AYA - Fine Guns from Spain

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to make the journey to Spain to visit the factory of AYA (Aguirre y Aranzabal ). The factory is located in Eibar, a small city of 25,000 people, situated between the mountains of the Basque region of Northern Spain; thirty minutes’ drive from Bilbao.

From the road, the AYA building is quite unassuming – however once you step onto the factory floor it feels traditional and full to the brim of gunmaking knowledge, it is no wonder that 99% of each gun is made in-house.

I was impressed by the attention to detail that each part of every gun had from a specialist around each part of the workshop – all being overseen by the master gunsmith José Ramón who has worked at AYA for 45 years and managed by Bela Abellán who appears to have brought a fresh approach to the company with him in his comparably short tenure.

AYA Barrels

Bela showed me around the whole factory, missing out nothing. It is clear that AYA are very confident about what they are doing and so they should be as they celebrate their 100 years anniversary this year with the release of the AYA Centenary.

Barrels going into the oven

It is not surprising that AYA is one of the most popular side by side brands available in the UK market and are renowned for their reliability and value for money. They cater for a variety of budgets from approximately £5,000 for a No 2 model to £30,000+ for a matched pair of No 1 guns.