Sabatti 450NE opinion

[dhughes66]

I know Sabatti double rifles get mixed reviews here. I have come across a Sabatti 450NE that has had some custom work done on it and has a Trijicon RMR mounted on it. It also comes with 200 rounds of ammunition. The asking price is around $7,000. Is this something to look at or pass up in everyone's opinion? Side note, this would be my first double rifle.

 

[mdwest]

Ive got very limited experience with Sabatti.. Ive only shot a couple, and have never owned one..

I do think they get a pretty bad rap overall because of the old Cabelas run (they earned it).. but.. that appears to be a one off sort of situation.. outside of the cabelas run that went bad, I havent heard of any systemic problems with them with any of their other doubles..

$7K seems to be a fair price depending on the amount of use and condition the gun is in... Ive definitely seen them go cheaper (in the high $5000's and low to mid $6000's).. but Ive also seen guys try to get higher prices out of them (seen them listed on GB and other places in the $8-$9K range for used)..

Youre definitely not buying an "investment" gun like would would be with some german or british guns.. but youre also not paying german or british prices..

The RMR and the associated work done to mount it properly bring a little bit of additional value I think (again, youre not buying an investment gun.. youre buying a hunting/shooter.. and a lot of people hunting with doubles are moving to red dots these days).. I paid about $500 for JJ to create a mount for my wifes Chapuis double so that it would take an RMR.. and you figure a 1 MOA Type 2 RMR is about $800 these days (new in the box)..

I think a lot of guys dip their toe in the water with doubles by buying something like a Sabatti first.. its not cheap.. but its definitely among the most affordable ways to test things out and see if youre going to like a double or not.. and.. assuming you want to upgrade to something else later, my guess is you'd probably get most of your money (maybe all?) back out of the sabatti if you chose to sell it...

Were I in the market for a low cost, entry level double... I'd probably at least consider a $7K sabatti..

and.. who knows how motivated the seller is to let it go... I'd probably offer him $6500 and see if he'd take it if I really liked the rifle and I thought it was in decent shape, etc..

I would definitely recommend getting the serial number and confirming that it is either NOT one of the bad cabelas guns.. or if it is, that its one of the cabelas guns that Ken Owen worked on prior to passing... if Ken worked on the gun, its honestly probably a better shooter than anything coming off the sabatti assembly line right now..

if you ever want or need to sell the gun, being able to confirm its not a cabelas gun, or is a Ken Owen "fixed" gun will make things much, much easier for you..

 

[Surgeon1]

450NE is the perfect Dangerous Game cartridge for a DR!
Every Sabatti I've seen is a piece of junk that I wouldn't trust on DG

 

[318AE]

Mdwest summarized it very well. You may even want to offer less than $6,500. If you later decide to sell it, the next will be asking exactly the questions you are.

 

[318AE]

Mdwest summarized it very well. You may even want to offer less than $6,500. If you later decide to sell it, the next will be asking exactly the same questions you are.

While the whole dremel tool thing was a debacle, I’ve never heard of one failing to go bang when you pull the trigger. My first hand experience with them is limited though.

 

[thriller]

I know Sabatti double rifles get mixed reviews here. I have come across a Sabatti 450NE that has had some custom work done on it and has a Trijicon RMR mounted on it. It also comes with 200 rounds of ammunition. The asking price is around $7,000. Is this something to look at or pass up in everyone's opinion? Side note, this would be my first double rifle.

I have one in 450-400 ne mine shoots great buts its not as fancy as any other double I have shot. do they have the regulation target? seems like a decent deal if its a shooter also make sure it wasnt one of the cabelas run, and if it was was it fixed? and if so by who

 

[dhughes66]

Thanks for the input. Definitely questions I will ask if I choose to explore getting it more seriously.

 

[deewayne2003]

@dhughes66

I have a Sabatti .470 that I stumbled across and couldn't turn down the price; turned out to be a non cabela's gun that Ken Owen had worked on..... My avatar pic is Ken's test target.

Does the rifle come with a non factory test target and load data?..... If so, ken probably worked on it.

If at all possible I would fire the gun before buying it.

 

[dhughes66]

I will have to check. I saw the factory test target. The gun is on Gunbroker.com. I will try and link to it shortly.

 

[LimbNoMo]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1143337725

 

[jrnicho]

I have this same rifle/caliber as well. Mine is a Cabela’s model, purchased used and completely unworked. The factory-supplied regulation target has proven true in my own testing, the rifle holds regulation with Hornady DGX rounds. I’ve also developed a few Cutting Edge Bullet loads that consistently print around 1.75–2.0 inches at 50 yards (470 gr at just over 2200fps). I’ve put 200+ rounds through mine to date.

