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

FWIW: There are many more AyAs out there than Arrietas (bigger verses much smaller company). Both can build wonderful guns, but each gun is going to be a little different (built to a pattern, but handmade, and over time processes and people change!). I've owned an Arrieta sidelock for over 15-years and have no complaints. It's a New England Arms 557 and it was my very first "fine" gun. It was a very good place to start. I now wish it was an 800 series gun, but it suited my pocketbook at the time. It fits me so-well, I'd never part with it. Spanish guns do seem to devalue about the same rate new cars do, so a good used one is almost always a better value. Doverham's suggestion about the no-name Arrietas is a good one, with the caveat that the ones I've seen weren't as attractive to me as the Branded versions.

Used Spanish guns are a great value, but they do have several significant drawbacks. 1) you may have trouble finding a gun that has all the bells and whistles you want; 2) getting a used gun that fits you really well is tough unless you shoot standard dimensions; 3) buying used means you're buying someone else's custom gun, not YOURS. I would get a new Arietta if I was in your shoes. I have seen 3 of them that have been shot a lot and they all have worked perfectly. It is also much more pleasant to deal with a smaller gunmaker.
Regards,
Jeff

I agree completely, your dollar will go much farther in the used market on spanish guns. Further if you find the prefect gun you long for is not the custom one you paid top dollar for, the used gun will sell at a much lower loss. I look at gun buys as rentals. The rent on a used gun is less than new by a huge delta.

Don't focus on name in the used market, focus on the individual gun, its quality, its features. All the big spanish names make some good examples and a few not so good. Consider a Older good condition Belgian or Italian gun as there can be some great values there if you are buying the gun and not the name.

In the UK both are regarded as (probably equally) good guns. You can certainly have an AyA customised to what you want, but as above there is MUCH better value to be had second hand. Here there is more choice of AyA guns.

What I did was bought a used (1970s, but little used) AyA No 1 that had the basic specification I wanted (double trigger, straight hand well figured stock, 28" barrels) and had it fitted for me by alteration to it's existing stock dimensions.

I ended up with a fairly high grade bespoke gun at a lower price than a current standard No 2 would be new.

For the last 9 years I've shot a 16 #2 AyA almost exclusively for upland birds. The gun has been fitted to me and I've never had a problem. For moi, the weight, balance and ease of mounting has made my AyA an all time favorite.

John I have an AyA number 1 from about the same period; 1969. I understand the Number 1's at that time were engraved and hardened here in England. Mine is a two barrel set Imp/cyl x 1/2 choke and 1/2 choke and full. Unfortunately it has a single trigger. Good buys second hand but devilishly expensive new. True a good used Number 1 is a lot less than a new Number 2. I paid �3,500 and it is in about 90% condition. Arrietas are good but there are many models at different prices. Lagopus.....

If I�m going to buy spanish shotgun I wouldn�t take neither AYA or Arrieta. My choice would be Armas Garbi. They make whole gun with hand, no CNC -machines, just high skilled gunsmiths with their tools.

http://www.armasgarbi.com/

Igorrock, please excuse me if I am mistaken, but your post insinuates that AyA and Arrieta build their guns with the aid of CNC machines, not that that is a bad thing, but where did you come up with that revelation?

I decided I "needed" a AyA 4/53 and was close to paying 4k for one new. Since shopping is most of the fun of acquiring a new gun anyway I made a list of what I wanted (features, dimensions....) and waited until I found one.
I saved over a grand on a gun that could have passed for new. If you are shopping several different makers just don't include that detail on your list of what you are looking for.
The hard part is not buying a gun that is almost what you want, but holding out for the right one.
I don't have any experience with Arrieta to compare, but I am very pleased with my AyA.
CHAZ

Thank you all for the input, great pictures, and advice. It's not something I'm going to rush into. I want to look at and handle some of each before deciding I can't live without a Spanish sidelock. (one of Uncle Joe Wood's Parkers will probably find a home with me before I acquire an AYA, Arrieta, or any of the others)