beatingisbest Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 I have been looking at one of these for my first gun, does anyone have anything to say about them, good or bad? Thanks for any replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tosspot Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 my first 12 too still have it, couldn't break it, tried hard to wear it out an failed (even with Baikal/Record carts) a good solid hard wearing gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Good reliable guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noddy without Bigears Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Cracking gun, been sniffing round one myself, all AYAs' are well built, solid guns which last for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted December 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 thanks guys any known faults or anything like that? i dont want to be spending my hard earned cash on something i will probably find hard to resell without researching it completely, its probably going to be with me for a long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisNicholls Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 thanks guys any known faults or anything like that? i dont want to be spending my hard earned cash on something i will probably find hard to resell without researching it completely, its probably going to be with me for a long time No worries about anything on that score, there always seems to be a demand for decent side by sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 thanks guys any known faults or anything like that? i dont want to be spending my hard earned cash on something i will probably find hard to resell without researching it completely, its probably going to be with me for a long time No worries about anything on that score, there always seems to be a demand for decent side by sides. it will probably be harder to sell than a O/U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjimlad Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 I have one, it was made in 1977, exported in 1978 they know not where, and I bought it in 2000 in very good condition with almost all the original colour hardening. It is great !! Obviously it needs to be kept very clean. Buy on condition rather than age. I had the choice of 2 - the action on mine was slimmer somehow, and the other one had signs of wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 I have one, it was made in 1977, exported in 1978 they know not where, and I bought it in 2000 in very good condition with almost all the original colour hardening. It is great !! Obviously it needs to be kept very clean. Buy on condition rather than age. I had the choice of 2 - the action on mine was slimmer somehow, and the other one had signs of wear. Of what i have heard and read they are very reliable guns Have you ever run heavier loads through them eg 42g 1's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnclassic Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 I have a No4 and a Yeoman. The No4 is 3" Mag and I have double discharged 53g loads intentionally on many occasions. These guns handle about anything. I have never once had any breakage. You will have no problems with a 42g load. The one thing I would say is that I prefer the rib on the Yeoman to the concave one on the No4. Good luck but dont pay too much. You will get a good No4 in 12 for £150ish so watch the sales patter and beat them down with cash in hand. If you go after smaller bore No4's the price leaps up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 never had one but heard good things said about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 I have a No4 and a Yeoman. The No4 is 3" Mag and I have double discharged 53g loads intentionally on many occasions. These guns handle about anything. I have never once had any breakage. You will have no problems with a 42g load. The one thing I would say is that I prefer the rib on the Yeoman to the concave one on the No4. Good luck but dont pay too much. You will get a good No4 in 12 for £150ish so watch the sales patter and beat them down with cash in hand. If you go after smaller bore No4's the price leaps up. £150??? Cheapest i have seen them is £300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted December 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 any more opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 get one, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodeer Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 £1600 new. Mint s/h one £750. Stick to the 28" version. They are only proved to take upto 70mm 36g loads but i would have no hesitation in using the occasional 70mm 42g load. Anything under £250 will be a real dog, £450 will buy you a good decent tight clean one. Chokes were originally 1/2 and full but most have been opened out to something more sensible like 1/2 and 1/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 If you can find a 1970s or 80s example you will find it far superior in fit and finish to the present examples. That being said the present guns are a super first gun choice so as you can see the earlier ones will just be that much better. The first thing I would look for is the screw heads. Any chewed or widened slots in the heads (or blacked/blued - they should be colour hardened) will indicate someone who doesn't know what they are doing has been playing about with it and I would leave it alone. The second thing to look for are cracks in the forend wood - along a centre line end to end and also on the stock around the end of the back strap towards the comb. Leave anything with cracks showing well alone. ALSO Don't buy one if the wood is darker around the head of the stock as it will be oil sodden and spongy. It is not worth bothering with anything less than 100% as you