Put your money wherever you want.
I don't need to be the first in the pond when there have always been alligators in it.
I'd get a Stoeger 2000, because it's a semi-disposable field gun and people have had good luck with them (and because damn-near-identical Benellis, though reliable, can be ridiculously overpriced). Furthermore, it's no surprise to me that someone can build a gun like that, of good quality, for the price; Remington paved the way for economical, mass-produced receiver guns with the 870 in 1950.
However, it'll be a while before I trust an O/U, which is inherently more expensive to produce, in the same price range!
I have a Miroku Browning trap gun from 1980 and an Ithaca SKB upland gun from the '70s. They are truly great shotguns. I KNOW that Miroku and Sakaba can build a truly good gun, because they've been proving it for a LONG time.
While it's probably true that Turkey woke up to quality around 2005, I'll let other people test the waters for me first. The Stoeger 2000 is an exception, for the reasons I wrote, but along with it, I accept that I may have to toss it at some point. Probably not, but I won't spend the money unless I am willing to accept that posibility, and I would be.
TANSTAAFL