Suggestions and comments offered entirely for what it’s worth:
Don’t limit your search to AyA. At any given price point all the artisanal shotgun makers produced pretty much the same shotgun. Hence, at any given price point, AyA artisanal shotguns are neither better nor worse than similar guns made by any other artisanal Spanish shotgun maker.
Have patience. Historically the Spanish had little use for 28 gauge shotguns and produced very few for domestic consumption. The vast majority of the small number of 28 gauge shotguns were made for buyers here in the USA. You will be chasing an uncommon gun (FYI, I just checked Gun Broker and found only three Spanish made 28 gauge shotguns, out of a list of almost 100 shotguns).
Establish how much you are willing to pay for the gun you want before looking for the gun. Be prepared to see prices that run from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Be mindful that the actual “sold” price of any artisanal Spanish shotgun (and really, any firearm) is determined by the buyer’s willingness to spend more than it is the seller’s desired price.
Be mindful that each and every Spanish artisanal shotgun is made for some specific purpose or set of purposes. This characteristic means all Spanish artisanal shotguns fall into a continuum that ranges from Light Game Gun, to Medium Game Gun, to Heavy Competition Gun (AKA live pigeon gun).
Light game guns are said to be carried much and shot little. These are walk-up guns, for which five shots in any given day of hunting is heavy use.
Medium game guns are said to be carried little and shot much. Think of driven bird hunts; hunter on position shooting game driven to him, a good day may be several hundred birds taken. These guns ae also called “Fur and Feather” guns and used to hunt birds one day, rabbits the next, and end the week taking boar or deer with buck shot or ball.
Heavy competition guns are just what the name suggests; made for heavy use in high dollar prizes in live pigeon shooting contests. “Heavy use” here means shooting tens to hundreds of thousand shells a year.
Understanding this continuum, and where on it any given gun falls, is important.
Someone who buys a light game gun and tries to use it as if it were a heavy competition gun wears his gun our fast (and then complains about how shoddy the gun was made).
Someone who buys a heavy competition gun and tries to use it as a light game gun just wears himself out carrying over hill and dale.
Hope this introduction to Spanish artisanal shotguns is of some help.
