My journey, as I'm sure with others, was determined by my initial exposure and the size of my bank account.
I first was exposed to shotguns by a cousin, who kindly took me out Skeet shooting on Sundays. He let me use his Model 12, that fit me very well. He also took me Pheasant hunting. That exposure had me looking for my first shotgun that would accomplish both. Couldn't afford a Model 12, but picked up a Browning A-5. Great hunting gun; poor Skeet gun. Much later, transitioned to a Rem. Model 1100. It worked well at both sports. Stayed at that point until my college days were over and then all control was lost. First came a Skeet tubed Citori; then rifle(s) for deer hunting; then a tubed Beretta replaced the Citori and on & on. Then I attended a Vintage Cup shoot and when I saw how well the shooters were doing with those "old" guns; well I just had to have one. Now various Berettas, RBLs, Parkers, Foxes, etc. along with hammer guns and yes, some English, Italian, German, and Spanish guns reside in my safes. It really is an illness. Glad that they haven't come up with a cure yet!