I am not a fan of the setup for optics with the rail; it places it too high over the comb. Sounds like the one you are looking at may place it lower, which is preferable IMO.

All my game experience is with the irons. I’ve taken the rifle to Africa and used it to shoot two buffalo, as well as a springbok at about 110 yards. Back home, it’s accounted for several wild hogs.

JRN

 

[mdwest]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1143337725

If thats the gun... Its probably a pretty solid deal at $7K IMO

its been beat up a bit.. the stock and the steel both show a good bit of use..

but... it also comes with $1500 in ammo... Hornady 450-400 DGS and DGX are about $150 a box these days..

So youre really paying about $5500 for the gun (about what I would guess it is worth based on condition), paying $1500 for the ammo.. and getting the gunsmithing and the RMR for "free" at the $7K price tag..

Were I interested in the gun, I'd give him the opening bid value.. but not give anything more than that..

you probably wont find another one any cheaper than that (again, using $5500 as the real price being paid for the gun)... and if you did, youre still going to pay the $1500 for the ammo so that you can both practice and hunt with the gun... so even if you did find another $5500 sabbatti, youre still going to be $7K invested in the other one.. and not have the RMR or the machining done to the other one...

That particular RMR is a bit less expensive than the type 2 I quoted earlier.. new in the box the Dual Illuminated RMR is about $600... but between the optic and the required gunsmithing, even if you were to buy the RMR used, youre looking at about $800-$900 in value total I think..

 

[double rifle newbie]

I have this exact rifle, same caliber. cabela’s rushed the order with sabatti so they took the easy route of regulating and dremeled the muzzles of some but not all rifles sent to Cabelas.

mine happens to be a Cabela’s gun, but an undremed one. Is it as fancy as a Holland and Holland? No. But it shoots great! as long as it hasn’t been dremeled, consider purchasing. ive never had one issue with mine. good luck!

 

[double rifle newbie]

I just looked it up on gunbroker. its a cabelas rifle (serial number begins with CAB) but has been aftermarket reregulated with some other options. i would feel comfortable with it.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Ive got very limited experience with Sabatti.. Ive only shot a couple, and have never owned one..

I do think they get a pretty bad rap overall because of the old Cabelas run (they earned it).. but.. that appears to be a one off sort of situation.. outside of the cabelas run that went bad, I havent heard of any systemic problems with them with any of their other doubles..

$7K seems to be a fair price depending on the amount of use and condition the gun is in... Ive definitely seen them go cheaper (in the high $5000's and low to mid $6000's).. but Ive also seen guys try to get higher prices out of them (seen them listed on GB and other places in the $8-$9K range for used)..

Youre definitely not buying an "investment" gun like would would be with some german or british guns.. but youre also not paying german or british prices..

The RMR and the associated work done to mount it properly bring a little bit of additional value I think (again, youre not buying an investment gun.. youre buying a hunting/shooter.. and a lot of people hunting with doubles are moving to red dots these days).. I paid about $500 for JJ to create a mount for my wifes Chapuis double so that it would take an RMR.. and you figure a 1 MOA Type 2 RMR is about $800 these days (new in the box)..

I think a lot of guys dip their toe in the water with doubles by buying something like a Sabatti first.. its not cheap.. but its definitely among the most affordable ways to test things out and see if youre going to like a double or not.. and.. assuming you want to upgrade to something else later, my guess is you'd probably get most of your money (maybe all?) back out of the sabatti if you chose to sell it...

Were I in the market for a low cost, entry level double... I'd probably at least consider a $7K sabatti..

and.. who knows how motivated the seller is to let it go... I'd probably offer him $6500 and see if he'd take it if I really liked the rifle and I thought it was in decent shape, etc..

I would definitely recommend getting the serial number and confirming that it is either NOT one of the bad cabelas guns.. or if it is, that its one of the cabelas guns that Ken Owen worked on prior to passing... if Ken worked on the gun, its honestly probably a better shooter than anything coming off the sabatti assembly line right now..

if you ever want or need to sell the gun, being able to confirm its not a cabelas gun, or is a Ken Owen "fixed" gun will make things much, much easier for you..

WAIT…”Ken Owen worked on prior to passing…”…when did this happen? Crushing to hear if accurate or I am reading correctly? Haven’t spoken to him since this summer but guy was smithing away while working on vintage motorcycles…as sweet and energetic man as you could meet anywhere.

 

[mdwest]

WAIT…”Ken Owen worked on prior to passing…”…when did this happen? Crushing to hear if accurate or I am reading correctly? Haven’t spoken to him since this summer but guy was smithing away while working on vintage motorcycles…as sweet and energetic man as you could meet anywhere.

