Other than aesthetics what can a aya # 2 offer me over a 4/53. My search for my magic wand game getter continues.

If $$ does not matter, go with the #2. The sidelock will be a little thinner height wise than the box lock. However, both IMO are Great choice. I have several AYAs including #2, and a xxvbl. The #2 is in 410, the BL, is in 12. My AYA xxvbl has most likely taken more grouse than any of my other AYAs.

Rich

Get the gun in your hands, swing it, shoot it - Internet theorizing doesn't tell you much.
I have a AyA No. 2 in 20 gauge, 5 pounds 15 ounces. A beautiful slender wand.
I have never shot it as well as other, more modest guns.

You will feel more mass between your hands with the #2.
#2's are available stateside that are specially finished, sold by dealers as their in-house special model.

4's, with model 53 wood upgrades can be more dynamic, but a little plain.

It truly is a "buy the gun..." Situation.
Some#2's can be stunners.

The #4 I've used was an extension of my left hand. Very evenly balanced.

gold plated lock parts don't do anything for me.

Getting my hands on any of these is impossible. LCS would be the closed dealer that might get one in and their 3 hours from me. I'm going to have to get some stock measurements from guns I have that fit me and buy a gun thats the same and hope for the best.

There are tons of Spanish doubles available here.
No need to order one only to not like it.
You could do a 3 day inspection from a seller as well.

Other than corona virus quarantine, you could fly to London and shoot one all day at WLSS for less than what you’d lose ordering one and not liking it. They have racks full of them for rent.
Exchange rates have made #2’s expensive.
They used to be around 2500 with special finish.

It is a shame you are not over here. If you check out the Pigeonwatch site in the for sales column a composed pair of AYA number 2s sold for £900. £450 each to separate owners who were both delighted and described them as sleepers. I picked up an as new AYA number 3 three inch magnum for £300 early this year and the owner was also selling a number 2 in immaculate condition for £450. All 12 bore.
I have owned a number 4 and for a long time it was my only gun. It was a 28 inch barrelled gun and a delight, the 26 inch barrelled number 4 I once shotI seemed clubby and ill balanced as did a number 2 in 26 inch, but that was only an individual gun in each case. Curiously I found the xxv boxlock and sidelock models to both balance well. I admit it is pretty subjective and based on few examples over a long period of time but as has been said buy the gun as from my experience the balance and feel can vary between models and barrel length.
I wasn’t tempted to buy the number 2 in 26 inch barrel I handled for £450 bargain that it was because for me it just didn’t feel right. However if I was considering buying another AYA I would be looking for a xxv sidelock or boxlock that came up to the shoulder well and be looking for a private sale as some trade prices are still very high.

So, that’s what has happened to them. An elderly friend of mine wants a small bore Spanish sidelock so I started looking around for him and noticed the prices are about double what they used to be. He’s 94 years old (a super neat man and will be 95 in November ), but I don’t think he has time to wait for them to go back down ....

God bless him. I hope he's got 5 more years to enjoy it.

SRH

I think a pair was pushing $20,000 when I last checked for number twos.

Most people don’t shoot them that much here in the United States.

I’d look for a #2 Briarwood at Bilinski’s, check the stock dimensions and give them the credit card number.
Those are above as nice shooting and as good looking a shotgun as you’ll find here in the US.

He wants it to shoot doves Stan!

Please tell him he is my hero, and that it is my goal to shoot doves on my 100th b'day. I know of no other wingshooting that is quite so addictive, or so captivating.

SRH

I've owned just about every brand of Spanish made gun out there.
I presently have a Garbi 101 12 bore with 29 1/2" Briley choked barrels.
Thinking of getting rid of it and look for a 20 bore.

I had a AYA #2 20ga I bought from our member Shotgunjones, IIRC. It was a 27" barreled gun and I had my way with the quail using that gun. Probably shouldn't have sold it at the Vegas show. They are nice guns, but they aren't flawless masterpieces. Mine had some kind of funny spongy feeling trigger, I don't recall the details. We tend to forget the bad stuff.

Big surprise! found a picture of it.

I love my Garbi 101 20ga.
Elegant engraving, not gaudy IMO.
I had an AYA #2 in 20 and sold it. Engraving was a bit busy for my taste.

I remember that gun Chuck.

My only foray into the world of sidelocks.

It came from a co-worker who lived in Rhinelander, WI. We met at the Escanaba airport to do the deal and of course he had to show me how to take the locks off like it was some kind of secret of the universe and he proceeded to drop one of them in the parking lot. No damage, just a learning experience.

You apparently shot it better than I did. It shot low for me.

Glad you enjoyed it while you had it.

A No. 2 IMO but watch out for the weight of the gun. AYA's are mostly too heavy for their bore size. I was at Fieldsport last week and all his 28 bore AYA,s were too heavy (over 6 pounds) and too expensive at around $7K.

I have a No. 2, I purchased from Cabella's, a few years ago that was almost perfect, dimension-wise, for me. It weighs in at 5 lb. 7 oz., which is about what a 28 should weigh, IMO. I got it for a good negotiated price but the firing pins were bent, as I later found out. New heat treated pins from Jim Eyster, fixed that problem and it has been a flawless shooter since then.

Take your time and look around for the gun that fits your shooting dimensions and balances well and is priced right.

I'd like to get a 20 that's 6 lbs or less.

If you are patient, one will show up that meets your expectations.
My #2 is one of my favorite grouse guns and, even though it is rather light, at about 5 1/2 lbs with 28 inch barrels, I do not find it "whippy" at all.

Just, FYI, other nice guns in the price range of an AYA 2, are WC Scott, 700 series guns and some German and Austrian guns. Teutonic guns, made before the war, can be a great buy since demand is low and their quality is much better than any Spanish gun.

Correction: I meant Webley and Scott, 700 series.