[ghrit]

Beth, target loads in 12 ga are not brutal, and if you know someone that reloads, you can go even lighter than commercial stuff to start out. And as noted, fit is the answer to felt recoil minimization. All that said, don't buy the first gun that you see until you've tried shouldering it. Anything that comes close will do for starters, you sure don't need a gun in the tens of thousands of dollars with millimeter adjustability to try the game. (Yes, Virginia, there are a lot of them out there well over 10 grand. Not 5% of shooters own and use them.) As a new gunner, I recommend against an auto loader, too many moving parts to clean and tend to. But that's just me.

+1 on removable and changeable chokes. Don't buy a fixed choke gun, they are too limiting.

mud guy, your description of a "true" trap gun isn't far off. That said, I have a guy at my club that runs 100 regularly with 28" barrels, and he's been shooting the game for just over two years. He could go pro if he wasn't more interested in racing jet skis.

GPM, spot on. Reduced loads for the recoil sensitive is the way to go. But trying standard loads first gives good guidance.

Hie thee to a trap range and talk to a couple shooters, chances are VERY good that you will see (and they'll let you try) more guns than an average gun shop stocks. Jump in, the water is fine. You'll get to details as soon as the bug bites, and it will.