Someone posted something here about him passing away.. I think it was further back than this summer though... so.. Im hopeful that Im incorrect?

I'll search and see if I can find the post..

 

[mdwest]

Post in thread 'Heym Deluxe 88B – Matched 470 NE & 375 H&H Barrel Sets – Fully Outfitted, Regulated, and Safari-Ready'

Nov 24, 2025

You know when you want to add a bit of pizazz and check for grammar, you use AI, right? Well I should have read the copy a bit better. Ken Owen is quite alive, probably no one is happier about that than Ken. I have no idea why AI decided to say he was “late” and I have no idea why I didn’t notice that sooner.

I repeat, Ken is not dead. lol

• rookhawk

• 
• 

It looks like it was initially posted that he has passed.. but then later corrected (AI sucks lol)... I apparently read the initial post, but never saw the follow on..

good news! Ken is alive!

 

[coyote wacker]

I picked up a 470 when Cabelas sold them. I picked threw several guns before selecting the one I wanted. One I noticed had uneven grind marks around one of the barrels at the muzzle, my guess there way to regulate the barrels.
Well I thought my perchase would be a glorious start to owning a double rifle. Well it turn into a night mear. Well the gun was supposedly reguated to Hornady ammo. It shot over 6" group with Hornady so I picked up some dies and figured I could get the gun to shoot with some handload. I had been shooting Cutting Edge Bullets in all my other rifle so that were I thought I would go.
When I took my first once fire shell from the gun and feed it in to the resizing die with plent of lube it wouldn't go into the die with out a lot of 2 handed pressure, like you were trying to form some difirent caliber.. With a lot of effort I sized the case and it came out of the die. When I checked the case comparing it to a fired case there was a very big diffrence that I never noticed. So I compared Hornady factory loaded ammo to resize case thay were very close to being the same measured. Compared to a fired case there was a very big diffrence so much it could be easly seen when looking at it.

I was very upset and the following day called Cabelas and talked to the manager of the gun department. He asked my what did I want to do, not telling or even suggesting anything. I
told him for what the gun cost I expected a refund. So the next day I took the 90 mile drive to Cabelas. There was no problem with the refund when I show the brass and targets.

Myself I would touch a Sabitti made product with a 10' pole and sure wouldn't want to be at the range any where near one being shot.

 

[double rifle newbie]

I picked up a 470 when Cabelas sold them. I picked threw several guns before selecting the one I wanted. One I noticed had uneven grind marks around one of the barrels at the muzzle, my guess there way to regulate the barrels.
Well I thought my perchase would be a glorious start to owning a double rifle. Well it turn into a night mear. Well the gun was supposedly reguated to Hornady ammo. It shot over 6" group with Hornady so I picked up some dies and figured I could get the gun to shoot with some handload. I had been shooting Cutting Edge Bullets in all my other rifle so that were I thought I would go.
When I took my first once fire shell from the gun and feed it in to the resizing die with plent of lube it wouldn't go into the die with out a lot of 2 handed pressure, like you were trying to form some difirent caliber.. With a lot of effort I sized the case and it came out of the die. When I checked the case comparing it to a fired case there was a very big diffrence that I never noticed. So I compared Hornady factory loaded ammo to resize case thay were very close to being the same measured. Compared to a fired case there was a very big diffrence so much it could be easly seen when looking at it.

I was very upset and the following day called Cabelas and talked to the manager of the gun department. He asked my what did I want to do, not telling or even suggesting anything. I
told him for what the gun cost I expected a refund. So the next day I took the 90 mile drive to Cabelas. There was no problem with the refund when I show the brass and targets.

Myself I would touch a Sabitti made product with a 10' pole and sure wouldn't want to be at the range any where near one being shot.

you got one of the Dremel regulated ones. bad luck. hope is not lost, however. People are sending these guns to Ken Owen to re-regulate.
yes, it will cost some money but at least it’ll be a proper double rifle at that point

 

[coyote wacker]

you got one of the Dremel regulated ones. bad luck. hope it’s not lost, however. People are sending these guns to Ken Owen to re-regulate.
yes, it will cost some money but at least it’ll be a proper double rifle at that point

No the one I picked was not a Dremel one....I passed on it ! Acually I posted on several web sites about the gun that had Dremal marks on the muzzle. Those guns turned into a very big pain for Cabelas. What was great that they made it right to people that bought them. I really don't think that the same thing would happen with the new owners of Cabelas.

It would be nice to know what happen to the gun that I returned ! With how bad the chamber were, the scrap pile would be a good place for it.

Years ago I saw several of the Sabatti doubles for sale at some very low priced It looks like enough time has passed and a new crowd that really doesn't know there history is in the market place.