hunt, I felt the same as you until I came into a little bit (and I do mean a " little" ) money. I splurged and bought the Benelli SBE and I have to admit, it' s one fine shotgun. Fits great (can also be adjusted to fit) and eats every type of shell I' ve fed it. It' s the most accurate pointing shotgun I' ve ever owned.

I would choose the Bennelli. It' s bombproof. You can adjust the stock to fit you easily. You can add a recoil reducer if you need to.

That said, I would rather shoot a 10 ga than a 3 1/2 inch 12ga. I found that the 3" shells pattern better for me. The 10 is the mighty oak that brings down the geese and ducks. Get a Rem autoloader if you go with the big 10!