RE: This really sucks
For the money the winchester Super-X2 is the most versatile 3.5" gun you can buy. Mine will cycle just about anything, and is a soft shooter. But, you're still talking about over $700 new. I love my Beretta 391, too and it'd be my pick for a 3" gun, but you're looking at $800 or so. I believe Beretta makes a gun called the 3901, which is a cosmetically altered 390 (the 391 predeccessor, and one of the best 3" auto's ever designed) and makes it available to Beretta dealers (this is a similar gun to the Wal-Mart Beretta). I think it sells for around $550, but I'm not sure.
Gordon