the nova is great, but you dont have to spend 500 bucks to get a great pump... a mossberg 500 or a charles daly VR-MC or a remington 870 are all great pumps. for 500 you could almost get a great autoloader.... i have an 11-87 and i love it... i also have the charles daly and its a great little gun for $200 at wal-mart! you can beat the crap out of it and it keeps going... my buddies hunt with mossbergs and they are super tough, great shooting pumps as well... there's my two cents!