I'm not going to be getting in any line to run out a find a 311 or 511 or a 5100. Most of the people who I have met who owned them were not die hard shooters, or, if they were, they moved on to something else after a 311 got them going.
If you want a low buck gun to figure out if the sport is for you, a 311 is a good start, and can likely be moved along if the sport isn't your cup of tea, or you jump in with both feet (and, your wallet) and move onward and upward to bigger and better things.
A salesman where I work, who could definitely afford a much better gun, has used a Savage model B in 16 gauge his entire life, and has killed bushel baskets of grouse with the thing. His family owns a multiple thousands of acre ruffed grouse shangra-la near Lake Vermillion in northern MN, and he has owned only one gun since he was a teenager, maybe 60 years ago. No problems, no skeet or trap, just grouse hunting, maybe a dozen times a season, but, it has always worked well for him and still does.
Best,
Ted
