John McDougall tests a nifty little Yildiz
Turkish Yildiz shotguns are fast establishing themselves as a reputable and great value sporting arm and their latest SPZ ME Special is no different. With a receiver made from 7075 aluminium white alloy, the gun is significantly reduced in weight, making it fast to shoot and easy to carry should you venture out for a day’s quail hunting.
In fact, in the Specifications table you’ll notice the overall weight of this one has dropped to a tad over 3kg (6lb 12oz), while most current chrome/moly receiver guns weigh in at around or just north of 3.62kg (8lbs). This reduction in weight is significant and also affects the gun’s swing and recoil performance, so let’s take a closer look at this latest offering from Yildiz and see how it stacks up.
Barrels
At 760mm long (30”) these are perfectly finished and held together by two ventilated side ribs and capped by a ventilated top rib. Weighing 1.46kg (3lb 3oz) the barrels are assembled with no sign of residual solder or any other marks and are as good as those by any top English, Italian or Japanese gunmaker. They’re drilled instead of hammer forged and made from 4140 steel, the bores also chrome-lined for protection from barrel scoring and corrosion.
Fitted with a red fluoro front sight the gun has no mid-point bead, something appreciated by competition clay target shooters. A mid-point bead enables you to check whether your gun mount is correct, as the front and mid-sight should form a ‘figure of 8’ to ensure the gun isn’t canted to one side or another from perfect vertical, indicating the barrels are in alignment.
At the muzzle end the supplied five fully internal choke tubes give the Yildiz great versatility for either clay target shooting or field hunting. The choke tube spanner was a bit agricultural in design and, while I’ve seen better, it’s more than adequate for the purpose it was designed. I used my Briley ‘speed wrench’ instead which has been a great asset over the years. The choke tubes are 42mm long and fully internal, not as long as some other manufacturer’s but just as potent during testing with targets easily destroyed.
At the business end the Yildiz SPZ ME Sporter is surprisingly chambered for 76mm or 3” magnum ammunition. So does going significantly lighter in weight then being chambered for punishing 3” Magnum loads make sense? I tested the gun with some high velocity lead shot loads and certainly wouldn’t want to be holding on to it when shooting Magnum 76mm-chambered field loads, despite the substantial recoil pad. Muzzle flip from the lighter barrel set could also be a concern.
Receiver
As mentioned, this is made from high-grade 7075 aluminium alloy to ensure maximum strength and longevity. Scroll border hand engraving and the same on each side of the gun depicts a dog pointing a flushed partridge, all engraving quite tasteful without being over-done.
The inside of the standing face of the Yildiz SPZ ME Sporter has a replaceable steel inletted plate which provides openings for the firing pins. This is obviously a modification to avoid wear and tear on the standing face, as if it was all aluminium then constant use could damage the firing pin holes from the steel pins. I’m all for this innovation and, since it’s replaceable, it won’t affect functioning of the gun.
Design of the top lever, which opens the barrels from the receiver, is excellent and aids opening of this new gun without too much effort. The barrel selector/safety catch is well placed on the top tang and positive in activation. To the bottom of the receiver the trigger-guard is quite generous and has a touch of engraving about its outer surface, though there’s no adjustable trigger foot or provision for it to be interchanged. The trigger set was mechanically activated rather than by inertia which I found ideal for all shooting situations.
Stock and fore-end
These are a highlight of the gun, made from good quality Turkish walnut and oiled finished, the character and grain of the Yildiz SPZ ME Special Sporter being well beyond the value found on most equivalent sporting arms. Checkering ran at around 20 lines per inch and the stock and fore-end match well in colour and grain character.
A comfortable recoil pad is fitted to the butt stock to absorb recoil from those heavier 76” Magnum loads. I asked myself why such a gun isn’t just chambered for Sporting Clays (12ga, 70mm, 28-gram loads), though I suppose it could be taken into a duck swamp or used to hunt upland game with Magnum chambering. The gun is supplied with a standard stock suited to Sporting Clays-type disciplines.
In the field
Taking the Yildiz SPZ ME Special Sporter out over the Sporting Clays traps was indeed a pleasure. I first shot five-stand sporting at my local gun club to find the chokes were devastating on all targets using a ¼ and ¾ choke combination. Next was a visit to the Frankston Field and Game ground for some Thursday practice, where the gun acquitted itself admirably using a mixture of light and heavy loads.
Gamebore light Evo loads were comfortable to shoot and despite only carrying 21 grams of lead, at more than 1400fps in velocity, targets at all distances were turned to dust. Some heavier NSI Quattro Fluo were also used for comparison and these bounced the light gun around despite being lethal on targets out to 50 metres. Overall I was more than happy with the performance of the Gamebore loads with this lighter shotgun. While the loads were comfortable with recoil and muzzle flip more than acceptable, I’d rather save the NSI Quattro Fluo loads for a heavier gun.
In conclusion, matched to lighter sporting field loads I highly recommend the Yildiz SPZ ME, especially for juniors or women. The reduced weight is another bonus for older shooters and I’m disappointed I didn’t have the chance to tackle some quail or ducks during the season. With a price tag around $2495 and three-year warranty, cased along with all accessories, the Yildiz SPZ ME Special Sporter represents a solid buy.
SPECIFICATIONS
Maker: Yildiz, Turkey
Distributor: Raytrade, Melbourne www.raytrade.com.au
Model: Yildiz SPZ ME Special Sporter, over-and-under shotgun
Overall length: 1210mm (47½”)
Overall weight: 3.03kg (6lb 12oz)
Barrel length: 760mm (30”)
Barrel weight: 1.46kg (3lb 3oz)
Guage: Available in 20ga, 28ga and .410 cal
Chokes: Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified, Full
Stock dimensions: Drop at comb 38mm (1½), drop at heel 60mm (2⅜”), length of pull 370mm (14½”)
Warranty: Three years
Price: All gauges same price at $2495, case and all accessories included.