doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com AyA Matador - Junk, or Underpriced Gun?

I've never heard anyone complain about them. On the otherhand, they have that Spanish single selective trigger which has such a notorious reputation. They are relatively cheap in the sxs marketplace. What's your opinion??? Bargains? Or, junk?
Thanks.
Mike

My opinion is they were sort of entry level guns, made to sell for an entry level price. I wouldn't call them junk but the price would determine whether they were a bargain or not. I bought one of the AYAs, made for Sears, a few years ago, for $250, and they shipped it home for me. IMO, the Matadors I've seen are maybe $400 guns.

Test fire the gun if you can. If the trigger works, it will probably continue to work. My ten gauge Matador is a wonder gun. It has double triggers.

I have a 1966 Matador 16 that has given me trouble free service and it has been around the block a few times. I don't recall hearing of a trigger problem with them. It is the same design Aya had on some of their older high end guns. Aya seemed to get the reliable design early on whereas other Spanish makers didn't.

I have heard of one the Sears 100 having a trigger problem but it was designed a little different and was non-selectable which is usually more dependable.

The Matador came on the American market a couple of years after the 100 which was dropped and was basicallly the gun Aya used to break into the American market.
The Matador has selective ejectors, chopperlump barrels and my barrel regulation is smack on.
In my opinion, it is a very good quality gun for the price. The thing that knocks down the price on them is the PG and beavertail forend, although the Matador I has a more open grip than the II and III. The forend is a close hugging semi beavertail.

I just dug out a 1966 Digest. Here are some prices for comparison.

Stevens 311.......$79.5o

Miroku made Daly 500....$155...a well known very good gun.

Beretta Silver Hawk single trigger...$215

Matador....$210...and the Matador is the only one of these with ejectors.

So it wasn't exactly a cheap gun.

I did some work on one of these last winter....it was one of the most abused gun's I ever seen,but other than the broken mainspring wich I was replaceing, it worked perfect,the bunny hunter who owned it would'nt part with it for love nor money....it looked quite well made under all the grime

I bought three AyA Matadors in the 60s, two 20ga single-triggers and a 12. I got the 20s from the Canadian distributer in Toronto for around $160 each. I couldn't get rid of the 12 quick enough; terrible triggers. The 20s are still going strong.

When my Dad bought his Matador 12 in 1961, the retail price was $154 and he paid $125 at a D.C. pawn shop that was a distributor for Firearms International, the importer. I sold the gun after Dad's death to a friend who had some trouble with the trigger. He took it apart and adjusted the mechanism himself and had no further problems. I would buy one today, no problem.

Patriot's price list is a good starting point. Personally, I am familiar with three of the guns. My opinion is that the AYA is definitely a step above the Stevens and definitely a step below the Beretta.

I haven't looked at prices on any of them but if asked for a quick answer, might guess a 12 ga. Stevens to be near $400 and a Beretta close to $900 or $1000. Does that sound reasonable to the rest of you?

I check all the big sites every day and I'd say you are about 25% too high; especially with the economy now.
I'm talking say a 90% gun.

I own both the Matador and a 409 Silver Hawk made in '61 which has more engraving.

Strength wise the Beretta; handling wise the Matador.

Hi all, PUSA pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as my experiences go with these models. While these guns are far from the classic game gun style, they are very good reliable and solid guns. My biggest complaint with these guns is they are very heavy as a rule. I had a 12ga Matador that tipped the scales at 7lbs 9oz and a 20ga Matador III which weighs in at 6lbs 8oz. I sold the 12ga (because of the weight factor) but I have the 20ga still today. Well it's not mine anymore I gifted it to my son. The ejectors on these guns are some of the most powerful I've ever seen. As for the SST, I have never had one problem with the AyA triggers. I used that 20ga as my primary upland gun for close to 30 years, as I said not one problem. It does seem that AyA SST's are more reliable than other makers.

I would take a Matador over any Savage/Stevens 311 anyday and quite a few other makers as well.

IMO a price range of $400 to $600 is about right. If it were not for the weight, I'd get another one.

All the best!

Greg

Just about every one I've ever played with had an extremely creepy ST. Don't know how well the triggers actually worked, but if a lot of creep bothers you, it might not be the best choice.

I have a Matador 10 that has never let me down. Double triggers and heavy as a tank (9lbs-12oz) 32" barrels, flat filed top rib, BTFE, ejectors (that throw your empies about 10 feet) very good wood w/very fine checkering. Other than the blued receiver (yuck), I consider it the ultimate turkey/goose gun.

I've seen several for sale at Fieldsport's and a couple in GunDigest - 10's seem to be running higher at between $1100 -1400, 12's $600-800, 20's $700-$900. Seems a little high but I guess those are retail prices. I used to think they were a bargain, when you could find them for 400 bucks...

Larry mentioned creepy trigger. I hadn't noticed mine like that, so I checked. Pretty crisp.

My 16 weighs 6 lb 11 oz.

The Matador 10 ga.? I've seen it reported as the best Spanish 10 ga.

Ironman and Patriot, the AYA Matador ten to search for is the case colored double trigger ejector gun. It is known among the knowing as the "Lightweight". It weighs just over nine pounds and ends up weighing less if you clip it back to about 29" and install Briley choke tubes. It has a full length hard butt stock that should be shortened about an inch for serious waterfowl shooting. I have no idea whether the stock has been drilled. I shoot steel in mine and have seen no damage to the bores or chokes. It is one great gun and lighter than any other mag ten out there.