I think the answer to lister1911's questions may be moot in practical application. The "best" to one person may be a ill fit to another that shoots for different reasons. For example: a Ljutic or Perazzi target gun of heavy weight would be a terrible chukar/quail gun. The reverse: A H&H or Purdey light game gun worth a couple hundred thousand dollars would be a bad choice for most target shooting applications that consume hundreds of thousands of rounds.

Once again, more evidence that many guns are needed (by me anyway). I'll tell my wife again.