I think you will enjoy it. I've got the 24 inch camo version and it has never hiccupped. I actually bought it, because it was on sale for $10 less than the 26/28 inchers(which would normally have been my first choice), so, with that as an incentive, I handled and shouldered them side by side and the 24 incher felt like it balanced a bit better for me, wound up with $314 plus tax in it(Beretta had a $35 rebate on) and have seen them in your price range since. For hunting, I kind of pick it up interchangeably with my 870, which says something, as I think the 870 is the toughest repeating shotgun ever made. As far as the camo vs black goes, the camo looks kind of neat to us, but if the birds are close enough to detect that black barrel as opposed to a camo one, they have already made a serious mistake.
However the camo coating probably helps with rust resistance on the barrel.
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<br>As I have posted before, I need to cut it off just a fraction, but it is not so long as to really be a problem and have just not gotten around to it yet.