Can any of you give me some insight into this shotgun? It's a 12ga AyA "Matador" s/s with single trigger. I got it for a steal years ago and have paid little attention to it until recently. It does appear to be a well made gun and from it's wear and appearance I'd guess it's from the 1950's or 60's. I've had it out quail hunting this fall now and am thoroughly enjoying it's light weight and remarkable handiness. It's pure poison on rabbits, dove and quail!

Where does the AyA rate in quality and value in the world of double shotguns? Can anyone tell me where I can find out it's age from the Serial #?

Any info is appreciated!

can't tell you anything about the age or serial numbers but can tell you that aya is a very good spanish manufacturer. the matador was their relitively inexpensive shot gun made for america importation. i don't recall who actually imported them. it is not on the same scale as the model 1,4,53 etc. but it should be a good shotgun. i have a 28 gauge model 4 and it has a permanant home. i believe that aya has been incorporated into a conglomerate of several spanish makers.

Ditto what 458 said. They are a good solid box lock. In the right market, good condition 12 ga examples go for as much as $600.00 and 20 ga adds another $100 to $150.00, sometimes more. I say "in the right market" because a lot of folks still associate these with the poorly-made spanish guns that flooded the USA about the same time. You can still luck-out and find them occasionally for $150-300.00.

458RugerNo1

I'm afraid I can't give you any specific info either about your AYA. I can say that your post caught my eye because I traded a Luger in 7.65mm (the so called "small" Luger)that a brother had "liberated" in WW2 for an AYA double in 12 ga.Mine also had a single trigger. (As I recall there was no selective button and it always fired the right barrel first unless you wanted to dump the butt hard on the ground in which event it went to the left barrel) It was, as you have said about your Matador, a well made double. I didn't use it beyond a grouse season simply because I didn't care for the somewhat clunky fore end and because the shotgun simply didn't feel comfortable -which is not to say that someone else wouldn't have found it to be perfect. The most important thing I can say about it was that it not only looked "safe",i.e.,I could use hi base loads but was a safe shotgun - a very important thought for many of us in the early 1950s shooting shotguns of unknown origin (BTW, a "Matador" in Spanish culture is a very well respected figure so I would guess that your AYA was not a cheap knockoff)