I wish I had a father in-law that bought Hevi-Shot by the case and required me to use his shells when hunting with him. Hell, I would be happy enough if I had a father in-law that hunted. If he asked me to go hunting with him, that would be a bonus.

No such thing as one gun for all. Where would all the fun go?

Get a nice gun for general use. Maybe an 1100 in 12 ga. Light loads are easy on you, and it will handle 3 inch magnums for duck/geese.

Myself, I would look at a 3 gun battery:

20 guage for upland use: squirrel, rabit, quail, some doves

12 guage 3 inch for general use: passing shots for dove, pheasant, all upland, and duck/geese with heavy shot or one of the new lead replacements

12 guage 3 1/2 inch or 10 guage: ducks/geese. I would add this last unless I really hunted ducks/geese a lot.

I don't hunt duck/geese. I don't need a heavy bore.

I have a bad shoulder, I can't handle a 12 guage unless it's an auto that softens the kick.

I do most of my hunting with an O/U Balaki (Russian) 28 guage. It is light, quick and was only $399.00.