Yildiz A3 SxS?

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huntingfish

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I've seen a used Yildiz A3 12ga SxS (single trigger, 28" barrels)...a bit on the heavier side at 7.3lbs. But still looks half decent. It was priced at 600-something bucks.

Was wondering if anyone had ever held a Yildiz before? Are they any good and how do they compare to an Akkar Churchill? It's no Beretta SxS for sure...but for the money and occassional shooting (when my son takes my 20ga SxS), I'm sure it could do the job.

Appreciate it!

David
 
To be clear, I have not shot one. However your mention of the weight caught my eye.

I'm assuming you want to use the gun for hunting. And probably not a lot of waterfowl. If that is correct, I'd suggest you might be happier in the long run if you continued your search and aimed for a 6 3/4 pound 12 ga SxS. A key reason for having a sxs is handling. We know good handling is harder to come by (but not impossible) as you go down the price scale. 1/2 pound will make a difference. It may be this gun handles great for you. But at 7 1/4 pounds, I'd want to shoulder it first. Many gun, especially SxS are produced within a range of weight. So I'm not talking about the make or model. I'm talking about this specific gun.
 
Canvasback! The gun will be used for hunting, but might be "my go to" gun for trap/skeet. If I want light, I'll take my < 6lbs Churchill 20ga (specs says 5.6lbs, but never actually weighed mine). Except for a few outings where I'll go with my son and he'll be taking the lightweight 20ga.

The good thing is though, the place that has this particular Yildiz also has in stock a standard grip Churchill 512 and an english straight grip 512 (both of which are 6lbs according to specs).

David
 
I feel the Churchill is a better gun.

I also don't like the cheesy laser engraving found on a lot of the lower end Yildiz guns. At over 7lbs, I also feel its a bit too heavy to be nimble field gun.

Just my 2 cents....worth about as much as 2 cents.....maybe 5 cents with inflation
 
1963beretta said:
I feel the Churchill is a better gun.

I also don't like the cheesy laser engraving found on a lot of the lower end Yildiz guns. At over 7lbs, I also feel its a bit too heavy to be nimble field gun.

Just my 2 cents....worth about as much as 2 cents.....maybe 5 cents with inflation
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Hey Beretta! I was hoping you'd be able to shine in with your experience. I know you have a Churchill as well, but I didn't recall if you had handled a Yildiz.
 
huntingfish said:
Hey Beretta! I was hoping you'd be able to shine in with your experience. I know you have a Churchill as well, but I didn't recall if you had handled a Yildiz.
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Yes, I handled quite a few at Sail when they first got them in stock some years back. Many had some really nice walnut, but I was really turned off by the cheesy laser etching. I don’t recall much about how they fit, but I wasn’t as impressed as I was with the Churchill.
 
Since its a used gun, I would be inclined to test fire it at the store with a pair of snap caps. The single trigger mechanism is complex... As a minimum, I would check the switch-over operation, the trigger pulls, and locking lug pressure/reserve. Finally, this gun is cast neutral - which would bother me.
 
I had an Elegance A1 briefly when they first came to my neck of the woods. The wood was awesome and the blueing was nice but the triggers pulled at 12 lbs on my gauge, I couldn’t even shoot it with the heavy pull since I was used to 4 lb pulls. The dealer said that he would have his gunsmith fix the triggers but it came back with one barrel pulling at 8 lbs and the other one at 10 lbs. I decided to take matters into my own hands and took the gun apart where I found a machining burr causing drag on the trigger. I smoothed that off and removed the hammer springs. I was able to shorten them by compressing them between my thumb and fore finger. When I put them back in the gun both triggers broke at 5 lbs so I called it good. So much for the Turks using good quality springs in they’re guns!
I don’t recall the weight of the gun but I was used to an 8:5 lb sporting clays gun so it may have weighted over 7 lbs but it probably felt light to me. I recall that it handled fine enough. One day I showed it too a guy and he was so enamoured with the wood that he purchased it from me on the spot! The wood really was nice!
Personally I wouldn’t ever purchase another Yildiz based on my experience but once I fixed the triggers then it was a pretty serviceable gun for occasional shooting but certainly not a gun made for high volume shooting. I’ve never handled or owned a Churchill so I can give no comparisons.
 
I had the A1 E1 with the English stock. The walnut was very nice but the metal work was a little over the top for my liking. It was blinding shiny and borderline tacky. This was not as noticeable inside the house or under cloudy skies but on a bright day it certainly was. The gun was neutral in balance and cast which I very much like. It came to the shoulder more like an American gun rather than the style it was trying to replicate. This is to say, you could aggressively lean into it rather than the upright stance required by a true English gun.

I had no trouble hitting casual clays with it. The trigger was a little heavy but not enough to bother me. The barrels were decently regulated with the right barrel being just a little bit higher than the left. I patterned the right barrel at 30 yards with the IMP CYL and it was center and approximately 70/30. At 40 yards the left barrel was about 50/50 and just very slightly left of center using the MOD choke. The chokes seemed to throw an even pattern but I only tried a couple of different target loads and just those two chokes. The safety and barrel selector is a one piece moving affair like a Browning. I found it a little sloppy and could be jammed if not pushed straight forward. This is probably just me however as I don't much like the Browning selector either.

I was going to use it for a field gun but along came something else and I moved it along. Like above, I probably wouldn't go looking for another one but I had no major problems with it. It seemed well worth the price and I had no problem selling it.
 
I wouldn't be interested in a gun over 7lbs.
I have a 28ga Churchill SxS and I enjoy hunting with it more than my 20ga Fausti DEA. It's simple, it works, it's light, it's balanced, it points naturally, it feels good in the hand. It won't win the beauty contest, but it handles nicely.
For the money, I'm not sure the Churchill SxS's can be beat at the moment.
I prefer the pistol grip stocked Churchill's, that just my personal preference.
 
I understand not wanting to carry a heavy gun all day but I think thats something that a lot of people aquire with age. When I was younger I couldn't care less if the gun was ten pounds, the weight made no difference to me as long as it balanced and handled well. My sporting clays gun is 9 lbs and is quite indistingushable in handling from lighter guns I've had because it's balanced properly and fits well.
 
Falconflyer said:
I understand not wanting to carry a heavy gun all day but I think thats something that a lot of people aquire with age. When I was younger I couldn't care less if the gun was ten pounds, the weight made no difference to me as long as it balanced and handled well. My sporting clays gun is 9 lbs and is quite indistingushable in handling from lighter guns I've had because it's balanced properly and fits well.
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It may be but it doesn't matter to me. I am no longer young and I like what I like.Laugh2
 
I’m not arguing with that canvasback, I’m getting a bit long in the tooth as well and don’t care for carrying heavy guns all day either but when I was twenty or thirty years old I wouldn’t have noticed if the gun was 20 lbs! These days my sporting clays gun stays in the shoot cart until it needs to go to work!
 
I believe a Beretta SP is 7 lbs 6 oz and a Browning Citori closer to 8. Pretty good company in the over 7 lb club. I think once you get use to something it is very hard to go back. I carried a 28 for a couple of years at just over 5 lbs and everything else since has been heavy. My field gun 12 for pheasants is just over seven and is a burden by days end. Getting old sucks but it is better than the alternative.
 
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