doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com AYA quality

I just picked up an AYA 20 gauge sxs made for Sears,Roebuck Co. It's chambered for 3" shells and has magnum stamped on the barrel flats. I emailed AYA and they said it was a Yoeman made in 1974 long discontinued. Has anyone had one of these guns and are they a good quality made gun? Other than the finish of the stock starting to check/flake it is in near new condition. There is no wear on the case color anywhere. I realise this is a very inexpensive gun(probably why I bought it)but was wondering about the quality. I assume the newer AYAs are of good quality, I'm not sure of an older one. Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks

Quality on older AyA's can vary alot. Your gun, as you already know was a "super entry level" SxS. Fit and finish will be lacking, but that Yeoman was built at a price and that price was "cheap". Your AyA might have a problem with soft steel and then again, it might not, just have to shoot it and see what happens. They are simple guns and can usually be easily fixed. I probably wouldnt shoot the 3" magnum stuff out of it (even though its proofed for it), that might help it to last a bit longer. All in all, it is a servicable gun, take proper care of it, keep an eye on the soft metal issues and that gun should last a long time.

In my experience the weakest spot on these is the single trigger; hope yours doesn't have one....

Fusil, what in your experience, is the first sign of improperly hardened parts? It'd be nice to have a clue before the thing breaks in the middle of a hunt (or worse, doubles....).

Second your advice on 3" 20s, partly because they aren't really a very efficient load anyway. I shoot 'em only in pumps that can handle steel, and then only when I can't shoot lead. Magnum motto" "Sound and fury, signifying nothing" (except higher cost, more wear on gun, and shooter). There's a place for magnums--duck blind!

The first sign would be mushrooming firing pins, gun hard to open because firing pin is "stuck" out far enough causing drag, secondly would be when you take the gun apart...what do the hammers look like are they all dented up, can you see any hairline cracks in the metal(possibly over hardend parts are common too), can you seen metal shavings/spalling on the bottom of the action (metal possibly from the hammers, or even the sear engagement surface area. Thats it for my experience...my only other experience is packaging up the gun and sending it away to have the thing fixed. :-(

Thanks, LeFusil; I'll keep an eye on my Eurotrash babies....

Thanks for your opinions. I don't plan to shoot anything but standard 2 3/4" factory loads. It is a double trigger gun. It probably won't see a lot of use.I have other guns that I use regularly. This one would be for a guest/visiter/friend that wants a sxs 20 gauge. I've had friends not care for my guns as well I would have liked them too. I thought this to be a perfect gun for that.
Thanks again

I second Mike's opinion. Those Sears guns, and the Matadors from the same era, are usually OK--but they have godawful ST's. Consider yourself lucky yours is a double trigger gun.

i'd find some better friends.

spanish guns get a bad rap. i've had quite a few and by and large they're just fine. you're probably got a perfectly sound gun that'll perform just fine. i'd buy one if it came along at a decent price. the single trigger is the only thing i'd expect a problem with and you don't have that anyway.

roger