Well, I handled the little Morris Saturday, and was offered the opportunity to shoot it , by August. It is a drop dead gorgeous piece with no warts that some thought they could see in the pictures. The heading up is perfect on both sides. The apparent gap that was thought to be on the left side was evidently caused by lighting and camera angle. It is stocked too high, as I knew by the dimensions stated, and has a Pachmayr Old English pad, not a leather covered one as it appeared to me to have in the pics. There was another very similar English .410, a Reece, at CSMC, that Lou allowed me to handle, but with 28" barrels. Very high condition, stocked too high as well, and priced nearly exactly the same. Unbelievably, Robin Hollow has another very nice English hammer .410, a T. Wild, that was in screaming condition, and priced very similarly. I made August an offer on the Morris, but am secretly hoping it won't be accepted. Why?

While talking with Kevin, of Kevin's of Thomasville, about .410 dove guns he handed me a few Polis to mount. One of them caused me to totally rethink my plan about finding the perfect .410 S X S for doves. The other three vintage guns I looked at were way under 5 lbs. which I have learned from experience are difficult to shoot well on doves, and where light weight is not needed for carrying ease. The gun I handled was a 30" barreled .410 Poli built on a 20 ga. frame. Here's where I had to start thinking outside the box a little. My first impression when he opened the gun was, why would anyone want that ............ until I handled it. It weighs either 6.8 lbs. or 6 lbs. 8 oz. (I didn't look too closely at the hang tag) and handles like a dream gun. The extra weight is nearly all in the breech area, where it should be for handling well. He said he can have them made with barrels out to 34" in length. It fit perfect with it's long LOP. The gun is side plated, and has a Woodward semi-pistol grip, which is lovely. It's certainly not an "English gun", but may well be the ideal dove field .410.

I would welcome personal messages or emails from anyone who has had personal experience with Poli S X S guns, for some length of time, and can address reliability. I know Joe Norcom has owned some for years and I have emailed him about having a conversation about his. If you read this Joe, check your emails please.

Best, SRH

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