Gun reviews: Yildiz .410 shotgun

Shooting UK

February 27, 2013

Gun reviews: Yildiz .410 shotgun
Today, this prolific maker has made an inroad here with a fair range of models at the ‘value for money’ end of the market.

One of the first guns to arrive here was a side-by-side .410, and various 12-bores have come along since.

Now it’s the turn of a very interesting .410 in over-under format.

It’s available with or without ejectors.

One of the attractions of the Yildiz is that it’s built on a scaled down action to suit its .410 size and isn’t simply a 20 or 28-bore with a set of beefed up .410 barrels hooked up to the hinge pin.

Furthermore, the use of aluminium alloy in the action frame means the weight of the gun is in proportion to its bore size.

The machining of the action is crisp and leaves a very good finish to all surfaces.

The wall-mounted trunnions (hinge pins) on which the gun opens are made of steel to provide greater resistance to wear and a steel plate has been set into the action face to combat wear around the firing pin holes caused by recoil.

The locking bolt is also made from steel and the action frame’s exterior has been bead blasted to give a matt non-reflective finish.

The only decoration is some scroll and game scene engraving etched onto the frame.

The interior works are simple in design and nicely engineered with hammers pivoting from below and the sears from above.

Interestingly the re-cocking system is mechanical whereby the sear lifter disengages itself as it reaches full lift on the sear.

In my book this is a definite advantage in a gun firing relatively light cartridges because it avoids the possibility of the mechanism failing to re-set for a second shot.

The hammers are powered by coil springs and the automatic safety catch button also accommodates the barrel selector – a fairly large affair that sits positively beneath under the thumb.

When the gun is fired rods connected to the hammers activate trips in the fore-end and these engage with the extractors ensuring spent cartridges are ejected when the gun is fully opened.

When it comes to such small bores as this ejection can be difficult but I’m pleased to say that this one behaved itself perfectly – ejector strength and timing was absolutely fine on this gun.

Why potential problems?

Well, .410 cartridges are very long relative to their diameter, so there can be problems getting them to clear the breech face when the gun is opened. In addition, this small bore generates a good deal of pressure when fired and this can cause the case to expand tight in the chamber.

And now for the barrels… Let me say straight away that the really impressive thing about these 28in tubes is the concentricity of the bores: .410s are notoriously difficult to bore accurately because they are so small in diameter.

However the bores on this gun appear almost perfect – and the same applies to all the other Yildiz .410s I’ve ever seen.

As you’d expect the makers have fitted the gun out with 3in chambers and the gun has been subjected to special steel shot proof.

The monoblock barrel assembly has been fitted with ventilated top and side ribs and the narrow 6mm top rib has been matted to reduce glare.

The muzzle is finished with a small brass foresight bead and the gun comes fitted with internal multichokes as standard.

Wood quality is very good for the money but this should come as no great surprise considering Turkey is the main supplier of walnut to gun makers worldwide.

If they can’t get their hands on some decent stuff, who on earth can!

The stock has been treated to a pistol grip finish and fitted with a slim, game type, fore-end.

Both bits of wood carry a semi-oil finish and have been nicely hand chequered.

Length of pull is around 14.1/8in and the stock has been fitted with a thin butt plate.

Drops at comb and heel are 1.1/2in and 2.1/2in respectively with the wood being given a slight right hand cast of approx 1/8in.

JASON’S VERDICT
I can see this gun being a big hit with boys of all ages. It’s light, quick handling and represents terrific value for money – especially when you consider it comes with ejectors, multichokes and decent quality woodwork.

I will be very surprised if it doesn’t sell well.

Build quality: 20/25

Handling: 20/25

Styling: 18/25

Value for money: 22/25

TOTAL SCORE: 80/100