This thing of a gun having soul as described in the article is interesting. I would call it lively balance and handling rather than soul.

Back in the 70s or 80s a writer in the British magazine Shooting Times detailed how he searched intently for such a gun and how he passed over several top English names to settle on a machine made Bernardelli Elio 16 gauge as the best balanced and best handling gun. For him the Elio was obviously best.