The best is the 3" twelve guage you can shoot the best. If you can't hit anything with a gun the price and other folks opinions (mine included) don't really matter.

We're hearing a lot of complaints about Mossberg. You get what you pay for. Go with a 3" mag Remington 870 in 28" barrel with screw chokes. Pick up a good selection of chokes: full, modified, imp cylender. 3" mag shells will do you fine for northern mallards or geese. Switch to cheaper and more comfortable 2 3/4" for everything else. In my experience autos sometimes have difficulty making the transition from heavy loads to lighter loads. Also they're more prone to develop problems in adverse conditions. Pump is much more reliable. Full choke for waterfowl, of course. Modified for pass shooting doves or jump shooting pheasants sans a pointer. Use improved cylinder for jump shooting uplands over a pointer. Forget the vent rib! Those things are a pain in the butt as far as maintenance goes. Camo? Well, I have lived without it fine for a long time. I consider it something of a fashion statement on guns, although I hear some dips wear better than blueing. Not sure if it's true though. Go with a factory nylon stock. It's lighter and very low maintenance. Wood looks nice on the showroom shelf but for the kind of hunting I do, it just doesn't hold up. After wearing out two wood stocks I decided that was enough and switched to nylon.

I would say a reliable pump, not featherweight, or heavy as led, but a medium weight, a high quality recoil pad, and it would need to take 3 1/2

I personally feel my Benelli fits the bill.

Mossberg pump action you choose the model 500,535, or 835. They all will work well.

The Remington 870 has been filling that bill for so long that there are after market barrels for every application

I'm with Ontario Honker. 3" 12 gauge 870 Remington with choke tubes. Not too heavy and does the job for everything at a reaonable price. I suggest camo coating if you plan to do a lot of waterfowl and turkey hunting. I personally think the blued or black finishes look better and you can wrap camo tape if desired if you just do a little turkey or waterfowl hunting.