Crusty Steve

I have been shooting Yildiz 20-gauge side x sides for 10 or 11 years now. I don't have any experience with the higher priced guns because I never felt the need. The Yildiz worked fine for me. I am not a gunsmith but modified the Yildiz to suit my needs. The 20 gauge is not built like a tank, I managed to pull the forend hanger out of my first one after 5 or 6 years of hard, if not abusive use, but my second one works just fine. I have a third as a backup. They are sold by Academy Sports but are not immediately ready for Cowboy Action use. The 20 gauge only comes with ejectors, but there is a set of small triggers in the forend that can be easily removed to turn the gun into an extractor model. The barrels are 28" and I cut mine down to 20" and added a new large front bead. The hammer springs are heavy and need to be cut. The action when opened is very stiff and needs to be polished to lightened up. I have no complaints about the build of the guns. I have had none of the opening and locking problems that Taos mentioned above. The 20 gauge gun is light. After cutting the barrels to 20" it only weighs 5 pounds even. It does kick. The receiver is made of aluminum with stainless steel recoil shields at the breach. When you pull the stock to get to the innards of the action you find most of the parts are stainless steel. The one disappointment is that the vertical cam rod that is turned by the lever to open the action is raw steel and tends to rust if not coated with grease. I tried a Stoeger for a very short time, but with the wide beavertail forend and different pistol grip in the stock, I found it felt clunky. The Yildiz has a narrow forend and I find it points more naturally and the light 5 pound weight makes it easy to handle and easy to shuck empties. I have enjoyed the ones I have. I see they list for $540.00 now, but all of mine were under $500.00 when I bought them. For me they have been worth the money. Just my thoughts. Crusty Steve