![]() ![]() Ironically in the 1950s, Agustin Arazanbal (son of Nicolas) and famed second generation gunmaker Victor Sarasqueta II (no longer in business) competed heavily in trap and pigeon shooting. ![]() But history would favor AYA over the years, despite some rocky times, and now has left them as the last powerhouse in handmade Spanish shotguns. A birds-eye view of the iconic gun making city of Eibar, Spain in the Basque Region.Īguirre and Aranzabal, being Basque farmers, were taking a huge gamble regarding the cultural norm. Despite a cultural block on the region by dictator Francisco Franco, the upper-class culture of fine guns and hunting survived, allowing AYA shotguns to continue its place in fine gunmaking. The regional dialect was forbidden and had since faded from the local population, but the food, wine, and other parts of the culture remain strong today. The unique nature of this whole story is partly held in Basque culture, a region of Spain that was culturally oppressed for a large portion of the 20 th century after the Spanish Revolution ended in 1938. ![]() The history of AYA ShotgunsĪ quick Google search and you can read the iconic story of Miguel Aguirre and Nicolas Aranzabal journeying to Barcelona, Spain, to apprentice under German gunmaker Eduardo Schilling-eventually founding Aguirre y Aranzabal in 1915, or we as commonly refer to it, AYA shotguns. We’ve also compiled a list of places you can go to buy AYA shotguns and order custom fit models. There is some information floating around about the storied history of AYA shotguns but here we will give a more detailed and accurate account of the history, manufacturing process, and shotgun models that are now hitting the U.S. Sarasquota, and of course Aguirre y Aranzabal (AYA). Spain, or more accurately Eibar, is home to gunmakers like Arrieta, Grulla Armas, Armas Garbi, V. A look into the history, models, and availability of the Spanish handmade AYA shotgunsĪfter the recent film In Our Veins featuring the fourth generation of the AYA name Alex Aranzabal, there has been an increase in emails and questions regarding AYA shotguns and the revival of this Spanish gunmaker. ![]()
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February 2023
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