doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Where is Spanish Gun BBS, Pliz?

Google no lookee-up right place: speak with forked screen and try to sell me other junk, instead of good double-gun junk.

Ran across a a cute little Arizaga 12ga, hiding in a big-box store used rack. It didn't look crude in fit and finish, nor was it a red-flag Dakin import. Wanting a fun gun for the trunk & casual banging opportunities. "Those pigeons around the feeder barn? Hell, yesss. Shoot 'em all, if ya can."

Pretty much a European layout. Open slender SPG, SPFE, DT, triple bite, extractor, sling swivels, & quite light weight. Swings and feels like a twenty. Hasn't been used or even opened much in years. The oil/grease is nearly congealed and right stiffish, thumb-lever well to right, the case-color lacquer hardly worn under the old muck, hinge faces like new, etc.

Have to go back and double check first impression, and take notes on multiple markings. An obvious one was double proofs -- one was 850-950[?-CRS} and one was 1200.

Soooo...want to find out if this is one of the OK Arizagas or a leave-it Arizaga. IIRC Spanish Guns Board was pretty good at sorting out such stuff. The price is really right, even if the firing pins go all mashie-soft, etc. Not hard to make & install new hardened ones, anyway. Mostly a walk-around gun, that'll get it's share of cosmetic wear. So if it sees a flat of get-acquainted loads & couple of boxes of shells annually, it'll last until my estate sale.

Anywayz, I've worn off the slick-action slidey novelty of last season's Model 31 Rem 16ga and am ready for something with which to pass the summer. After all, a new gun is a lot less expensive to trade into than, say... a wife?

Right here John, I think this is what your looking for.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=126&sid=5b7523f7ce658d7bb93f374b592114fd

Thank you kindly. I don't do much BBS's anymore, and so had forgotten the existence of that board. IIRC, there was a fellow named David De Baco, who was a contributor here for some while, and then started his own Spanish guns board. He was in advanced grad studies out in California and would reappear periodically. That's what I was originally Googling for, and the Shotgun World board seems perfectly fine for this purpose.

At any rate, treblig, thanks again for the helping hand. Will post up any results on my 'looking into it'.

John, Jack O'Connor thought quite highly of Arizagas. Seems I recall someone here did not. And the Dakin thing . . . not necessarily a red flag. Back then, Spanish guns were a mixed bag. I seem to recall they imported Union Armera guns, for example--which became Grulla.

Larry,

A European Gun Encyclopedia makes much the same report, and rates one of the four Arizagas as a top-level maker of bespoke guns. The Dakin Arizagas appear to have an unattractive record. However, it is pretty likely that one could buy a similarly marked Union Armera with confidence. The O'Connor reference is frequently cited in the literature, and again,the question is 'which Armera?" or even 'When was it which Armera?'.

In this case, even after a bit of research and verifying the ID of stamps I don't know, it'll prob'ly still come down to the old 'buy the gun, not the name'.

Thanks for your contribution to the quest,

John

Terry Weiland's book Spanish Best does make several mentions of Arizaga guns. It seems that there was more than one Arizaga in the gun making business. I should just go by looks and feel and as to whether you like it or not for its intended purpose. Lagopus.....

David Dabaco posts sometimes on the Spanish forum at Shotgunworld.

Here is a thread with info for the Spanish marks.

BUT,I never have seen double proofs on a Spanish.