Turkish shotguns for under £600

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By Shooting Gazette's Bill Elderkin

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Turkish shotguns: Turkey looks like it will be the next big thing in gunmaking.

Turkish shotguns.
Turkey is of course most famous in gunmaking terms for its wood - more specifically walnut.

We buy all of our stock blanks for re-stocking work from Turkey, as we believe it is the best quality wood you can get.

A lot of people like to talk up French walnut, but in fact the French brought their walnut back from Turkey during the Crusades.

Turkish wood is as good, if not better than French.

If you’d asked my grandfather about the Turkish gun industry he would have been rather dismissive, but there was a long and proud history of gunmaking dating back to the grand days of Ottoman Empire.

In the last 10-15 years more and more Turkish-made guns have started to appear in the UK.

The surge in popularity and success of Italian guns in recent history has no doubt had an affect on the Turkish industry, and you can see much influence of the likes of Beretta in the output of firms such as Huglu or ATA Arms in terms of form and construction.

A few years ago the Turkish guns we often saw looked okay but weren’t up to the build standards we might expect in this country.

However, just as Spanish guns have seen an ever-increasing trend towards good quality, especially through the likes of AYA, we have seen improvement in the Turkish trade.

SEMI-AUTOS MAKE EARLY IMPACT
The most common Turkish guns people are likely to have come across are semi-automatics, such as Hatsan’s Escort.

Most potential buyers will no doubt be attracted by the low price of Turkish guns but put off somewhat by concerns over reliability.

Indeed, Turkish guns seem to be quite a divisive issue for many buyers: one person will say their gun is great and another might say he’d never touch one with a barge pole.

We have a large and busy workshop here in Spalding, and we haven’t seen that many Turkish guns which have needed sorting out.

This is partly to do with the good warranty which English importers tend to provide as well as an upward trend in quality.

Turkish semi-autos going under the names Webley and BSA were the first to be commonly seen in the UK, followed by side-by-side guns.

About two-three years ago we began to see the first best Turkish sidelocks.

They had taken the London nine pin design and copied it, and the finish of the gun and quality of the internal components such as the intercepting sears, hammers, bridle etc. were very good.

However, these best examples seem to be very rarely seen in the UK.

Given the nature of the gun buying market in the UK, it is possible that these guns are being exported elsewhere.

BEST SIDELOCKS ON THE WAY
I have heard rumours that a new Turkish gun going by the name Jenson will soon be imported by Ladd’s Guns.

They will be distributing an over-under sidelock gun in the Holland & Holland five pin style for about £4,000.

There will also be a boxlock side-by-side, and both are good looking guns with very high grade wood and very good finishing.

I have only seen prototypes, but with scroll engraving and a colour case hardened finish, they certainly look the part.

The wood to metal fit looks very good and the internal parts are beautifully polished.

As with any new gun from a previously unknown source there is a need to be a little reserved, but as long as they have got the hardening of the steel right I see no reason for these guns to be anything but successful.

In terms of value for money they will probably be a bit like Spanish guns were in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Back then you could buy an AyA for about £70, when the equivalent English gun would have been about £500-£600.

These new Turkish guns are likely to come in at a comparatively low price under the Italian guns.

Currently a standard AyA boxlock is now on the market for over £3,000, where a Turkish gun in a similar style is likely to be about half the price.

Whenever buying a gun from a Turkish maker you must make absolutely sure it has been through one of the English proof houses, as we do not accept Turkish proof in this country, only our own or that from Germany or Belgium.

There are a lot of independent manufacturers in Turkey, so it is difficult to say if there is one name you should look out for in the future.

Once any of these firms have the support of a large importer the quality of their guns and the size of their output will grow exponentially.

ATA Arms SP Silver

£495

This gun is based on Beretta’s 686 series of guns. Although it is plain, with no engraving apart from the maker’s name on the action, it certainly looks the part and I’m sure if Beretta sold a similarly plain gun it would sell well.

ATA Arms were established in the 1960s and are based in Istanbul. For very little money you will get a very flexible gun.

Though primarily a 12-bore, you can fit 20
-bore barrels onto the same receiver. It has a single selective trigger, 3" Magnum chambers and can be had with 24", 26", 28" or 30" barrels, all with multi-chokes.

Wood to metal fit is fine for the price but build quality is generally not of the standard of a Beretta or similar. But then you are only paying a third of the price.

The wood used is not of the highest quality, feeling almost synthetic on the fore-end, but you can select higher grades of wood which drastically improve the gun’s overall looks.

The butt plate is made of hard plastic, but this could easily be replaced, and the checkering is good.

The action can be a little sticky, but a good gunsmith should be able to ease any problems.

It would seem they had some problems balancing the gun since there is only a small length of rib between the barrels at the muzzle end.

Indeed, the weight of the gun is towards the front hand though of course this can be favourable in handling terms for ensuring a good swing.

Otherwise it comes to the shoulder and handles well. Overall it’s not a bad gun, especially when one considers the price.

Webley & Scott Junior .410

£500

This is one of the first proper over-under guns I have seen which has been built specifically for youngsters.

When I look back to my time starting out as a shooter, I had to learn with a Webley & Scott bolt action .410, which was a coarse old thing and certainly not the easiest gun to shoot with!

This gun is an over-under, which most youngsters learning to shoot will want to use, and has a specially shortened stock and 26" barrels, ideal for a child’s smaller frame.

It is quite light and generally easy to use without being imposing.

In spite of having a very lightweight feel it is very solid and has been extremely well constructed, with good wood to metal fit and good finishing.

The gun is very well balanced, with the weight nicely between the hands, and handles extremely well.

The gun has 3" chambers - not that a youth will necessarily need them - and has a single trigger with barrel selection on the safety catch.

When new these guns can come with a slightly tight action, making it tricky for a youth to close the gun depending on how strong they are.

Any good gunsmith should be able to ease this. The barrels have fixed chokes, and I find .410s tend to come a little over-choked, so you might want to consider getting these bored out for those learning to shoot.

This gun is quite utilitarian in appearance, with plain, dark wood, but this is probably good for a youngster as this means any accidental damage caused to the gun is not a disaster.

There is not much engraving, with an inlay of a woodcock and some limited scroll engraving, though there is enough decoration to make the gun seem quite special.

Yildiz .410

£595

Yildiz are one of the best-known Turkish shotgun makers, producing a wide range of guns through high tech production methods in common with most big-name gunmakers.

Their .410 was one of the first Turkish side-by-side guns to make an impact on the gun buying consciousness in the UK.

As a starter gun or for something a little fun they are a very good choice. At just under £600 new, this gun is something of a bargain.

It has a single trigger, handles extremely well and is a pleasure to shoot with.

The wood is of a very good quality and has been well finished, well beyond what you might expect at this price point.

It has 3" chambers so you can happily put a bigger load through the gun, and it could be well used as a youngster’s gun or indeed for adult sportsmen looking for a challenge.

It comes to the shoulder and shoots very well and would be great for pest control.

The wood to metal fit is very good, though the engraving has probably been rolled on rather than hand engraved. The rib is very low profile, which in theory actually helps reduce recoil.

Checkering on the fore-end is quite coarse in the hand, and the fore-end itself seems to have a slightly unusual square shape to it.

Whether or not this is a problem will depend entirely on who is buying the gun.

An equivalent English gun of this standard would probably set you back about £2,000, so this gun is well worth a look.