I concur with the 870 vote. Haven't tried a Nova, but I bought a used 870 for about $125 when I was in college, and I'm still shooting it 12 years later. I shoot well with it, and I'm not as worried about it getting dinged, etc., as I would be with a more spendy model. That being said, I'm looking at O/U's right now for upland birds - but I'll still use my 870 as my all-around gun.