Saturday, November 8, 2008

New shotgun: Yildiz Over/Under



So, about six weeks ago I finally bought a new shotgun. While I had originally planned on buying a Yildiz over/under, as I mentioned in this old post, I ended up looking around at several other options. I started having an internal debate between an over/under and a side-by-side and nearly bought a Stoeger Uplander before being advised to pass on it by someone on the Shotgun World forum. After that I considered the Remington SPR 210 and 220, which are side-by-sides that are part of their Spartan line. These guns are made in Russia by a company called Baikal. From what I understand, they're pretty solid guns, though they're not much to look at. I was leaning heavily towards this one, until I held one at a gun store and was really turned off by how heavy it was (granted, I was holding a 12 guage and I was actually looking for a 20, but it was still enough to give me major second thoughts). Finally, I ended up coming back to the Yildiz.

I got the SPZ ME20 which is the 20 gauge over/under. It is incredibly light, comes with a full set of chokes, and the quality appears to be pretty good, especially considering the price point. It also comes with ejectors instead of extractors, which are also pretty hard to find at that price. It does not have a selectable trigger, however, so that might be a turn-off to some. I did discover sometime after New Years that the safety itself is the barrel selector, it was just never clearly indicated on the gun itself or in the manual.

It took me several weeks before I could make it out to the range to break it in. While I liked the way that it shot, I was almost completely unable to hit anything with the first shot, though I was usually able to break the clay with the second shot. I switch the chokes and was still having the same problem. I'm hoping that it was due to poor shooting on my part, rather than a problem with the barrel. I'll hopefully be able to take it back out soon and can hopefully figure out what's going on. Needless to say, I am pleased with my purchase so far.

16 comments:

M.Lane said...

I have a pal who loves his Yildiz. I shot it and thought it was fine, but missing clay is not a symptom of any problem with the gun when I am holding it.

My gun of choice for shooting "at" clays is my 20 guage over under Weatherby. I love that gun. My wife gave it to me as a gift so God only knows what it cost.

Do you think the weight savings with a 20 is worth the greater recoil? I do but I know there is a lot of debate about it.

ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com

trip said...

I agree that missing is also probably not a symptom of the gun on my part either. I need to have a friend shoot it.

Regarding the the weight savings vs. recoil, I only shot 3 boxes the one day I took it out, and the recoil didn't seem to bother me too much. I think a lot of it had to do with being 20 ga. If it was 12, I would probably have been hurting. I have short arms and will probably end up getting the stock shortened at some point. If and when I do, I will probably put a Limb Saver on there for good measure.

Anonymous said...

Trade it in for a Purdey or a Biretta.

trip said...

Sir, if you would like to mail me the additional $600+ for a Beretta, I will be glad to make trade in my Yildiz.

Anonymous said...

Point taken. Like I tell everyone else in the trying economic times, "The check is in the mail."

Anonymous said...

Ah the fascination with over and unders. These days the side by side is making a huge come back in the North Florida/South Georgia quail hunting group. I'll stick with my 1100, heaver than a o/u, but it will last a lifetime.

Anonymous said...

Just a quick comment regarding the original posting. In the posting you mentioned the Yildiz not having a selectable trigger. If you are refering to the ability fire the top or bottom barrel first, the Yildiz ME20 I purchased does have the selector. It is not marked as it should be, but if you have the gun in safety position the selector switch will move right or left. Right is lower barrel first.

trip said...

Anon-

Ha! You are absolutely correct about the selectable trigger. I actually did discover this sometime around New Years while reading the Shotgunworld forum. It blew my mind. Thanks for pointing it out, though, I need to change it in the original post.

Anonymous said...

Just bought the Yildiz OU in 20 gauge. The wood is awesome for a $399.00 gun. I managed to mate the barrels and receiver by manually pushing in the ejectors (not easy with one hand), but I don't think it should be this difficult. Can anyone help me out?

Anonymous said...

After considerable debate with myself about buying a Turkish gun and how it could not possibly be fit to own I broke down and bought one! Get over your prejudices and shoot one! I hate proving myself wrong but this is one fine shotgun!

Anonymous said...

Hello Trip, ive been thinking about getting an o/u for a while...im a big trap shooter, and will mainly use for this..a friend of mine has one and tells me he doesnt like it to shoot with, so im a little skeptical. Do u think it would be a good gun to trap shoot with?

trip said...

Anon,

I have never shot trap before and don't know the characteristics of a good trap gun. Therefore, I can't really offer you any advice on that, one way or the other.

Anonymous said...

Does anywone know why Yildiz has 2 different SP2 Me Specials. One has ducks on the receiver and the other has heavier engraving, no ducks? I don't like the ducks, and almost every Academy in Houston, except a few display models, has the "duck" patterned receiver in stock??
AirSkip

Anonymous said...

I have a spartan 220 /no external hammers/ I see it as an ok shotgun, for $200 bucks ! And for home defense, there is nothing in this world like looking down to nickle size barrels to make you see the error of your ways and make you repent of you sin.

Anonymous said...

this is not the first time i have heard this. yildiz in general especially the 12 bores but also the 20s shoot slightly higher shown in the firing pattern than they should, usually causing miss shots on the first barrel. however not many people notice because they rarely spend enough time with the 20 bore because they have other guns ect

Anonymous said...

I think the Yildiz SP stands for "special" More engraving (Yildiz has alos has a quail on it's receiver.) and Walnut with more "figure".
The clerk at the gun counter haS seen only one with a birds eye walnut figure. Said it was beautiful. I've got one with a ripple in the grain on the stock..awsome.