definately 12ga (IMHO) i don't know that you can get a variety of steel loads, nor can you get the pellet density in 20 ga. if you were only going to get 1 shotgun, get a 12. a 20 would be great for quail thru phesant, a 10 guage, great for geese, but a 12 (especially a 3 1/2" mag) gives you lots of versatility. i've got a benelli nova and am thrilled with it. it's all polymer, when i get home from hunting in the rain, i dunk it in the shower, dry it off and i'm good to go. the 870 is probably the most popular shotgun ever. the mossberg 835 is a good gun, too, except it's ported, and loud as he!! in the duck blind. if you're going to hunt ducks, i'd probably go with a polymer stock and fore end, something that'll shoot 3 1/2's and camo (if it's not too expensive). a 26" barrel would be about the minimum i'd go, as the longer barrels tend to point better. screw-in interchangable chokes are almost a must. if you get one like this, you can hunt everything from pigeons to phesants to turkeys to snow geese. let us know what you come up with.

oh, yeah check this out:
http://www.shotgunworld.com/new.html


willy