The Shooter’s Companion

Shotguns·makers·models·history

An independent reference on sporting shotguns, for shooters, collectors, buyers and sellers.

Yildiz

Drawing of low houses and cultivated slopes overlooking Lake Burdur beneath dry mountain ridges.
Drawing: Lake Burdur and the surrounding mountains.

Origins

Yildiz means ‘star’ in Turkish.2 Adem Kuzu’s father established the family business, and its first product was a .3 The company grew from a small workshop at Bayır, established in 1975 according to its company profile.1 Its address is Burdur, Turkey.4

The company added and began making in 1994.5 That year Adem Kuzu took over from his father, and the company moved to a factory outside Burdur.6 It later acquired a second factory, also of 3,000 square metres.6 Kuzu has said he hopes his daughters will follow him into the business.7

Factories and partners

Yildiz’s factory stands in Burdur’s industrial zone.8 The company puts its annual capacity at 60,000 hunting and sporting shotguns.8 It describes the factory as integrated, making its components without outsourcing.9 It uses 4140 steel for barrels and selected Turkish walnut, in Grades 2, 3, 4 and 5, for and .10

Timeline

1975

Yildiz’s company profile dates the Bayır workshop to this year.1

1994

Yildiz begins making over-and-unders.5

1994

Adem Kuzu takes over the company, which moves to a factory outside Burdur.6

By August 2006

ShootingUK tests the black- SPZME in a range offered in 12 and 20 .11

By March 2007

Yildiz exports to Europe and the United States.12

By February 2008

ShootingUK reviews a .410 side-by-side with the appearance of a conventional .13

By July 2009

ShootingUK reviews the SPZM .410 with 26-inch barrels and a 13-inch .14

By January 2012

ShootingUK reviews the Professional 20-bore semi-automatic.15

c. 2014

Yildiz introduces a luxury range with hand and fine Turkish walnut.16

By September 2015

ShootingUK tests a Sporter with an adjustable .17

By April 2016

Yildiz has two sites of 3,000 square metres each.16

By November 2019

Gun Mart reviews Pro Sporter Black.18

By June 2021

American Hunter tests SPZ ME Sporting HPS with a steel receiver.19

By September 2021

Caccia Magazine tests the 28-bore SPZ-M and explains the ME ejector version.20

2022

The Italian range includes SPZ, PRO, Sporting, Trap, Elegant and TK guns, alongside semi-automatics and pump guns.21

Families and models

In 2022 the SPZ hunting over-and-under range came in 12, 20, 28 and .410.22 The SPZ ME Sporting HPS tested in 2021 had a steel receiver.23 The PRO sits at the top of the range and has Boss-type locking.24 The range also includes Elegant side-by-sides, Sporting and target guns, semi-automatics, pump guns and TK single barrels.22

Reading the names and numbers

SPZ-M denotes manual extraction, and SPZ-ME automatic .25 SPZ-ME Special Luxus adds selected Turkish walnut, fine engraving and decorative described as Holland & Holland style.26 The 28-bore SPZ-SM has a black alloy receiver.27

Marks

Yildiz’s logo is a star.28 The SPZME guns tested in 2006 were submitted for proof in Britain.29 British proof rules provide a year mark for proof or reproof.30 Yildiz describes endurance and function tests followed by checks for conformity with TSE and C.I.P. standards.31

Drawing of the action of an over-and-under shotgun.
Drawing: Detail of an over-and-under action.

Sources

  1. Yıldız Shotgun Company, origins. Defence Turkey; company profile, 2007-03-01. magazine
  2. Inside Yildiz the Turkish gunmaker, meaning. ShootingUK, 2016-04-12. magazine
  3. Inside Yildiz the Turkish gunmaker, 1974. ShootingUK, 2016-04-12. magazine
  4. Yıldız Shotgun Company, address. Defence Turkey; company profile, 2007-03-01. magazine
  5. Inside Yildiz the Turkish gunmaker, over-and-unders. ShootingUK, 2016-04-12. magazine
  6. Inside Yildiz the Turkish gunmaker, factories. ShootingUK, 2016-04-12. magazine
  7. Inside Yildiz the Turkish gunmaker, family. ShootingUK, 2016-04-12. magazine
  8. Yildiz: Burdur factory profile, factory. Yildiz Shotgun; Adem Kuzu. maker website
  9. Yildiz: manufacturing technologies and technical details, in-house-work. Yildiz Shotgun. maker website
  10. Yildiz: manufacturing technologies and technical details. Yildiz Shotgun. maker website
  11. Yildiz over-and-under: SPZME test. ShootingUK, 2006-08-22. magazine
  12. Yıldız Shotgun Company. Defence Turkey; company profile, 2007-03-01. magazine
  13. Yildiz .410 side-by-side. ShootingUK, 2008-02-19. magazine
  14. Yildiz SPZM .410 shotgun review. ShootingUK, 2009-07-01. magazine
  15. Yildiz Professional 20-bore semi-automatic review. ShootingUK, 2012-01-03. magazine
  16. Inside Yildiz the Turkish gunmaker. ShootingUK, 2016-04-12. magazine
  17. Yildiz Sporter. ShootingUK, 2015-09-01. magazine
  18. Yildiz Pro Sporter Black. Gun Mart, 2019-11-28. magazine
  19. Hardware: Yildiz SPZ ME Sporting HPS. American Hunter; Jeff Johnston, 2021-06-25. magazine
  20. Yildiz SPZ-M: piccolo e accattivante. Caccia Magazine; Simone Bertini, 2021-09-06. magazine
  21. Yildiz catalogue 2022, Italian edition. Paganini for Yildiz, 2022. maker catalogue
  22. Yildiz catalogue 2022, Italian edition, family-list. Paganini for Yildiz, 2022. maker catalogue
  23. Hardware: Yildiz SPZ ME Sporting HPS, steel-version. American Hunter; Jeff Johnston, 2021-06-25. magazine
  24. Yildiz catalogue 2022, Italian edition, pro. Paganini for Yildiz, 2022. maker catalogue
  25. Yildiz catalogue 2022, Italian edition, spz-m-and-me. Paganini for Yildiz, 2022. maker catalogue
  26. Yildiz catalogue 2022, Italian edition, special-luxus. Paganini for Yildiz, 2022. maker catalogue
  27. Yildiz catalogue 2022, Italian edition, black. Paganini for Yildiz, 2022. maker catalogue
  28. Yildiz Pro Sporter Black, logo. Gun Mart, 2019-11-28. magazine
  29. Yildiz over-and-under: SPZME test, british-proof. ShootingUK, 2006-08-22. magazine
  30. Rules, Regulations and Scales of the Two Companies for the Proof of Small Arms 2006, proof-year. British Proof Authority; London and Birmingham Proof Houses, 2006. proof house
  31. Yildiz: manufacturing technologies and technical details, proof-claims. Yildiz Shotgun. maker website

Revised 2026-10-14