The ATA 686S Double Double 12G

John Robinson
The ATA 686S
Double Double 12G
If you get on the Holland and Holland web site, there is interesting video
footage of what goes into making a shotgun that will make a fair sort of a hole
in a six figure sum. There is a price for perfection and prestige.
MAIN: The stubby barrel
version of the ATA 686S
will appeal to hog hunters.
Good handling and
comfortable to shoot over
a long session make the
ATA a good option for any
of the clay target Skeet of
Sporting Clays events.
I
f you are more interested in performance, you can invest not much more
the a four figure sum in a gun like the
ATA 686S Combo and probably shoot
as many pheasants with it, although the
gamekeeper on the estate in Britain would
probably not let you through the gate
armed with an under and over shotgun
made in Turkey.
As we have stated previously in these
pages, the quality and value in Turkish
made shotguns is outstanding and ATA,
among others have a range of exceptionally
innovative firearms that continue to enhance the reputation of Turkey as a major
sporting gun manufacturer.
ATA was founded by Celal Yollu when
this young firearms genius stated design-
4 GUNS AUSTRALIA
ing and building shotguns in the town of
Kayseri, in Turkey. He designed and manufactured a semi-auto shotgun in the
mid 1960’s
Today, the company is one of the leading
firearms manufacturers ion Turkey and
makes shotguns of all types and grades.
The test gun, supplied by ATA Australian
distributor, Nioa, is the ATA 696S Combo
– an under and over 12G that comes with
two sets of barrels – 30” (76cm) and 20”
(51cm) – both with 8mm ventilated ribs
and screw-in chokes.
The 686 action is very similar to Beretta’s 686 and I have heard that there is a
commercial connection between the two
companies. The 686 action’s locking arrangement allows for a shallower receiver
that is possible on a standard underluglocking boxlock and given the long service
experience if the Beretta 686 design, durability is not an issue.
The ATA 686S is a standard grade gun
with a silver receiver and no engraving. It
comes with a Grade 1 Turkish walnut
stock which was reasonably well figured
on the test gun. The checkering is laser
cut, and is very precise, with the addition
of the ATA logo integrated with the
checkering panels.
The barrels are black chromed externally
– I love this finish as it is more durable that
conventional blueing – and the bores are
chrome lined, with 3” chambers.
The outfit comes in a very well presented
semi-hard case with a suede leather type
finish, with the two barrels and the stock
encapsulated in red velvet sleeves - a very
attractive package. The specifications stated that the gun comes with five chokes, but
the test gun already had screw on chokes in
both barrels and there were 3 spate chokes
in the kit.
The main feature of the 686S Combo is
the two-barrel setup. It is obviously intended as a field gun, as the stock dimensions indicate, and for Australian hunters
and shooters, the 30” and 20” options
cover all bases that are likely to be of interest to the locals.
There is nothing better than a short
barrelled 12G when hunting hogs in close
cover, and the 30”barrel is right for any
clay target or small game activity.
The 686 action has a gold-plated single
trigger that is mechanically operated and is
selective, as are the ejectors.
As is the case with most under and over
shotguns with the exception of earlier
model Superposed Brownings, the forend
needs to be removed to remove the barrel.
APRIL/JUNE 2016
1 The 686 action on the ATA is very
similar to Beretta’s same. The
locking system allows for a fairly
shallow receiver.
2 The combo outfit comes with a
very classy semi-rigid suede
leatherette carry case.
3 The gun was tested with Eley
Olympic Blues.
4 Fit and finish internally and
externally is very good. Ejectors
are selective.
2
1
3
4
SPECS
ATA 686S 12G
Manufacturer: ATA Arms
Model: ATA 686S Combo
Action: Under and over box lock
with selective ejectors.
Calibre: 12G – also available
in 20G
Barrels: 30” and 20” chrome
lined with 3” chambers
Weight: 3.4kg
External finish: satin chromed
receiver – black chromed
other external surfaces.
Sights: 8mm ventilated rib with
optic fibre foresight.
Chokes: 5 x screw in chokes
Trigger: Single mechanical
gold plated.
Stock: Grade 1Turkish walnut –
360mm length of pull
– laser cut checkering
Accessories: Semi-hard suede
fitted case.
Distributor: Nioa
RRP: $1350 – shop around.
6 GUNS AUSTRALIA
The ATA has a push-button release on the
front of the forend, which is a little easier
to use than the standard flush-fitted
forend latch.
All the internal bright surfaces of the
ATA on both barrels have a jewelled finish
and metal to metal fit is precise in all areas.
The stock fit for me was good – length of
pull was 360mm and the test gun was fitted
with a Sporting Clays recoil pad.
The 8mm ventilated ribs are fitted with a
red optic fibre front sight, which is good for
getting your hold and stance set up, but not
what you should be looking at when the
target is in the air.
The ATA was taken out for a test run at
the NLMCTC range and put through its
paces shooting several rounds of Skeet.
I shot the first half of one round
with the 20” barrel fitted until one of the
club’s officials realised there was a barrel
length limitation on clay target ranges,
so we consulted the rules and he was correct, so the short barrel was retired and
the 30” barrel was fitted for the rest of
the sessions.
The brief run with the short barrel was
surprisingly good. Its lighter weight and
minimum barrel length did not make any
practical difference to the felt recoil of the
gun, with the only noticeable difference
being that it was a bit noisier with the Eley
target loads than it was with the longer
barrel. It was slightly disappointing to make
the change as I shot all the 10 targets with
the stubby outfit.
Putting over 100 rounds of Eley Olympic
Blue 71/2 target loads through the ATA
without discomfort was a good sign of the fit
and dynamics of the ATA.
I shot as well with the ATA 686 as with
my own 12G gear and as stated previously, at
the very reasonable RRP of around $1350,
the value offered with this two-barrel outfit
is hard to beat.
For more information on ATA shotguns,
contact the Australian distributors, Nioa, at
www.nioa.com.au.
APRIL/JUNE 2016