Rem 870 express 20ga is the best one for a new hunter cost is about $250. unless you want to go with a New England 20ga single shot the cost is about $99. Depends on what your hunting. I love my 870 pump. It is smooth, light weight and has hardly no kick. Now another good shotgun is the 28ga. That is what i would like to start my wife on but i dont want to spend another $250 on a shotgun that she will just use for target practice. So I told her that I would start her on my 870. hope I answered you question without over glorifying the 870 too much.