Sabatti ST-18

The History of Sabatti

Sabatti’s history can be traced back to the early 18th century’s Val Trompia, a region in northern Italy that is historically well known for metalworking and arms manufacturing. We know of one Lodovico Sabatti working there as a gunsmith in the early 1700s, in the city of Gardone Val Trompia. He was regarded as an excellent barrel maker and a flintlock pistol maker, skills that later became somewhat of a trademark for the Sabatti family.

In the first half 1800s, a man by the name of Giuseppe Sabatti gained considerable fame as one of the best Damascus steel barrel manufacturers ever, thus further contributing to Sabatti’s rising influence in the craft. In fact, it was throughout the 19th century when several members of the Sabatti family became respected practitioners of the trade, some of whom opened their own workshops, while others joined forces with other gunsmiths to open companies, many of which are still in operation today. Sabatti members also played an important role as gunsmiths in the turbulent years of Italian unification.

After a seeming decline of the Sabatti family in the first half of the 20th century, Antonio Sabatti entered a partnership with Giuseppe Tanfoglio to form a new company almost immediately after World War II (in 1946). Their joint company was named SATA (Sabatti and Tanfoglio), and it reinvigorated the Italian gun manufacturing business. They first put all their efforts into manufacturing high-quality hunting shotguns and rifles, but in 1956 they also introduced their first pistols for personal defense.

The partnership ended in 1960 with Giuseppe founding Tanfoglio while Antonio’s sons set up their own company, which until 1990 operated under the name FIAS (Fabbrica Italiana Armi Sabatti). They seemingly split SATA down the middle – Tanfoglio specialized in hand pistols only while Sabatti to this day remains a well-respected manufacturer of hunting shotguns and rifles. And just like in the past, the quality of the barrels and actions are still Sabatti’s main strengths. They even patented a new Multi-Radial Rifling (MRR) system which extends the life cycle of the rifle’s barrel, and due to the lack of traditional sharp corners, it prevents excessive bore fouling. MRR system thus increases the overall quality of barrels, making Sabatti rifles, such as Sabatti Urban Sniper, Saphire, Saphire E.R., or ST-18, a great pick.

Sabatti ST-18 Rifle Review

Sabatti ST-18 is a bolt action rifle purposefully designed to excel at target shooting and long-distance engagements. It is a product of Sabatti’s fruitful collaboration with BCM Europearms, and it is a testament to the Sabatti’s devotion to making a shift from producing hunting rifles only and instead establishing itself in the tactical field as well. The ST-18 was first presented in 2019 at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas and has since gained a considerable reputation.

Sabatti ST-18 in 6.5 Creedmoor

Figure 1: Sabatti ST-18 in 6.5 Creedmoor (Source: https://www.deltamike.co.nz/product/sabatti-st-18/)

At the heart of the ST-18 is a sturdy free-floating “Blizzard” action that is connected to the stock on two points, using a front and a rear interface that keep it “suspended” within the stock itself to minimize the effect of vibrations on the rifle’s accuracy. The action hosts a steel bolt with a 60-degrees throw and 3 locking lugs for safety purposes. ST-18 also features an improved extractor design that doesn’t move with the post-shot expansion of the case’s base, making the rifle even safer to use. But perhaps the most distinctive feature of the ST-18 is its modernly designed chassis that is machined from a solid block of Ergal 55. It is designed in a way that it cuts down on weight while also retaining all the sturdiness and reliability.

ST-18 comes with a pre-installed Picatinny rail for the maximum number of mounting possibilities, and it also features an M-Lok handguard that allows for even more versatility. A KeyMod handguard is available as optional. The 2-positions safety catch is found on the right side of the rifle behind the bolt handle, while the catch to remove the polymer 7-round AICS magazine is located on the outside of the trigger guard. The rifle’s three-lever Match trigger has a pull weight of 600 g (1.3 lbs).

ST-18 boasts the Sabatti’s in-house cold-hammer-forged barrel with a 22 mm (0.86-inch) diameter. The barrel comes with a removable muzzle brake, and it is available in three different lengths: 510, 610, and 660 mm (20/24/26-inch). Sabatti also made use of their patented Multi-Radial Rifling (MRR) system which is quickly becoming the standard in long-distance shooting and has a proven record of increasing the barrel’s accuracy and longevity.

The rifle ends in a skeletal M4-style collapsible buttstock made of a fiberglass-reinforced techno-polymer, and it comes with an adjustable cheek rest, a recoil pad, and a spacer to adjust the length of pull. It folds to the right side, which makes the transportation of the gun easier.

Sabatti ST-18 Calibers

Sabatti ST-18 can be chambered for:

6 mm Creedmoor
6.5x47 Lapua
6.5 Creedmoor
.308 Win.

Sabatti ST-18 Variants

It seems like there are no variants other than the standard model of ST-18 currently on the market. Should you have any additional information regarding ST-18 variants, please contact us. We will gladly accept your help and expand our database accordingly.

