Derya Mc3 Tradition single Shot

Derya Arms is a Turkish gun maker established in 1998 in the Konya Province, and they produce some of the best shotguns to come out of the country. These include single barrel, pumpaction, semi-automatic, over and under, plus magazinefed tactical-type shotguns for hunting, competition or law-enforcement.

In the UK, they are better known for their 12g semi-automatic shotguns, like the TK12 tactical box fed semi-auto, which is becoming popular for practical shotgun shooting. In addition, there are some more traditional designs, which appeal to a lot of hunters here in Blighty and me.

Small calibre

There is always a need for a .410 in the gun safe and the single-shot, non-ejector design is still very popular due to its low weight, simplicity of operation, price and minimal recoil. The MC3 Tradition has the folding down design that harks back to a time when poachers favoured this type of shotgun so that they could tuck it under their coat. You can order it in either 12g, 20g or as the .410 on test (my favourite).

This smaller calibre is just so useful in those circumstances where its larger brothers can be overkill, plus this compact lightweight single-barrelled shotgun is very handy. It is available with a synthetic black polymer stock or synthetic wood! It is priced at £190 and distributed in the UK by RUAG UK ltd. The selection of calibre, stock, and barrel lengths include; polymer black, 12g - 24” or 32”, polymer black, 20g - 24”, polymer black, .410 - 24” and polymer camo, 12g - 32"presumably for wildfowl.

On test

This .410 version is very trim and instantly feels solid and well put together. It has an overall length of 44” and folds down to the length of the barrel at 28” with a total weight of only 2.4kg. The finish is very good and a lot better than many Turkish guns I have seen. The metalwork has an even satin/matt black finish that is actually durable and quite difficult to scratch and scuff, a good start. The trigger guard is aluminium and therefore painted a semi-gloss black colour.

The rest of the MC3 is all steel and has an excellent weight to it without being unbalanced; in fact, it balances perfectly on the hinge point of the action. Being a single-shot and a folding gun design, the action is opened by pressing in the aluminium trigger guard by about 0.5”, this disengages the steel chisel-shaped sliding locking bar that releases the large locking lug on the bottom of the barrel block. It’s best to give a short sharp tug to open the action.

Now the barrel drops down revealing the chamber and the size of the steel action with good proportions for strength, with thick sidewalls to the action itself. The non-ejector arrangement is standard on this type of gun and when the action is opened, the very large extractor cup moves rearward to draw the empty case from the chamber. No problems with sticky cases then.

In detail

The barrel is marked .410 and shows a 3” chamber so no problems feeding this shotgun cartridges from 2” to 3” magnum. The barrel swivels open on a hardened steel pin and folds right back until the forend touches the pistol grip.

The 28” barrel has a full choke at the muzzle, and as with all .410’s, the barrel profile is slim at the muzzle. To aid sighting, the Derya has the addition of a rib system. It covers the full length and includes seven identical spaced 1.75” vents that get smaller in height towards the front sight. There is a single gold bead and at the rear, situated in the recess of the action is a red polymer rear sight. This feature is unusual, as it is adjustable for windage by rotating a small knurled screw in the right side of the action face. It makes the knurled 5mm rib a bit superfluous but can be removed if you like. I liked it, and it actually became easy to sight with.

The last part of the action is the firing mechanism, which is common to most of these break barrelled non-ejectors and relies on a manually cocked, exposed hammer system. This shotgun has a small but well-knurled hammer spur which is retracted with the thumb. It has a strong spring arrangement and when fully back engages the trigger with a reassuring click as the sear engages. The smooth, thin, blued steel trigger blade has a small amount of first take up or movement before breaking at 5.25 lbs.

Furniture

The stock is the black polymer version, although a synthetic wood version can be ordered if you like that faux wood finish. Moulded from two halves, it is a pretty hard and stable arrangement. This makes it ideal for hunting due to the subdued matt finish and durable weather or foliage beating protection it offers. This is a gun to be used not mollycoddled!

The forend is 9” long and slim, showing just over a 1” width at its widest point. You have twin moulded in checkered panels, the foremost larger than the rear and some striations for decoration. Underneath is the generous recess for the trigger guard when the gun is folded.

The rear stock has a length of pull (LOP) of 14.5” so a bit longer than I was expecting, which I guess is why it balances well. It has a substantial but slim pistol grip that easily fits my big hands and grip is aided by one large moulded in checkered panel that extends back into the butt. A few shallow scallops to the black stock give a visual appeal, and the butt pad includes two large plastic spacers that can be removed or added to adjust LOP. This allows the gun to suit any frame or build of shooter.

In the field

I like it, as it is well made and handles equally as good. It also strikes me that it would be a great candidate for use with a sound moderator or fully suppressed system installed, once the barrel rib is modified.

I shot a variety of ammunition from Eley 2” up to 3” Hull High Pheasants, and the little shotgun digested them all with ease, showing no hard extractions or problems. All the primers were well hit and central for a positive ignition and recoil was practically nonexistent. The sighting with that red polymer rear sight instinctively lines your eye down the rib or over the top of it to the gold bead up front. In fact, if you want adjustment, you can dial the rear sight across and your eye naturally adjusted your sightline. Some slugs would be nice to try with this sighting arrangement but none were to hand, drat.

The best loads tested were the Hull High Pheasants. These never disappoint as they use a red 3” shell casing with high brass head and six-star crimp closure plus plastic wad. Best of all is the 19-grams of No 6 shot, the highest on a .410 so plenty of lead going downrange. At 30 yards on full choke, it produced a total of 152 pellet strikes distributed with 86 outer and 66 inner hits. The pattern was incredibly even for this calibre and for what is frankly a budget gun it put many more expensive O/U to shame!

A nice shorter and lighter load are the Lyalvale Express Supreme Game loads which use a 2 ½” red casing and short brass head plus a fibre wad. They are loaded with 14-grams of No 6 shot and showed a total of 81 pellet strikes with 44 outer and 37 inner hits. They were well centred and very light recoiling, making them ideal for short-range vermin use, where you do not need lots of pellets to be humane.

Conclusion

What’s not to like, it’s a great back up gun, first shotgun, general vermin tool or fun .410. It is well made and shot some excellent patterns, which is what really matters doesn’t it. The overall finish is well executed and durable with the black synthetic stock being the best practical option plus it folds in half too!