AYA PREMIUM - Dream gun

I remember that when I was 12, my friend had an AYA Yeoman that cost him £57. He used it for all his pest control duties, and it was the first shotgun I ever fired. Wind on 50 years and today we have an AYA on test costing £21,000. I wonder what Mark would think.
This AYA Premium model represents the best of fine gunmaking traditions from this Spanish maker and is unashamedly made without compromise for lovers of fine English-style side-by-side shotguns.
The Premium is a high-quality shotgun that is built on the proven mechanical design of the Holland & Holland Royal. It features chopper lump, forged steel barrels with a concave rib, and comes in standard barrel lengths of 28” or 30”. However, other barrel lengths are also available, and we currently have a 20-gauge in 30” on test. In addition, the Premium is available in 12, 16, 28, and .410.
The forged steel sidelock action with double locking mechanism is available in case hardened, old silver/coin, or white, with gas vents and gold-lined cocking indicators. Look at the double triggers and you will see a hinged front trigger, allowing a very relaxed and poised shooting method. Also, the locking screws fitted internally are of a pinless design, and an automatic safety is fitted.
I love the English engraving style, which is all done by hand, and the high relief, plus the oval for initials on the stock. As one would expect, the wood is outstanding walnut and some of the finest to grace a shotgun that I have tested. The furniture shows a straight-hand grip, fine chequering, and an oil finish. It is nothing short of exceptional. Some might baulk at the price, but these days, this is exceptionally cheap when compared to an English-made gun. Ask ASI, the UK distributor, for options, as at this level, you can opt for different triggers, grips etc.

Specification

I really appreciate a good old traditional side-by-side shotgun, and the AYA Premium model is the best one I’ve tested in my 30 years of experience! It gives you all the old nostalgia but with a true modern-day twist, up-to-date shooting materials, and characteristics. The Premium is a classically made and styled side-by-side between the No. 2 and No. 1 AYA model range. In my view, it’s even more classic in 20-gauge, as this calibre suits side-by-sides so much better.

Action

Visually, the Premium is stunning, with the action body and sidelock plates all having a superbly even coin finish to them. This is further enhanced by deep, vivid, and expertly executed scroll engraving to all facets. In fact, it has some of the nicest engraving I have seen on a shotgun, with total coverage, but in a tasteful way, with the shadows accenting the deep-cut scrolls to perfection. This model has clean lines to the sidelocks, meaning the attachment locking screws are hidden, except for the gold-lined cocking indicators for each barrel. A nice touch!
The action itself, internally, is AYA’s classic pinless, so the screws and securing pins are not visible from the outside. Also, this bar action sidelock has the inclusion of intercepting safety sears, where the forward position V springs are recessed into the body and point forward. You also have the Southgate-type ejector system, which is very strong on this model and can be calibrated easily, too.
Finally, you get removable, disc-type strikers that unscrew from the action face, so the firing pins and springs can be quickly replaced. The hinge pin can also be replaced, if necessary.

Barrels

Barrel-wise, you have the classic chopper lump arrangement from two forgings. They show excellent concentricity and are struck off well. The chokes are fixed at ¼ and ½, which is all you need in the real world. The concave rib is securely soldered and there is a single bead up front to sight with, but this Premium points so well I doubt you will even notice it. The 30” length really helps in the smaller calibres, keeping the gun swinging longer and in line correctly. Also, to my eyes, the overall bluing is as good as any best English gun, being deep, rich, and flawless throughout.
Importantly, you have the fleurs de lys proof marks for 1350 BAR, and marks for 2¾” (70mm) shells and steel shot. You also have the bore diameter marked, which is good, as this 15.8mm diameter is slightly bigger than normal and the forcing cones are a little more stretched out, so recoil is reduced but performance is unaffected.

Controls

You have an automatic safety, which I know is correct for a game gun, but it still catches me out. I like to elect when the safety is on or off on any gun.
Trigger-wise, you have a double setup, which is really in keeping with this gun. It took no time at all to adjust to each blade for the ¼ or ½ choked barrel and to me is easier than switching a catch usually set in the safety lever. The front trigger blade is hinged too, so there is no nasty recoil knock when pulling the trigger behind, which is sensible.

Stock

Another classic feature is the English straight hand grip walnut stock and splinter-type forend, with its Anson Deely release and push rod attachment method. The quality of the oil-finished walnut is outstanding, with superb figuring and colour that plays in the light as you move it around. This is what makes the Premium for me, as the stock is the first visual part that catches the eye. Get that right and the rest falls into place. Gorgeous darling!
The length of pull was spot on for me at just over 15”, with a nice comb that dropped to 2.25” at the rear, fitting me perfectly. With the Premium, there are options here, so best to ask ASI for details. There’s no recoil pad, just a superbly checkered butt.

Field Test

In a nutshell, the Premium was sublime, and that’s not because of rose-tinted glasses. A quality gun always gets the best out of you and this AYA shoots as good as it looks. Handling was fluid and the recoil mild, especially in 20-gauge, plus the lower comb for me was spot on with regard to the rib and sighting.
First up on the pattern boards, and using the ¼ choked barrel, were Hull’s Driven Grouse (25-grams | No 6). At 30 yards we had good overall coverage, with a total of 181 pellets striking the board. The near-even spread showed 94 outer hits on the 30” board and 87 pellets within the 15” inner circle. Overall, great coverage and a hard-hitting round in 20-gauge. Not just good for Grouse.
Next, a very tight pattern from the High Pheasant Extreme (28-grams | No. 5). We had a very dense 104 inner strikes, which is very good, and the remaining 65 pellets were evenly spread around the periphery, giving a total of 169 hits. This load, as its name suggests, will bring down even the highest birds.
The Ultimate Twenty shotgun cartridges (28-gram | No. 5.5) are specially designed for the 20-gauge and are great all-rounders. They always achieve good patterns in the tests and this time was no different, with 204 pellets hitting the board! There were 117 outer hits and 87 inner hits. A lovely, even, dense, and mild-to-shoot 20-gauge cartridge.
Finally, we had the Eley Zenith, which uses No.6 copper-plated pellets. These also shoot very tight patterns and that was true today, with a whopping 223 strikes in total. These were distributed with a lovely 101 inner hits and 122 outer strikes. Nothing will escape that pattern!

Conclusion

It’s very hard to find any faults with the Premium. In fact, I can’t think of any. Besides, at £21,000, it should be perfect! It’s an absolute joy to handle, shoot, and look at, plus check out those patterns. If you just want one gun, and have the means, the Premium, especially in 20-gauge, will meet all your modern-day sporting needs.