Your budget is $4500 USD.

You want a shootable, huntable representative of the classic Spanish SXS 20 bore to round out your collection.

Your primary use for this gun will be upland huntng over dogs. You will be carrying this gun in a variety of conditions.

Which gun would you choose?

AYA.

+1

I have no experience with the new Spanish guns but have owned a couple made in the 50's. They were absolutely beautiful, handled like a gun is supposed to, but their metallurgy and internal parts were really bad; little things just kept breaking. The new AYA and Arrietta guns do look nice.
C.G.B.

I've handled a couple of Ugartachea side by sides ( i'll bet I massacred the spelling on that) and I really liked 'em. Fit and finish was very good.


.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:
I've handled a couple of Ugartachea side by sides ( i'll bet I massacred the spelling on that) and I really liked 'em. Fit and finish was very good.


.

I have two of these nice guns and workwell

quote:

Originally posted by Andre Mertens:
AYA.

+2

I had a Ugartechea that was nice, I would see what Arrietta has in that range, very nice doubles.

I like the uggie's best bang for the buck my go to is a 16 for grouse and woodcock bought a spare just in case.

I'm partial to the older AYAs. High quality and great prices or acceptable quality and very affordable.
I'm also a fan of the P. Bernardellis. Great value and quality.
And with your budget, you could get a couple of these.

For $4500 you should be able to pick up a good sidelock AYA, Grulla, or Arrietta is you look around enough and have some time. I even picked up a nive Arrizabalaga a couple years ago for under $4K.

Forgot to add Garbi's as well. Have a 12 & 20 that I shoot a bit as well.

+4 on AyA.

A little over your budget but if I had $5K to spend one of these would be mine.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=442053864

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=442147803

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:
I've handled a couple of Ugartachea side by sides ( i'll bet I massacred the spelling on that) and I really liked 'em. Fit and finish was very good.


.

I have two of these nice guns and workwell

I have a very nice Ugartechea 28 ga and an AYA 20. For the difference in the price, buy the Ugartechea and put the difference in your pocket....or in ammo.

Some of the Spanish guild guns are pretty nice too, and can be had for a song. But the, some are not so nice. I have a 12 gauge Larranaga SxS that is a plain field gun, but is solid, well balanced and well made.
joe

I've owned several Spanish guns, mostly higher grades made from the fifties through 2004. All had problems, mostly related to parts wearing out and barrel regulation. I have had two guns that shot 6" apart at 20 yards. I don't own any Spanish guns now.

There are some very good Spanish guns, no doubt. But, they are built many times on the English dimensions which includes a shallow drop at comb and heel. In my case, I find I am looking at too much ramp. German guns fit me much better. I'd go handle a few before I got too far with the process.

I have Spanish knock offs of English guns and English guns. The Spanish knock offs have fewer issues!

I have one Arrietta which has got to have somewhere near 200,000 rounds through it. I have replaced one firing pin spring, iirc, and had new firing pins fitted at the same time since the gun was apart, but the originals were still good, and they are now spares.

It is my go to gun for South American dove and duck shooting. It is a two barrel set and when one set of barrels get so hot I fear for the soulder I switch barrel sets... The trigger pills were heavy and gravely when I received the gun, and I had to have them smoothed and lightened.

JPK

My current pet 20ga is the Ugartechea #221 I got recently. It's in like new condition. Shoots 3" shells.

It weighs 5#,9oz with 24.5" barrels. Has double tiggers. I paid $400 for it.

The Bernadelli 20 ga to the left cost me more and is nice as well.

Try to find another Ugartechea #221

I have zero use for short barreled SxS's.

That you don't appreciate handy, fast guns is of little interest to those who find them outstanding.

My best gun is my JP. Sauer drilling! It has 23 5/8" barrels.



I find them so handy, fast and effective.

quote:

posted 14 December 2014 13:50
I have zero use for short barreled SxS's.

Great. I love em. Send them my way.

boxhead,

Here is a gun with 23 5/8" barrels.

Drilling for sale

Perhaps it's too expensive for you. I see your in Russia where you have no gun.

Savage99: you did great on that Ugartechea if you got it for $400! I'll bet it is just blue murder on grouse.

I just looked on Gunbroker to check availability of a 20ga SxS and this one is right there!

To add that on the 20ga SxS's I prefer double triggers and a straight grip. I don't need ejectors.

It's only $420 and if I did not have suitable guns I would get it.

20 Ga SXS

That looks like a nice little $400 shotgun to me. Sometimes you get what you pay for. TWL said the budget was $4500. He could do much, much, much better with that budget. I would say he could get an entry sidelock or a very nice boxlock for that. Remember, the devil is in the internal details. I cannot speak specifically about any gun mentioned above but many of the lower end Spanish guns look great on the outside and are poorly made and/or have improperly hardened parts on the inside.



I am no expert on the subject. But here is this layman's advice.

I would look for something by AyA, Arrieta, Arrizabalaga, Garbi, or Grulla. Some of the guns you find with these names on them will be low grade guns and some will be over the budget you propose. But, as long as you are willing to stay away from their consumer grade guns, $4500 can get you something decent from within these trusted names.

AyA - stay away from their low end Matador, Yeoman, and guns made for big retailers. The 4/53 is a very nice boxlock and if you look hard you can find a decent No.2 sidelock for what you are willing to spend.

Arrietta - Hard to find one in really good shape for $4500 but you might get lucky. Just make sure that it doesn't have strange measurements, abuse, or 2" chambers. I'd look for one of the Arriettas that Griffin & Howe imported and put their name on. It is not difficult to find one of theirs in good shape within your budget. G&H didn't brand junk and surely they could help you with questions, alterations, and/or repairs.

Arrizabalaga - Generally way over your budget. But you can sometimes find some some in the $4000-$5000 range. Just make sure it is up to snuff condition wise. Then again, you might look at some of their fine guns and decide you want to spend more!

Garbi - Again, mostly way over the budget. But sometimes you can find one of their model 100 sidelocks at a price close to, or maybe just a tad over, $4500. Generally they are well worth it if you get one in nice condition.

Grulla - I mention them because they make some pretty nice guns. Some lower end (for Grulla) guns were imported and can be had for under $2000. Orvis imported and offered some that you can get for a bit more but I don't know how good or bad those were. To get one of the better Grullas you will need to spend more than your budget. But, again, after looking at a few you might be willing to do just that.

I think what gave Spanish shotguns a bad rap was that most of the first guns imported were very low end. And most of the makers, including the best, made a full line of guns including the low end. I would never pay full retail for a Spanish shotgun but good buys can be had in the used market for a small fraction of the price of comparable British or Italian guns.

Pedro Gorosabel round action self opener sidelock ejector:



Relatively low cost 7 pin H&H-style sidelock by Juan Uriguen:

10.5 pound 10 gauge magnum sidelock behemoth by J.J. Sarasqueta: