This is a point that people lose sight of. The gun is often the least expensive part of the equation.My 686 cost about $1725 OTD a few years ago.
I spent more than that on ammo and range fees that year.
My club fees are $400 per year, round of sporting clays is $32/100, 4 boxes of shells is $25. So if I shoot just one round of sporting clays every two weeks (not very much) my annual cost is nearing $1,900. I shoot a round once a week, throw in some skeet, trap and five stand and the numbers only go up from there.
If you are going to spend that much shooting why not put some money up front into a decent shotgun? If you are a casual shooter you will have spent the value of the many times over in a few years and the gun will still have retained value if you take care of it.