Hello everyone!! Quail in Arizona. Now that sounds like fun. They shoot thru Feb there. I might be down there too, but I will hunt thru the season in Wa. first, and hope fishing isn't too good or it will interfere with traveling to hunt. Bring the dog boots.
I use Benelli 20's for all my upland hunting these days. The Montefeltro's are nice. I used one for 3 years then switched over to a camo M2 a few years ago. I do some duck hunting with a 20. For some reason I hit better with the M2 so the Montefeltro has been sitting.
Just a thought, but if you hunt quail over a lab a 20 might serve you better. A 28 is a nice way to go, but when I use to run labs my shots were a bit farther, and I use to have to run when they get birdy. I talk to guys that say their labs don't stray much over 30 yds, and they never run. Wish I was that lucky. I had to run like a deer when my labs got on runners. I miss having one when the birds are in all the friggin Russian olive that has taken over in some of my spots. You should be able to do quite well with a 1000.00 as a budget. Have fun!

Benelli Ultralight 12 ga 24" barrel or same in 20 ga 26" barrel. Sweetest upland auto there is.