Benelli Nova is a great gun, reliable and easy to shoot. There is a lot of discussion regarding 3" and 3 1/2" shells for waterfowl. I have a surgically repaired shoulder so 3" shells is probably the maximum for me. I have found that 3" is more than sufficient for ducks and geese. I like steel shot OK but if I am feeling extravagant I buy HeviShot. All the advantages of steel but dense as lead. Expensive though. All the other guys are right, spend your extra gun money on waders, good waterproof clothing, etc. A dog is nice but you can spend a ton of money buying and training a dog and it takes a lot of time. Find someone to go with that knows what they are doing and leverage their dog if they have one. Another nice amenity is a wide flat plastic duck boat. You can put it in your truck, launch it easily, carry your decoys, attach a Minnkota electric trolling motor and deep cell battery. Some come already camo painted but you can add all kinds to make the boat invisible. A duck boat allows you to get places that you can't walk to easily wade to. You can lie down in the boat, call the birds in, and then pop up to take them. If a couple fall you simply use the trolling motor to go pick them up. There are used ones out there. Buy a decent duck call and learn to use it. YouTube video's are great but the best way is to find a fellow duck hunter that has been calling ducks for years and have him teach you.
