lead into the stock and still balances fine. I will be at my farm next weekend to shoot it for the first time.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I wanted to provide an update per request on my Sabatti 500 NE. I had the bright stock and fore-end stripped and refinished with a nice oil finish. Forgive the shadows showing shine. JJ just got the barrel back to me with a new front site and a custom Trijicon site base. The really great news is I was able to take the gun from 9.5 pounds up to an even 11 pounds which should be just about right for this caliber. I was able to add both a reducer and some lead into the stock and still balances fine. I will be at my farm next weekend to shoot it for the first time.

Wow, that has turned out really well. As a matter of interest what is the diameter of the fore sight bead? I find the one on my Heym a little small.

 

[Rare Breed]

Thanks Kevin. Not sure what the diameter is or how to measure it

 

[Mike B.]

That does look great. Honestly, for as much bad talk that the older guns get, I'm still super impressed with how they look. How long ago did you send stuff off to JJ and how long did he take to work on it?

 

[Rare Breed]

Two weeks there and back. Extremely fast

 

[Rare Breed]

Finally was able to sneak down to the farm today to shoot my Sabatti 500 NE for first time. You will not believe this but I swear it is true…the 500 recoiled just a little harder than my 450-400 and that was a fabulous surprise. I easily fired 10 shots off the sticks. 5 at 25 and 5 at 50. Once I got my Trijicon sighted in the regulation was 3.5 inches at 50 yards. Not as good as my ;50-400 which was at 2 inches but easily close enough for elephant and Buffalo. The secret is in two parts: 1. Going with Ken Owens IMR3031 at 80 grains and 2. Taking the weight up from 9.5 to 11 pounds. Also and I wish I could give him credit for the idea, I ordered a 15 pound aerobic bar that is a little longer than a rifle. I am on my second week taking it with me on my power walks. I plan on doing this up to my hunt next year…then 11 pounds will seem like nothing (hopefully lol)