The UK importer of AyA shotguns is ASI and you can find more details on their website.The test gun is a 20 bore AyA No.2 which came straight from the stock of the West London Shooting School’s shop. Yeoman over-and-unders are generally over £550, and a good Coral over-and-under over £1,200. If you’re buying a second-hand AYA, an old but serviceable side-by-side Yeoman will be over £250, and a No.4 around £600. Prices get gradually higher through the ranges. The least expensive new side-by-side No.4 12-bore boxlock has an importer’s recommended price of over £3,200. How much should you expect to pay for an AYA?
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You’ll discover there is a extensive list of optional extras including stock and fore end variations, rib styles, selective and non-selective single triggers, and even full left-hand actions. My round-up here is by no means exhaustive and just about any gun can be built to special order. The Model 37 is built on a Merkel-like action. All models are available with Briley multichoke tubes. These include the MD2, MD6 and MD6S boxlocks, and the Excelsior, Model 37 and Augusta sidelocks. All guns are available in 12, 16, 20 and 28-bores, and. There is also a “Best Quality” boxlock, and a new round-action version. The latest version of the No.4 boxlock is the 4/53, and the “25” boxlock is still in popular use. However it comes in at a steep price of over £24,000. The most expensive is the Anniversary – a beautiful hammer gun. The AyA No 1 and 2 are available in round action variants. Most are available in 12, 16, 20, 28 bores and.
There’s an excellent range of side-by-side sidelocks. There are AYA over-and-unders but the company is renowned for its side-by-side game guns, which are the most familiar models. In the 1980s they were briefly members of a partnership of Basque gun makers but then reformed their own company in 1989.
The brothers were taken by the care this Spanish gunmaker took to listen to them and learn about what British shooters were looking for.ĪYA is based in the Basque Country of Northern Spain. Looking around for suppliers they were impressed by Aguirre y Aranzabal, better known in the UK as AYA. In the 1950s they went on holiday to Barcelona and were very taken by what they saw in Spanish gun shops – so in 1958 set up a company called Anglo Spanish Imports or ASI. The story is a stirring tale of two English brothers, Peter and Andrew King, who set up a hugely successful importing business. However when I asked some gunsmiths about this they told me this was not the case and Merkel and AYA parts are not interchangeable. The Coral was so like a German-built Merkel that some shooters believed they were made in the same factory. The best-handling AyA was probably the Coral and if you find one you are in luck. I haven’t been able to find many secondhand AYA over-and-unders being sold at the moment, although you can watch out for the occasional Yeoman boxlock or County sidelock. Some of the more expensive guns – particularly the sidelocks – may have been built to special order with non-standard features or special engraving. You may also find guns in the smaller bores, right down to. You may also find the occasional second-hand AYA Model XXV game gun with 25-inch barrels in sidelock and boxlock versions. This is a high-rib side-by-side sidelock competition gun. I’ve named the basic models here but there are other choices, like the Model 56. The boxlocks have Anson & Deeley-type actions, originally built to resemble a Wesley Richards.
The No.3 was a non-ejector boxlock, and there was an even simpler version called the Yeoman, which is not to be confused with an AYA over-and-under of the same name. The No.1 and No.2 are both sidelocks, with the more expensive No.1 largely influenced by the Holland & Holland design. Want to buy a single issue of Shooting Times, Sporting Gun?ĪYA side-by-side guns are generally known by numbers.Choosing the right bullets for deer stalking.British deer: A guide to identifying the six species found here and where to stalk them.Country hotels offering shooting facilities.
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