doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com AYA Matador question.

Question for the Spanish experts-were these blued frame guns?
Best,
Ted

Ted,
Every Matador I recall running across has been a blued frame.

Chuck,
Gracias!
Best,
Ted

Yep--all blue!

I've seen a bunch of them, all blued. AyA was making inexpensive sxs at that time with CC frames (like the 433, made for Sears, I picked up recently), but I can't recall ever seeing a CC or coin finished Matador.

There seem to be a lot of these for sale. Assuming a double trigger, how do they stack up as rainy day/guest guns? The single trigger, by the way, is about the ugliest one I've seen welded onto a double gun, saving, perhaps, the new Smith and Wesson double. Did these guns come before, during, or after the Spanish got the reputation for soft steel? It seems like a Matador was an inexpensive gun, competing directly with the Sears version.
Best,
Ted

Ted, play with the SST on a Matador some time. Most of them have more creep than a "Friday the 13th" movie. Matador ran from the mid-50's to the mid-80's I think. The Model 433 (made for Sears) I have--soon to become "trade bait", although I think it's actually a pretty decent gun--dates from 1973, which must've been close to the time Sears stopped selling guns. I think the "soft steel" period was 60's, perhaps into 70's. But I also think AyA may have been less a victim of those problems than some of the other Spanish makers that have since disappeared. I'm sure that there are others here with more experience than I have with older, less expensive AyA's.

Although the lightweight ten is not marked "Matador", as I remember it, I think it was marketed as a Matador. It has a lovely case hardened frame, the only Matador I remember having such a frame finish. I will give mine a look to see if it has any "Matador" marking.

So, eightbore, was the lightweight ten a matador with a case colored frame?

Has anyone else put enough boxes of ammunition through one of these to draw a conclusion as to reliability? Not interested in the single trigger guns (which, most of them were) but the double trigger variety.

How about the ten gauges? They had heavy, magnum 10s as well. I would think problems might show up on these first, as opposed to smaller gauges.

Thanks in advance,
Best,
Ted

Ted, my lightweight ten AYA is sure enough not marked "Matador" anywhere on it but they were marketed in the Matador era. They are a wonderful, good looking, good handling ejector gun and are full 3 1/2" chambered magnums. Thankfully, they are double trigger guns. They are just lighter than the blue frame tens. When I have a chance, I will try to find out when they were sold and how they were described. They are well fitted, mine is not broken in, still drags on the hinge, so long term reliability should not be a problem. My Dad's 12 gauge Matador broke in fairly early but never developed any sign of looseness.