I am looking at a F.lli Poli Opal Sporter for sporting clays and would appreciate any input on the gun and the makers quality. Appears to be well made and apparently the Sporter was made with overbore barrels and Briley chokes. I know that Cole imported them for a while but does not do so any longer, although I am not sure if this was due to a business decision or supply/quality. If this gun was at a similar price to a RBL, which would be the preferred gun - assuming both were set up the same (30" barrel, pg, btf)?
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks
Z

Zwego,
The Poli is a very high-quality gun. I would rather have an RBL, but just barely. The Poli is a really fine gun, but it's just a little over-priced. Rich Cole spoke very highly of them.
JR

John
Thanks for the comments - I am interested if you think that the Poli is a better gun if both the RBL and Poli were the same price.
Thanks
Z

zwego, I doubt there would be enough difference in quality of the barrels or lever work for anyone to know about. The difference for you might be between the finish quality and wood desirability of two individual guns. One difference to consider might be ease and cost of service in the event of a failure. These are modern guns, so factory service should be available.

Dude????
An Armi F.lli Poli is a frickin custom built, hand made Italian shotgun!!!
And you're comparing it to an RBL?? WTF!!!!
Like the F.lli Rizzini, not to be confused with the other Rizzinis, the F.lli Poli is one of the finest guns built in the world today and priced accordingly. They do not have a quality issue. They are expensive because they could care less whether people can afford their shotguns or not. Want the best..got to pay.

I have a Poli (Pigeon Gun - 32" barrels, Brileys) and three RBL's.
The Poli is a substantially better gun in terms of fit and finish. It cost roughly 50% more than the RBL's and is worth every penny of it.
It also has a certain dynamism in its movements (even with 32" barrels) that is more noticable than in the RBL's.
Having said that , the RBLs are built for stout and will probably last several lifetimes (as will the Poli) and are a terrific bargin in a side x side.

Poli makes a nice gun but is your enthusiastic reply actually referring to F.lli Piotti (maker of best guns)?

WTF indeed; a Poli is NOT a custom-built, hand-made shotgun UNLESS you order one of those versions. The Sporting Clays gun with sideplates is a $6000 gun, not $60,000 like you seem to suggest.
JR

MTB, it is not uncommon for purpose built pigeon guns to have lower swing effort than their weight and barrel length would suggest. This is accomplished by using heavier actions with lighter barrels and stock. Where as purpose built target guns will often use heavier barrels and stock to create higher swing effort which will return as a stable swing and resistance to stopping. Clays, once launched will follow a predictable trajectory aside from air currents. Pigeons are quite capable of suddenly deciding to go somewhere else. The pigeon shooter needs to be able to change directions more quickly/with less effort than the clays shooter. At least in theory and on the average.

You're right Blue, Armi F.lli Piotti is another great Italian maker but so is Armi F.lli Poli. Go to their web-site John and look at their sidelocks, are you telling me those aren't 'Best' guns???

zwego,

Stopped in Jaquas last week and noticed they had an Poli Sporter (12 ga 30 inch) for what appeared to me to be a fair price. I believe it was less than $3000. FYI.

I see what you're saying now John and Blue, F.lli Poli makes all ranges of guns where as F.lli Rizzini and F.lli Piotti make 'Best' guns only. Okay, I stand corrected.

I have a 20 gauge Poli Upland Extra that I custom ordered through Cole Gunsmithing in 2003 to use for skeet shooting. It was built to my exact specifications. It's an excellent gun and I would not hesitate for a second to do it again. It's worth it.

Rich Cole ended his dealings with Poli as a business decsion since he wanted to concentrate on custom O/U's with Beretta and Zoli actions.

I have had several in my shop. Broken ejector parts,soft hammer noses to the point that they would not dent the primer,soft sears,etc.Good design,not elegant,but poor quality control, and worst of all, no parts are available.Next stop is to try Italy.

So my question is - at a similar price which gun is "better", an RBL or a Poli Opal Sporter. I understand that Poli makes very expensive guns as does CSMC but neither the RBL or the Opal Sporter qualify - as they are both in the $3-4K range.
I also understand fit, handling etc are personal but was looking for your opinions. Most seem to feel that the Poli was a "better" gun vs the RBL, at least based on this thread, but that the RBL may be a better value, but I think that was assuming a 6K gun vs a 3K gun.
Again, if they are the same price (as noted by Tim above this can happen) which would be the better sporter value?
Thanks
Z

I had looked into buying from either company,and although I havnt shot these companies product,I`ll have to give the hand to the
A10 or RBL simply because being a machinist myself and seeing pictures of said firms interiors,Galazan has the manpower and proper machines and its made in the United States of America.
You wanted a sporter,which means alot of rounds,then you need the support for it.Poli has like 3 guys,every part they make is a story unto itself including screws,metric sizes etc.
The only thing the Poli does have is that Euro flair,so
my suggestion is to drop the Poli and start looking at Merkels.

