No reason not to get an a used 870 20 gauge for informal target shooting. There's a lot to be said for using a gun you like and have confidence in but I'll bet you break more birds with a 1100 or whatever gas operated semiauto you try.
So why even suggest spending the $200-$300 on an 870 when that could go towards a semi? You know the OP will in short order end up upgrading so why encourage wasting the money?
The Mossberg SA-20 is often on sale for under $400, and works really well. The Weatherby is almost the same gun, even shares the same stocks.
Here's Randy Wakeman's video battle of the 20's,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gAiv-rdcQYHe's shooting a nicer walnut version of the SA-20 but the synthetic stock version is same only costs less. I looked at these very closely and they are very nicely made guns.
I decided on the Stoeger M3020 only because it's lighter weight and when it came time to order the 3rd one I came really close to getting the walnut SA-20, but thought no I'll just stick with the same model only camo instead of black.
My trap and skeet club has all sorts of guns and the SA-20 and SA08 are doing really well. I believe only one other person has a M3020 and he's a friend of mine. His is great, and all three of mine have been great.
I recently sold my 1187 20 but it was great too, soft shooting, and the only reason I sold it was because it was noticeably heavier than my M3020's. When you hunt with a 5.5 lb gun it's real hard to go back to a 7 lb gun that does the same thing!
Anyway, my point is, there's no reason to limit yourself to a pump gun today!
