Hello everyone, I am a person who just bought their first field shotgun (it's a Mossberg 940 pro Semi-Auto) for hunting upland game birds and water fowl. This is my very first firearm ever and I went through the huge hassle to get it (I live in California our laws are some of the toughest in the country). To try out my gun and get more used to it I wanted to try out American trap. It seemed like the most easy to understand and safest game to try out since I hadn't even fired a shotgun before this point.
After 2 rounds of American Trap I fell in love with the game and proceeded to play another 2 rounds I loved it so much (even though I suck). I also went back for 3 days in a row with some friends playing different games of trap and also trying out sporting clays which was SUPER tough but cool! I have been getting better day by day with my field shotgun because I feel like it's not a bad shotgun whatsoever just for general purpose. It definitely is a field shotgun and has that weight distribution of one as well but I am having fun with it regardless and will continue to have fun with it even though it's not a "sporting shotgun". The range I go to has a bunch of types of sporting shotguns that I could try out from expensive beretta over under's to cheaper shotguns of all kinds and all actions. I tried out the cheap Weatherby over under shotgun and it shot well but the gun broke like shit and was hard to open once fired and overall felt like kinda like a cheap toy. I didn't mind it but then I tried out the Beretta 687 and man I got to say there is a difference, but man that price is killer for the wallet.
After doing some research on a bunch of sporting shotguns after shooting a couple I have realized most sporting shotguns that are popular are NOT CHEAP! I understand the craftsmanship and quality of the firearm and I appreciate that however, are there any sporting shotguns you would recommend for like $500-2000? Maybe a little more? I have found brands like Weatherby and CZ of course. But what about any other recommendations... I would like something that doesn't feel like a cheap toy and shoots well. I understand I am asking for something that probably just does not exist because there is always a scale for price and quality. But still any recommendations?
TLDR: Sporting Shotgun Recommendations for $1500 and below. That are not CZ or Weatherby. Will go up to $2000 MAX if worth it.