I have my thoughts about your sucgetion. First you can't compare appels and peers. The Poli is a very well made guns and the Opal Mod is not the top,but all Poli guns are very well finished and a joy to shoot or hunt. A am also sure that the new A 10 in offer from Galazan is a good gun and the availability about parts if there is a problem is more certain then with the Poli guns. I cant accept the critic that Poli from the pervious topic, I have personaly no experience with poli guns but between my hunting companions I have one friend that shoot Poli guns and he can't say somethig negativ about them.

HUH!, Last I checked, Merkels were made in Germany and Germany was part of Europe! Has something changed?

I say get the one with the best wood. Isn't that why we buy half of the shotguns we own.

Or to compare diamond with diamond how about CSMC's Fox. Custom fitted, American made and tough as nails!!!

I'd sooner have one Poli to three RBLs...and if you're talking Piotti in the mix, one to 10 RBLs, and I'm talking about their boxlock which is a best quality on it's own.

I believe Bill Kemper @ Deep River stocks the Poli's

I took the plunge and based on the generally strong endorsement of the Poli, I have an Opal sporter coming next week - at least for inspection. As far as I can tell, it is one of the few - if not the only - sxs that was designed for clay targets. I have looked seriously at the RBLs and have visited the factory twice - coming very close to buying a 12 g that had been produced without an owner at the time of my visit. It is a very nice gun but my impression was that it didn’t have a lot of “life” moving it in the gun room. Certainly that can be deceiving, so I also tried one at the Vintagers event last month with the same general feeling. So, pending inspection next week, I will likely be shooting a Poli at clays along with my SO4. My only concern is the double triggers this particular gun has. I shoot double triggers on my Parker and Arrizabalaga but I have never used either for any “serious” clay shooting. Other than that, the gun sounds & looks very nice.
Thanks for all of the help
Z

zwego,

I think you will move between the two guns without a problem. Have not seen a Poli Sporting with double triggers but have a 20 ga on order. Any chance you can post a picture or two.

Have fun.

tim

Interesting comment about "life". I'm assuming Z means quickness of swing was low? To Rocketman, that would be a high MOI.

My observation/assumption of a lot of SC shooters is that they buy the long barreled guns to get a high MOI/slower swinging/more stable swinging gun. That's one of the bigger reasons I have some long barreled SC guns.

Granted, too much MOI is something I avoid as well. I sold a 32" 8 1/4 lb Win 101 that I couldn't get going quickly enough, often enough on some shots. I replaced it with a 32" 7 3/4 lb Beretta 682 Sporting that has much lighter barrels.

The handling of the RBL is different from my SO4 (my point of comparison since it is my primary SC gun) and I would guess that the RBL does likely have a higher Moment of Inertia (MOI) for the same weight. I believe this is because the RBL has the weight distributed out into the barrels versus my SO4 (thinner & more refined barrels vs. the RBL). The guns weight about the same - SO4 a little less than 8 lbs and the RBL that I looked at was a bit over 8 lbs. Based on other threads here, this weight is not uncommon for the 12 gauge RBLs with some going well over 9 lbs. Although I plan to shoot the Poli at targets predominately, if not exclusively, I am not particularly recoil sensitive and the Poli is about 7#-10 oz. Based on some posts here, I think this gun should be more lively than the RBL which is both good and bad. Good in that it moves to the target quicker but bad if it gets off line with poor technique. However, I think at this weight it should not be too much of a problem. Assuming that I find the gun acceptable next week, I will try to post some pictures and follow up comments.
Thanks
Z

I have been shooting a Poli hammer gun at sporting clays lately. The gun came with extra full and IC. Seminole opened the left bbl to LM. The gun is accurate. I shoot it almost as well as my K80. The difference may be accounted for by the triggers. The K80 is 4lbs and 4lbs, The Poli is 2 ounces and 7lbs.

Anybody know of a good side lock man in Florida ?

danc AA 3punches SV

zwego,

I think that you'll be very happy with the Poli. Is it coming with 30" or 32" barrels?
My observations regarding the 12 ga. RBL are similar to yours. In a separate post I mentioned that, to me, they felt "clubby". Generally heavy feeling and non-responsive. Quite different than their 20Ga. and 28GA., which I find lively.