Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns AYA Matador SxS?

I've wanted a SxS for awhile but didn't want to drop $3-5,000 only to discover I don't like shooting a SxS. I recently rolled the dice and dropped several hundred dollars on an AYA Matador II in 20g. I know, it's Spanish, but it's also a fraction of the price of a "proper" European scattergun.

Anyone have experience with these?

20g, 26" bbls, M/IC, ejectors, vent rib, SST, case-hardened receiver

They are pretty solid shotgun from a company with a long history building fine shotguns. That said you aren't going to have the real experience of shooting a sxs with the Matador. With the vent rib, sst and beavertail forend you are just about duplicating the handling characteristics of an American made semi-auto. A splinter forend, two triggers, concave or flat tapered rib, straight or Prince of Wales grip bring out the real handling characteristics of a sxs.

There are a lot of nice serviceable sxs on the market now for some very reasonable prices, PM me you want some leads.

AYA makes some nice guns. In my experience just stay away from non selective single triggers and you should be ok

Erich, I want to PM you for some leads on a 16 gauge like you speak of, but my wife won't let me (and she doesn't know about the half dozen saved searches of various manufacturers I have on the gunbroker app that meet that criteria)

Oh crap, someone else discovered the saved searches feature on GB. I thought it was my secret weapon.

This thread will probably pop up someone's google search 5 years from now when they stumble across an AYA Matador at a pawn shop. So for that guy, I'll provide an update:

Picked up my Matador II yesterday and was astonished at the condition. For a gun that's about 50 years old it has barely been fired. I took it out for a couple rounds of 5-stand this morning. A Beretta it is not. But... it is a joy to shoot. My only complaint is the very long and heavy trigger pull. This is likely attributable to both the trigger design and the very limited use this gun has seen. However, once I got around to breaking clays, the trigger was an afterthought.

I'm very glad I rolled the dice on this gun. With the rising prices on SKB 200 and Browning BPS shotguns, this is a nice alternative for the price. (Although, that's not to say that the quality of the gun is on par with the SKB or Browning. Better than the Turkish abominations you see, but not on par with an older SKB.)

Pics?

AYAs are a well made gun and come in the various numbers and models to go from workhorse models to decent quality Side locks.
Not sure where the matador fits into the scheme of things but if it is anything like my 26 inch AYA No 4 i have had over 20 years it will do you proud. Enjoy it.