Sabatti ST-18’s receiver comes with a pre-installed Picatinny rail which offers a high number of mounting possibilities.

The receiver and bolt of Sabatti ST-18 with a visible mounting surface

Figure 2: The receiver and bolt of Sabatti ST-18 with a visible mounting surface (Source: https://www.sabatti.it/en/product/st-18)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Sabatti ST-18

Rifles That Have Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Sabatti ST-18

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Since Sabatti ST-18 comes with a pre-installed Picatinny rail, all of the one-piece scope mounts suitable for Picatinny will fit on the ST-18, too.

There’s even less dilemma around the interchangeability of two-piece mounts since they don’t have to meet any of the length requirements. Therefore, any two-piece scope mount that fits on a Picatinny rail will also fit on the Sabatti ST-18.

Should you have any additional information regarding possible mount matches, please contact us. We will gladly accept your help and expand our database accordingly.

Best Scope Mounts for Sabatti ST-18

Fixed Scope Mounts for Sabatti ST-18

ERA-TAC specializes in producing high-quality scope mounts intended for tactical applications. Therefore this 30 mm ERA-TAC Ultralight one-piece scope mount is our top recommendation for a fixed scope mount for Sabatti ST-18. It is made of aluminum and comes with a 10-year warranty.

Detachable Repeatable Mounts for Sabatti ST-18

When it comes to flexibility, detachable repeatable scope mounts are the way to go. Being able to easily attach and detach an optic without any tools and retaining zero at the same time can be a great advantage. If this is what you’re looking for, you might want to consider this aluminum INNOMOUNT scope mounting solution of German quality for your Sabatti ST-18.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu

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Airguns or pellet guns (the name comes from projectiles they shoot – pellets) are popular among all generations of people with a variety of different interests.

They are used for

plinking,
hunting,
sport competitions etc.

All these activities demand variety of different airguns. A lot of these applications do not require a rifle scope for using an air gun, but some of them do – especially hunting or long range shooting.

Hawke 9-11mm Match Mounts, 30mm, high

General Features of Airgun Scope Mounts

It is common to almost all airguns that they have 11 mm dovetail on the receiver. This dovetail is full length and it is used for mounting a rifle scope or diopter. Such dovetails are basically the same as on the rimfire rifles (.22 calibre). It is important to know that they share the same mounting platform and this is why we can found airgun scope mounts also on rimfire rifles and normally, similar scopes are used on both types of rifles.

When thinking of mounting a rifle scope on the airgun, we have to consider that spring powered airguns have strong recoil in both directions. This is why the robustness and rigidness of the mounts is extremely important (especially with spring powered airguns). This problem is not the case with rimfire rifles, where recoil is very mild.

Mostly, these mounts are made from aluminium and can also have a screw that serves as recoil stopper. The screw can be placed vertically, but with the two part design scope mounts, screw can be placed horizontally. Although, majority of airgun scope mounts comes without recoil notches. There are two options available for mounting the scope on the airgun monoblock scope mount: 25.4 mm (1’’) or 30 mm rings. Other dimensions can also be found, however - they are extremely rare.

Normally, airgun mounts are affordable and in most cases fixed. Detachable airgun scope mounts are usually very rare. However, the most affordable airgun mounts are also the ones from the lowest quality (although, sufficient) and high quality mounts can be expensive, too.

Adjustable inclination on the rifle scope mounts is advisable, usable and a lot of times needed (because of the imperfections of different parts – rifle, mount, rings and dovetail). Some of the mounts also have recoil buffer available. There are also available shock absorbing recoil buffers that can be bought separately and installed behind the scope mount and help to absorb recoil.

BKL 0.6" Long Dovetail Rings, 30 mm

BKL 0.6" Long Dovetail Rings, 30 mm

Monoblock Scope Mounts for Airguns

Monoblock scope mounts for airguns are definitely more reliable than two piece scope mounts. This is normally because they can handle recoil much better. They are robust, rigid, hard and they offer great clamping surface for the dovetail. However, with monoblock scope mounts, setting the proper eye relief might be an issue in some cases. Also, monoblock mounts are almost always more expensive than similar two piece mounts. Clamping surface on the rail which is connected to the rings in one piece is usually higher than it can be with comparable two piece mounts. This might also be an disadvantage, worth mentioning.

One Part and Two Part Design of Airgun Scope Mounts

When we are talking about two piece solutions of airgun mounts, we should not forget to mention some of the differences between one part and two part design of these mounts. One part design is easier to produce, therefore these mounts are cheaper as a rule. Versatility with one part design of scope mounts is normally poor. More options of mounting a scope are normally available with two part design scope mounts. It is good to know that airgun scope mounts for rifle scopes with rail systems are not usual (actually, they are rare). If they are available, they are normally available with two part design of scope mounts. Example for such mount could be Recknagel’s tip off mount for 11 mm dovetail on the bottom and with Zeiss rail option (ZM/VM) on the top. They also offer a LM rail version of these mounts.

Sabatti ST-18

The History of Sabatti