Sabatti Carbon caliber .308 Winchester

What fiber this Rover! Extremely light, thanks to the innovative carbon fiber stock and the Ergal action, Rover Carbon offers all the precision, strength and reliability of Sabatti's experience in the production of quality bolt-actions.

Carbon fiber on the stock of hunting rifles is one of the innovations of recent years and almost all manufacturers have tried it. The material has notable and specific properties of resistance and elasticity. The Sabatti stock is in carbon fiber, but it is different and original: it is a monocoque made by a specialized Italian company, patented both as a product and as a method of execution. It is built entirely in one integral piece, including the seat that houses the action, by overlapping carbon fabrics and layers of resin, then "cooking" everything at high pressure. For these reasons it is a completely unique stock, technologically advanced and structured to offer the best sensations to the hunter.

I didn’t fire many shots, but I appreciated the predictable reactivity of the stock and an elasticity that responds well to recoil and does not create any “resonance” effect as happens with some synthetic stocks. In addition, it is equipped with a polymer cheek rest fixed with an Allen screw, replaceable with one that is about 30 mm taller. The length of the stock can also be customized thanks to spacers placed before the butt plate. The stock is straight, with a pistol grip that is not particularly radiused.

Sabatti Carbon .308 Winchester — Technological look for the Sabatti Rover Carbon.

The Rover Carbon is, therefore, incredibly light: just 2,5 kg and even less. The stock, of course, but the lightness is also contributed by the Rover action in Ergal 55 milled from solid, also equipped with an integral Picatinny rail for mounting optics or other aiming devices.

The Rover three-tenon action is one of the best on the market, with a chromed rotating-sliding bolt characterized by a solid body with helical fluting and a removable knob. The bolt smoothness and the grip of the handle are excellent, aspects that are certainly decisive when hunting.

The trigger is a Sabatti French stecher, factory-set to 1,4 kg/300 g. A three-lever match trigger can also be mounted.

Cold hammer-forged, very tapered, with 4 straight flutes, the barrel adopts the internal multi-radial Sabatti MRR (Multi Radial Rifling) rifling and is 560 mm (22”) long. The muzzle has a diameter of 16 mm, threaded M14x1, with Jet brake muzzle brake. The barrel is the specialty of the house, in which the engineer Emanuele Sabatti has poured thirty years of experience and studies.

The removable magazine is made of polymer, with a capacity of 3 cartridges. The safety is manual with two positions, with bolt lock and cocked hammer warning.

I tested the Rover Carbon with the Fiocchi Perfecta with a 168 grs HPBT Matchking bullet at 100 meters: everything was extremely easy in the two three-shot groups visible in the photos. I also tried a reload set up with the 152 grs MRR bullets Green hunting bullet using a 46 grs dose of Norma 202 powder and 72,90 mm OAL. These are so-called “leadless” bullets obtained by turning drawn copper bars on numerically controlled machines, with a polymer tip to control expansion. Sabatti claims that these bullets are not specifically dedicated to MRR barrels, but that they work very well with all types of barrels, including MRR. In fact, I can testify that the groups are very similar. Well under the minute of angle with holes that overlap.

It is a pleasure to shoot with the Carbon, not only for the ability to group shots and for the precision. I was a bit prejudiced about the stock, which instead transmitted “vibrations” to me, but all positive and reacted perfectly to the recoil, like a wooden stock rather than a synthetic stock. Finally, the lightness, precisely. Which in the case of particularly demanding hunts is a determining factor.

Data Sheet

Producer: Custom shop Sabbath, via Alessandro Volta 90, 25063 Gardone Val Trompia (Bs), tel. 030.89.12.207, sabatti.it

Model: Rover Carbon

CALIBRO: .308 Winchester (available .270 Winchester, 6,5 Creedmor, 7 Remington magnum, .300 Winchester magnum)

Specific use: mountain hunting

operation: rotating-sliding shutter with three front lugs