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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 Saphire Syn, a great pick.

Sabatti TLD Rifle Review

Sabatti TLD is a series of bolt action rifles specifically designed to suit long-distance shooting, the discipline they are named after (Tiro a Lunga Distanza (ital.) = Long-Distance Shooting). It was introduced in early 2018 and it is a product of Sabatti’s evolution from hunting rifles-only to more technical and high-performance rifles. The whole series was inspired by F-Class shooting competitions, and it features a smooth, competitive-oriented “suspended action” that was later dubbed “Blizzard action”. TLD entered the market with two rifles, Sabatti TLD Red and TLD Gold, but after re-evaluating the preferences of its clients, Sabatti replaced the TLD Gold with the TLD White Fluted model in 2021. All three models (Gold, Red, and White Fluted) are essentially the same, differentiating only by color, except for the minor modifications on TLD White Fluted which comes with a spirally fluted barrel and bolt, sort of justifying the model’s name. Therefore, when we talk about Sabatti TLD in this review, we are, unless specified otherwise, referring to all the TLD models.

Sabatti TLD Red in .308 Win.

Figure 1: Sabatti TLD Red in .308 Win. (Source: https://www.sabatti.it/en/product/tld-red)

Sabatti TLD boasts a 71 cm (28-inch) long cold-hammer-forged barrel with a 28 mm (1.1-inch) diameter and makes use of Sabatti’s patented Multi-Radial Rifling (MRR) system which improves the rifle’s accuracy and the barrel longevity. It comes with a 5/8” muzzle thread that is covered with a protective cap.  The TLD comes with the Sabatti’s innovative “Blizzard” action, which sort of “floats” between two supporting points that are the only surface where the action touches the stock. When TLD first entered the market, Sabatti simply called it “a suspended action” that, according to them, reduces the effects of the stock’s post-shot vibrations on the action, thus further improving the accuracy of the shooting. The action is of the push-feed style with an updated extractor and hosts a steel bolt specifically designed for long-range shooting. The bolt is machined out of a solid billet of high-strength steel and is chrome-plated to reduce the effects of the outside factors. The bolt also has 3 locking lugs for safety purposes and has a 60-degrees throw that ensures smooth operation which translates into more speed and less stress on the shooter. Sabatti TLD Gold’s and TLD Red’s bolts have a smooth surface while the Sabatti TLD White Fluted has, as the name suggests, a fluted bolt.

Sabatti stayed loyal to their tradition when it came to designing the TLD’s receiver, though. The latter resembles the older 1st Gen. Rover models, and it has four holes for mounting purposes – 2 in the front and 2 in the back. The two-position safety catch is located on the right side of the receiver behind the bolt handle.

Sabatti TLD’s three-lever Match trigger has a pull weight of 600 g (1.3 lbs) and is protected by a Rover-style trigger guard. The rifle has a removable 3-round box magazine which is also machined from a solid billet of steel, and the catch for removing the magazine is on the inside of the trigger guard. The rifle ends in a rigid F-Class-inspired laminated buttstock with an adjustable cheek rest and added spacers to adjust the length of pull. It is specifically geared towards shooting competitions.

Sabatti TLD Calibers

Every model from the Sabatti TLD series can be chambered for the same calibers:

  • 6.5x47 Lapua

  • 6.5 Creedmoor

  • .284 Shehane

  • .308 Win.

Sabatti TLD Variants:

  • Sabatti TLD Gold*

  • Sabatti TLD Red

  • Sabatti TLD Fluted White*

* After re-evaluating their clients’ preferences, Sabatti decided to replace Sabatti TLD Gold with TLD White Fluted in 2021. It is basically the same rifle, with the only two differences being, apart from a different color, the fluted barrel and bolt on the TLD White Fluted. This arguably cuts on the rifle’s weight while also retaining its sturdiness and functionality.

The Sabatti TLD has a very similar receiver to the 1st Gen. Rover models. Apart from the materials used and the manufacturing process behind making them, the receivers are the same. Therefore, there are 4 tapped holes on top of the TLD’s mounting surface, two at the front and two at the back.

The receiver of Sabatti TLD with a visible mounting surface

Figure 2: The receiver and bolt of Sabatti TLD White Fluted with a visible mounting surface. TLD Gold, TLD Red, and TLD White Fluted all have the same mounting surface. (Source: https://www.sabatti.it/en/product/tld-white-fluted-rifle)

Receiver dimensions for Sabatti TLD

A: 21.9 mm
B: 102.7 mm
C: 15.3 mm
BHU: 3.2 mm
Fi: 6-48

R1: R51
R2: R17

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Sabatti TLD

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Sabatti TLD

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Sabatti TLD are the following:

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Sabatti TLD

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Sabatti TLD are the following:

Best Scope Mounts for Sabatti TLD

Fixed Scope Mounts for Sabatti TLD

MAKfix Rings are simple to install, reliable, and recoil resistant. This, combined with a relatively affordable price, makes them the most suitable fixed scope mounting solution for the Sabatti TLD. They come with a 30-year warranty and are made of steel, which makes them a perfect fit for the TLD’s steel receiver.

Detachable Repeatable Mounts for Sabatti TLD

INNOmount offers impressive solutions when it comes to detachable repeatable scope mounts for various uses. One of them is this one-piece scope mount of famed German quality. It is a great choice for your Sabatti TLD, and it comes with a 10-year warranty as well. You will need to couple it with a Picatinny rail, though. Since Italian-based Contessa is no stranger to manufacturing scope mounting solutions for Italian rifles, we think this Contessa Picatinny rail would be a perfect fit.

Picatinny Rails for Sabatti TLD

When you’re looking for a Picatinny rail for your rifle, you need to pay special attention to the length between the rear and front holes on the receiver (distance B on the image above). You can hardly ever go wrong with Contessa when it comes to Picatinny rails, and this is why we recommend this Contessa Picatinny rail for your Sabatti TLD. An Italian scope mount for an Italian rifle – perfect!

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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