Withdraw a rifle from the recent series for trial purposes Saphira turns out to be the favorable occasion for a visit to the company: so at the end of January, accompanied by Eng. Emanuele Sabatti we go from department to department trying to grasp the thought that in the beginning moved the commercial choices and from there those techniques. In the long gun sector, the Gardone industry has seen smooth rods excel for a long time in line with the hunting orientation aimed at small game flanked by that, always very popular, of the platform. The need creates the function and if some enterprising spirit takes up the challenge, interesting things arise. Sabatti was well rooted in the production of all versions of shotguns, but has welcomed the evolution of the times marked by the expansion of hunting for ungulates and, collaterally, precision shooting according to the different international standards for which weapons are needed. rifled suitable for cartridges with central fire. Two solutions were posed: to compose rifles by taking the main components from established third parties or to implant this technology from scratch in the company: the realization of the barrel is the important step that sees at the beginning, now several decades have passed, to buy a rotomammer from the Belgian company Delcourt, designing and manufacturing the frame and bolt on its own, completing the mechanics with the accessory parts and finally moving on to the stock.
Having said this, it already seems interesting, but giving a free hand to curiosity there is much more to appreciate. The visit starts from the steel warehouse where bars several meters long stand on the ground waiting to move on to cutting the pieces with the size already proportionate to the request of the finished piece; we then move on to drilling with a cannon tip and to the first passage in an operating machine to obtain the external profile: this is equipped with a double possibility of locking according to the point of the piece on which you work to avoid oscillations that would create irregularities. We then move on to machining with the piece vertically to obtain the grip points necessary for the subsequent passage in the rotary hammer, the one that creates the grooving. On the side wall there are the pins which, inserted in the barrel hole, act as a matrix when the hammers, with a very high pressure, force the inner part of the barrel itself to take its shape: it is interesting to compare a traditional rifling pin to that for the new multiradial rifling, a recent Sabatti invention for which the sharp edges between solids and voids are eliminated by imparting the rotary motion to the bullet through a helical variation of rounded surfaces with connections with two alternating radii. Greater speed of exit of the bullet for an optimal sealing of the gases and less friction due to the absence of the notch on the projectile replaced by the folding: in essence, there will be better patterns and less parasitization inside the components of the shell.
The bore is performed subsequently and this is already a point of differentiation, for example towards a part of the German production that opts to perform it together with the rifling. It is interesting to observe how different methods of metal working are adopted in the same company environment: the snap teeth are obtained from a plate with the wire cutting procedure operated with the laser to obtain the maximum precision of the piece. Procedure of another kind for steel actions: here the precision casting is chosen to obtain shutter and handlebar in one piece with lower operating costs of milling and the adoption of alloys with particular components intended for use. The checks are carried out in the metrology room, with air conditioning, and the results confirm the quality of the work.
In another department the rifles are assembled and some models of shotguns with smooth bore can be observed alongside the many rifles: however, even in this type the rifled is very present with the express or with the combined: wild boar hunting with a parallel to due canne rigate certainly has a different flavor.
Then there is the careful and punctual work of the footballers grappling with walnut logs of appreciable aesthetics that will especially wear the overheads, without forgetting some hunting versions of the rifle: hence the differences between the various types of long guns are marked: the Tactical models are expanding like wildfire while the competition specialists always see an evolution in different technical details such as in the finishes. The synthetic stocks in bright colors are placed side by side with those in laminated wood where the different dyes of the layers stand out during the processing to match the treatment of the metal components with a lively chromatic result. Almost at the end of the operations, the serial number and other personal references of the weapon are laser engraved: a screen against UV rays protects those who work with this particular machine. The design is continuously in motion to provide customers with an increasingly advanced product, aided by CAD CAM technology: before leaving the company, we take a look at a rifle model (8517) equipped with a low thickness steel barrel wrapped in a series of carbon fiber coils: this is how lightness and strength are combined, even if, as Eng. Sabatti, the heating after a few strokes of the two materials involves different extensions, especially in length, with alterations of the beaten point. It goes without saying that this solution is the prerogative of hunting where lightness is much appreciated and 2 or 3 shots in quick succession represent the maximum volume of fire required.
Among the latest proposals and to follow up on the theme of low weight there is precisely the Saphira with light alloy castle: we will see it shortly, reserving the space it deserves.
We leave the company struck by the apparent simplicity with which steel is transformed into precision rifles through manufacturing processes that seem to take place in an elementary way. Then we pause to think about how many questions we had to answer, what decisions we had to access in the uncertainty of those moments in which throwing yourself into investments to adequately deal with the ruled was not an easy thing. This is also a merit that preceded and created today's success.