They are affordable. If you hunt, and hunt a lot (especially waterfowl), then $1400 shouldn't be but a drop in the bucket for you when you think about it.
ORIGINAL: bigpapa
Actually, Stoeger is owned by Benelli and yes they use the same inertia system found in Benelli's higher priced models. Stoeger is to Benelli like Tikka is to Sako. My brother-in-law owns a Benelli and I own a Stoeger. The only difference I can see is the stock design. As for function of the gun it's great.
Acctually, you're wrong.
Stoeger is IMPORTED by Benelli USA. Stoeger owns stoeger, although it is a fair bet that Stoeger wouldn't be quite as good off if Benelli hadn't taken them under wing. So I guess you could say (depending on how you look at it) Benelli is at least a small stakeholder in Stoeger.
The stoegers are good guns (at least the 2000 is). Fit and finish is not quite as nice, and quality control isn't either, but the Inertia design is pretty simple, and thats what is inside the Stoeger.
Benelli owns the patent on the Inertia system, so Stoeger is paying them royalties for it. I doubt if Stoeger is making much $ on them, likely just using Benelli to get their name some recognition and to sell those poorly made SxSs and O/Us they make (at least, they are poor for most double guns, but color me a bit snobbish).
As others have said, watch the used market. Lots of folks abandoning old M-1s and S-90s in favor of the new Comfort-tech models. I passed on a 24" Super 90, nearly NIB with five tubes for $599 about a year ago. Would have made a decent turkey gun for the girlfriend in hindsight, but she hadn't shown up yet.