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Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 13

DeHaan SO model SxS

Nice! Good luck with it...

Fin

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

If you would post a thread after shooting it for a while.A few boys at the club are thinking about one--Thanks Wink

Joined: 18 Sep 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Anchorage, Alaska

Do you know the actual weight of the gun?

Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 13

Clay, the gun weighs 6 pounds, 14 ounces.

nice looking gun. It reminds me of the Belgian models I've seen. If the gun has 28" barrels, that is a real nice weight for a 16 double gun in my opinion. My 28" AyA Matador weighs in at nearly the same and is probably the smoothest swinging 16 ga. double gun I own. I would not change a thing about it.

As a point of info for anyone finding a late model, post 1957-58 AyA Matador like mine (which happens to be one of the last of the line made in the early 1960's), if you can get it reasonably and everything works, grab it. These later guns were made after the bugs were worked out of the single trigger, the quality control issues were addressed, and the stocks were modified to a more modern configuration with a better drop at comb and heel. This is not common knowledge. most folks just pass on any Matador because of the faults in the early ones. This can be a mistake.

I learned the truth about the later Matadors from the father of one of our newest members. This fellow worked for the original USA AyA importer out of Washington DC back in the 1950's. Being a mechanical engineer, he helped AyA fix the problems found in the earlier Matadors.

I for one, am grateful. He did a superb job. My gun is proof of this. It comes up great and is utterly reliably. It is one of those hidden jewels we occasionally luck into. No, it is not for sale. Go find your own. Wink

However, watch the date code stamped on the barrel flats and avoid the earlier ones. They are problematic and not as well made.

BTW, I recently talked to the owner of an earlier but very similar 16 ga. Huglu double with 28" barrels that originally weighed in at nearly or just over 7 pounds. The barrels had plenty of meat, so the owner had the forcing cones lengthened to 2" and had the barrels back bored to .675, a bit overbore. This reduced the weight by several ounces. He now says the gun recoils less, swings wonderfully, and his patterns are superb. I don't doubt it.

The same modifications seem to work in any gun that can have the work safely to it. However, it also restricts the gun to modern plastic wads or at least a plastic gas check base wad from then on. Its is really a minor consideration in a modern gun though. Most 16 ga ammo now uses one or the other type wad including quite a few foreign brands meant for modern guns.