Yildiz SPZ ME - Sweet Shooter!

Yildiz has a full range of 12, 20, 28, and 410 over-and-under shotguns in their reasonably priced SPZ ME lineup, making them a good starting point for anyone wanting a decent shotgun for many uses. They have always been one of the better Turkish gunmakers, and their longevity and popularity within the UK bear testimony to this. Most Turkish guns are judged in comparison to them. The 28-gauge model on test is both lightweight and very fast handling and represents excellent value for money. So, let’s see how she ticks.

Action, trigger, and safety
The SPZ utilises a scaled-down monobloc design that perfectly suits the size of the 28-gauge cartridge, with the result that handling and performance are greatly improved, and some weight is saved in the process.
You have a powerful bite of the lower locking bar as the barrels are closed into the action. It engages securely with the rear barrel lump whilst the forward lump swivels smoothly on the front action pivot. Nice and easy to open too, yet a snug fit with stability when closed, meaning there’s plenty of life in this system. Being made from 7075-grade aluminium for weight reduction, it has been upgraded for strength and rigidity by applying steel inserts to all the stress and wear areas. These can then be replaced further down the line, ensuring that the shotgun lasts thousands of rounds!
Finish-wise, you have quite a subtle satin silver look to the action faces. These are enhanced by machine-engraved radiating scrolls to the pivot pins and top lever. The action sides have finer scrolls and cartouches of flighting and feeding woodcock. It’s not overly done and is all pretty weather-resistant too.
The safety was not automatic on this test gun, which I prefer. As the gun is opened, it sets the strikers, which are the non-inertia type, so fire on each pull of the trigger. Again, I like this. As you would expect, the safety is combined with the barrel selector, with a small green ‘S’ indicating SAFE. Move the selector to the left to fire the top barrel first and right for the bottom.
Finally, the trigger has a spacious guard for a gloved finger, and the trigger itself features a smooth, narrow blade with a relatively high 4 lb 5 oz pull weight when tested.

Barrels and choke
Yildiz barrels consistently perform well due to their concentricity and uniform build quality. Just see the field test. You get a choice of 28” or 30” lengths, with the latter being fitted to the test gun, giving an increased or faster potential swing. It is a multi-choked barrel arrangement supplied with five flush-fit chokes, each measuring 1.75” in length. However, I only had a cylinder choke fitted to the bottom barrel and ¼ choke to the top, so the gun was set up as a nice walk-up/close-range gun, making it perfect for woods and hedgerows.
The satin black bluing gives a good overall finish and is practical, minimizing reflections and offering good weather resistance. I like the proportions of this 28-gauge gun, as there is no unnecessary weight, making it very easy to carry in the field all day. Some heat dispersal is also achieved by the vented top rib and middle rib, with twelve upper and nine mid rib vents, each measuring 1” in length.
The actual sighting rib is a typical game size of 7mm, so there’s plenty of space around the muzzles to spot, sight, and swing on game unimpeded, whilst the single gold bead tracks nicely from the serrated rib’s surface.
Internally, you have 3” chambers that can handle the larger capacity 28-gauge loads, like the 27-gram Hellfire cartridges. Importantly, the gun is proofed for steel and displays the Fleur de Lys proof mark, which is a necessity these days. The short forcing cones work well with fibre-wadded cartridges, whilst the twin ejectors are quite lively, although the High Pheasant loads were a bit sticky at times.

The furniture
Yildiz always seems to find good walnut for their guns, even though this SPZ was actually plainer than normal. It was still very pleasing to the eye, with deep, dark colours and some horizontal figuring. It was finished off with a nice traditional oil finish. No bells and whistles, just a well-proportioned stock design with a small amount of cast and comb height.
The black rubber recoil pad has a small plastic top section that allows the Yildiz to slide effortlessly into the shoulder, and then stay there. It feels very natural, even with the 14.75” length of pull (LOP). The low weight of this model means it comes up and swings well, with less fatigue over long periods.
The forend is 10” long and is narrow, measuring 1.5” wide. It has generous panels of chequering, like the pistol grip area, whilst the small Schnabel tip has quite a pronounced ‘beak’ to rest the forefinger of the supporting hand, so you know that you have the same hold each time for a consistent swing. Inset into the bottom is a lever-type catch, finished in anodised silver, to allow the barrels to be removed from the action.

Field test
The ¼ choke in the top barrel was used for the pattern board tests. Although the shot patterns were a tad low on the boards, with the front bead aimed dead centre, the performance overall was very encouraging.
First up were the E.J.Churchill Hellfire Game cartridges (27-grams | No. 5 | copper plated). This loading is quite stout considering that most 12-gauge loads use 28-grams, but the recoil was still mild. We had a good pattern, with a total of 187 pellet strikes. These were distributed with 114 outer hits and 73 inners. Overall, good coverage.
By comparison, a milder load from Imperial Game (16-grams | No. 6) still achieved an overall total of 141 hits and was very mild to shoot. This time we had 56 outers and 85 inners, giving a very dense pattern. This is a lovely close-range vermin load.
A good old stalwart is the Eley Grand Prix (16-grams | No. 6). We had a total of 151 hits, which is comparable to the Imperial Game. However, this time it was a more even spread of 75 inners and 76 outers. This just shows that every cartridge is different, and you need to test them all, even if they seemingly have the same load.
Finally, we tested a pair of 23-grain Hull High Pheasant loadings, with one using No. 5 and the other No. 7 shot. The former produced 174 pellet strikes (96 inners and 78 outers), while the latter managed 273 (134 inners and 139 outers). I know which load I would use!

Conclusion
So, there you have it, a lovely little lightweight game gun that is not much money, handles very well, and produces some really good patterns down range. Its low recoil will endear it to smaller or younger shooters, although I still rate the 28-gauge anyway, regardless of size. Its low muzzle report and ability to shoot dense patterns, even on that ¼ choking, make the SPZ ME a real bargain and an over-and-under that you can trust will last.