should easily find a good early example and looked after it will last the rest of your shooting life. Good Hunting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted December 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 If you can find a 1970s or 80s example you will find it far superior in fit and finish to the present examples. That being said the present guns are a super first gun choice so as you can see the earlier ones will just be that much better. The first thing I would look for is the screw heads. Any chewed or widened slots in the heads (or blacked/blued - they should be colour hardened) will indicate someone who doesn't know what they are doing has been playing about with it and I would leave it alone. The second thing to look for are cracks in the forend wood - along a centre line end to end and also on the stock around the end of the back strap towards the comb. Leave anything with cracks showing well alone. ALSO Don't buy one if the wood is darker around the head of the stock as it will be oil sodden and spongy. It is not worth bothering with anything less than 100% as you should easily find a good early example and looked after it will last the rest of your shooting life. Good Hunting Exactly the sort of advice i was after, thanks a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead-Eyed Duck Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 My very first 12g ejector was an AYA No 4, and it was a brilliant gun (shouldn't have sold it!). I was fascinated as to how only the fired barrel would eject. So, I fired one barrel and then opened the gun very, very carefully and slowly to examine the said mechanism. Whereupon the empty case ejected and smacked me full in the eye from 6" range. I screeched and howled for a good minute, much to the amusement of my shooting partner Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodmedod.one Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 I have a No4 and a Yeoman. The No4 is 3" Mag and I have double discharged 53g loads intentionally on many occasions. These guns handle about anything. I have never once had any breakage. You will have no problems with a 42g load. The one thing I would say is that I prefer the rib on the Yeoman to the concave one on the No4. Good luck but dont pay too much. You will get a good No4 in 12 for £150ish so watch the sales patter and beat them down with cash in hand. If you go after smaller bore No4's the price leaps up. I think you are way too low on your price estimate. For that kind of money it will be a No.3 non ejector or a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted January 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 I have a No4 and a Yeoman. The No4 is 3" Mag and I have double discharged 53g loads intentionally on many occasions. These guns handle about anything. I have never once had any breakage. You will have no problems with a 42g load. The one thing I would say is that I prefer the rib on the Yeoman to the concave one on the No4. Good luck but dont pay too much. You will get a good No4 in 12 for £150ish so watch the sales patter and beat them down with cash in hand. If you go after smaller bore No4's the price leaps up. I think you are way too low on your price estimate. For that kind of money it will be a No.3 non ejector or a dog. I would have thought £350-£400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodeer Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 P.S AYA did not make a 3" mag no.4. Only 3" was a no.3 and a Matodor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnclassic Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 P.S AYA did not make a 3" mag no.4. Only 3" was a no.3 and a Matodor. Right, lets clear this up. Firstly Happy New Year all. Secondly I have an old No4 3" chambers, 30" extra full and extra full sitting in my cabinet, it cost me £130. I have an AYA Yeoman 2 3/4" chambers 26" 1/4 and 1/2 it cost me £45 and all it needed was reblueing. I am not knowingly lying, I am not imagining anything (until I have finished this bottle anyway) they are real and they are there. However, I have looked through a few sites and I see the No4 is indeed only listed as 2 3/4 chamber and 28" barrels, So what have I got? I honestly bought it as a No4 years ago, it is an AYA, could it be a No3, well Ive been wrong before. Its such a ******* being proved wrong though aint it? My apologies if I have been misleading, I dont take a word back on the quality of AYA's though, 10/10 This where I found out I was wrong (sob sob); http://www.trulockandharris.com/reviews/aya_no_4.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted January 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 if its an ejector its most likely to be a No4, although i have heard of Yeoman Ejectors etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisNicholls Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Secondly I have an old No4 3" chambers, 30" extra full and extra full sitting in my cabinet, it cost me £130. I seem to remember a good few years ago that Elderkins used to offer guns that they described as, 'made for us by AYA, virtually the same as, but not their No 4 model' - or whatever model they was describing. I think they offered several models based on the established AYA range with a little variation, perhaps the gun mentioned was a fowling version of the No 4, does it have a beaver tail fore end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnclassic Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Yes it does. Most useful when the barrels are hot too! It has all the usual AYA writing in the standard places. I jus noticed on their website - http://www.aya-fineguns.com/ingles/modelos/paralelas.htm that barrels can be supplied to special order for No4's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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