Jamie,
+1 on what has been already posted. I'll go a little further... For $400.00 you should be able to find a Nitro Special or a Western Long Range by Ithaca in 12Ga with no issues and is ready to go. Look around a bit more with patience, you could find one in a 16 or 20 in that range too, although condition may vary on the small bores.
Double your investment, and you could find nice 12Ga Sterly, Elsie or an Ithaca that are not as "clunky" as the aforementioned. Now if you save up 800, and you want a 16 or a 20, save up anther 200 to 400 and scour the internet, gun dealer sites, gun shops, pawn shops and auction sites and you could find one of the aforementioned in a 16 or 20 field models as well. Again condition may vary on the small bores. Although they are not Parkers, these are just as nice without the name.
Good luck whatever you do.
