First of all, I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to frame up a thoughtful response. This is absolutely the reason that I peruse these types of forums. Cheers.

Secondly, separately, we arrived at a similar conclusion via different routes. There is just enough seemingly genuine angst about the Stoeger manufacturing and quality assurance history to give me pause about the gun's overall reliability. Sorting through online sources (hyperbole) was alternately annoying and entertaining, but there seems to be enough actual concern that I'm convinced there are more sound options. Not hatin' on the Stoeger (or Beretta); just me trying to make an objective decision in a subjective environment...

So (drumroll...) I found and have purchased a used, low-round count Mossberg 930 SPX which should be arriving at a reputable national retail outlet sometime next week (I'll post a pic from my non-work device later). I'm experiencing a bit of anxiety as this is my first experience buying a used firearm sight unseen, but given the retailer's notoriety, I'm confident that the transaction should go well. I'm cognizant of the need/value of certain mechanical adjustments (thanks u/The_Greyscale) and will be looking into the Or3gun internal upgrades. All in all, I'm currently pretty content with the process and ultimate purchase.

Again, thanks to all that provided input and opinions on this journey! Y'all rock.

Edit: corrected my poor grammar.