I voted for the 500, I have had one for many years, probably 10, and I never did anything more than clean the barrel to it in those years, used it for pheasant, and had a rifled barrel for deer hunting, I got a Benneli Super Nova, so I cleaned the 500 and retired it. I have no idea how it worked, it was so dirty and full of crud, but I never had a single problem with it, it never jammed, never got hard to pump, never misfired, worked just as good as the day I got it. I have a Winchester model 12, in *perfect* condition, I used it for a year, and decided to keep it in the gun cabinet (to nice of a gun to ruin) anyway, I loved it, worked great, nice light gun, if the 1200 is anything like it, it would be a great gun also. The 870 is a very popular gun, but don't let it suck you in to thinking you need to get that gun just because everyone says they like it, the 870/500 battle is just as bad as the Ford/Chevy/Dodge battle, no real winner when you ask people which THEY like the best. You just have to check them out and see which one fits you best. If you know someone with these guns, and can shoot them, that would be the best. Not sure if I made sense or just rambled, but that is my 2 cents.