I shoot a Remington 1100. Its a little on the heavy side, but it doesn't kick very much.

What do you hunt? If you are talking light why not stick with the 20 ga? Lighter, and thinner profile. I own a Benelli 20 ga. auto, and like the gun a lot after I learned a few things about it. And I can shoot a 12 ga. 1 1/4 oz. pheasant load in it that is the standard 12 ga. pheasant load. I don't see the 12 as "moving up" unless you can tell the situation where you need to "move up"...like waterfowl hunting. Number of very fine lt wt 12 ga. gas guns now though...and my Benelli Montefeltro in 12 ga. is great. You can google them up at ABLE'S out of Texas. They had a lot of them at the best price more than likely.

I have a 12 gauge Weatherby SA08 that is light and a pleasure to shoot. You may want to check it out. It is a great turkey gun with an after market choke installed. You didn't say exactly what you are hunting but it comes with the interchangable chokes. It handles light loads and heavy loads equally well.

You should definitely take a look at the Berreta XPLOR than. Its a versitile gun, light weight, and very little kick. After shooting it you'll never want another shotgun.