George, the 1300, the 870 and teh 500 are all quality rigs, widely used by police around the world.( I guess a lot of agencies and units in Europe are picking up the 1300- Winchester is owned by FN, which is owned by GIAT, and they are dressing up some 1300 varients for military or police sales in the FN catalog.) And the Nova is a Benelli product- saying Benelli is like saying BMW, you know it is quality. LAPD SWAT, the SAS, the SEALs and a lot of other name droppable units use their autoloaders.

Go to a couple of shops, see what you can get a feel for. Work the actions, see how it feels when you dry fire and how the slide feels. Try to find the controls with your eyes closed. As the guy behind the counter if he has some snap caps- odds are good he might. You use those to get a feel for how it loads and feeds. Pick the two you like the best, and THEN look at price tags. :P Remember to buy a bunch of ammo, so you can get use to it.

It isn't easier than asking us, but it is more effective. We can't tell you what will feel right in your hands. And that is what is going to matter in the long run. What feels best might be a WWII surplus model 12 with half the finish worn away, or a budget model from the Phillipeans (Armscorp is a little rough in thier finish, but thier stuff is supposed to be used by the Phillipino internal sercurity guys in the jungle- they've been doing anti-guerilla work for a century in that jungle, they won't settle for junk), or maybe a big name, brand new "boomsitck" from a custom shop.

Never by guns, knives or shoes for someone else, becuase you can't predict what will feel really good for them.