Best combat shotgun for heavy use excluding Moss 500/Rem 870

Quit using WD40 and you might find that they last longer. That stuff is deadly to firearms. It isn't a lubricant, and really gums thing up.

You don't want a combat shotgun for shooting crows; you want a short,(easy to maneuver on a tractor, and something your previous choices seem to bear out) reliable autoloader, with a Modified choke that can shoot #4's for crows, and slugs for two legged vermin. My recommendation;
https://www.remington.com/shotguns/autoloading/v3-field-sport/v3-turkey-pro
Take the Turkey choke out, put a Modified in, you are good to go, with our without the red dot on.
Personal defense at 150 yards with a shotgun is not a desirable situation; the only way to get that kind of accuracy is with a fully rifled barrel, which is useless with shot. There are other firearms better suited for that. If it has to be one gun, then a Savage 24 .223/20 (used, currently not made, and it will not be cheap when you do find one.) is your best choice. Or a Valmet 412.
As for a gun for your wife, that is harder. I'd recommend an AR pistol for her, with you racking it to ready. No shotgun is going to be a good choice.
I agree with Sistema1927. I take it you are a farmer, and for most farm uses, WD-40 is a godsend. For firearms uses, it is NOT. Use RemOil or BreakFree CLP for firearms. And maintain them regularly, you can't fix firearms with bailing twine and duct tape.

hmmm...

If you are breaking 870's and 500's you might be doing something wrong. Dunno.

My FN SLP is a great shotgun and just about fills all your needs until you said your wife has a medical condition.
SLP is a really heavy shotgun.

How about a single barrel break action?

I'd get the single break action for the tractor with extra shell holder on the stock. Not really slow if you get one that ejects shells. For home and your ranges I'd cry and buy a benelli m4. It handles war abuse so it should handle all your needs.

The m4 is the militaries semi auto but north if 1500.

MarsocDad45ACP said:

I have trouble racking the common pumps.

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the SLP is a semi but like I said, she's heavy.

I have heard really good things about the Breda Shotgun. You might check those out.
They are real light.

Benelli Nova Tactical? They're pretty tough. You can swap barrels on them, but extra barrels are scarce and expensive.

https://www.benelliusa.com/nova-tactical-shotgun

I’m not too big personally on Benellis but there is a Benelli M1 Super 90 20 ga for sale at my local shop for $800

I think that one would fill your needs pretty well. If you don’t do 20 ga, 12s can be found easier anyway. Pretty light for an extended carry you may find. Ridiculous rate of fire if you need to go rapid.

Like I said, I’m not too big on Benellis but the Super 90 is a pretty hot rodded setup in my opinion if you like black stocks and they are real durable

I have never heard, in any context including specific use cases setting up smaller (16, 410) caliber gun for the elderly recovering from upper torso surgery, where a Mossberg or Remington was too hard to pump. I would look hard at lube, ammo, and so on.

All shotguns offered here really should last for years banging around a trunk, behind truck seat, etc. etc. For a weird choice, the Tristar Tech 12 is a Turkish clone of the M3-Super 90. Auto, with pump backup. Nicely built, can be had in the $400 range.

Please top using WD40 for mechanical stuff at all. IF you were to use it instead of throwing away all of the cans you have (my choice), try the original application, rust-proofing non-moving items like storage tanks, piping. It is designed to dry to a layer that does not remove easily. This varnish-like layer is on purpose, but is a horrible, horrible thing with mechanical items, especially the large bearing surfaces of a slide-action shotgun.

Lots of oils do what you are looking for. I love Ballistol. Available in large containers, pretty cheap, with spray pump tops or you can just get your own since it's a mineral oil, won't melt any plastics. Also in aerosols, and the 3 oz size is nice to keep in gear bags and gloveboxes to re-spray stuff when it gets dry, rained on, or dusty.

How is the ammo stored? How often is it cycled out? Shotgun ammo is not waterproof. People get away with it, so think it is, but it's not. The charge is pretty far from where the water mostly can come in, so they will go bang when abused a lot. But, they will tend to swell a bit even just stored (carried) in humid conditions long enough. Swollen shells... bind up in feed tubes and chambers so make the gun hard to run. Either look into truly waterproof ammo, or (since it'll be a pain and likely more expensive) just cycle them out. Try Sharpie; put the date on them!

You know how to unload the mag tube? Not by cycling, but directly unloading? I'd think about that regularly also as a way to check the age of the shells and to clear/clean the feed tube.

I was considering suggesting an M4 Benelli (M1014 to your son) but not an ideal tractor gun for shooting crows because of the cylinder bore, and definitely not ideal for your wife, as inertia operated autos transfer most of the recoil to the shooter, unlike gas operated shotguns.
BUT,

MarsocDad45ACP said:

Need something that will hold up for at least 6 months under poor conditions and heavy use, that doesn't look like it.

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Even the military requires maintenance on their weapons, and theirs see conditions yours never will. If you are unwilling to do any maintenance at all, (dousing your shotgun with WD-40, or even Ballistol or CLP is not maintenance) I can't help you. Stick to a single shot 12 ga with med. choke and a stock sleeve with 5 extra rounds. You're asking for something that doesn't exsist.

Browning A-5!!! Has stood the test of time just like the 1911. If you don't like antiques then find a used Winchester Super-X Model 1 and go with one of them. Forget the pump action nonsense Unless you like Ithaca 37's or Browning BPS's.

Benelli Super 90 looks like they call it the M2 now. There's quite a variety of configurations. I have a 40 year old Super 90 and a M1 Super 90 that is maybe 35.

If you are wedded to a pump there's the M3 but I don't know how hard or easy it would be to rack. It is also semi-auto as well as pump.



you might also be interested in:

MARINE GRADE: 5 SHOTGUNS FOR YOUR BOAT:
https://www.guns.com/news/2013/01/02/marine-grade-5-shotguns-for-your-boat

entropy said:

I was considering suggesting an M4 Benelli (M1014 to your son) but not an ideal tractor gun for shooting crows because of the cylinder bore, and definitely not ideal for your wife, as inertia operated autos transfer most of the recoil to the shooter, unlike gas operated shotguns.
BUT,

Even the military requires maintenance on their weapons, and theirs see conditions yours never will. If you are unwilling to do any maintenance at all, (dousing your shotgun with WD-40, or even Ballistol or CLP is not maintenance) I can't help you. Stick to a single shot 12 ga with med. choke and a stock sleeve with 5 extra rounds. You're asking for something that doesn't exsist.

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Little known thing but the M4 is gas operated.

How hard would it be to bring your shotgun inside at the end of the work day and take 10 to 15 minutes to clean and lightly oil?
It’s easy to have any gun to fail if all you do is spray it down with an improper oil and leave it outside. That is called abuse.
If carried on a tractor it should be in a rack or scabbard that is secure. You don’t want it bouncing around and getting beat up.
Guns carried in the field in harsh conditions will get dirty. If they are very wet with oil, dirt and dust will collect and build up with the oil. Leaving it out every night will subject it to the weather, which is not always good.
By keeping a light coat of oil on the gun it will not collect so much dirt. And taking it in and spending a few minutes to wipe it down each day is a small price to pay to keep a gun up and running.
You need to change your gun care habits, or no matter what gun you get, it will not last.
I have used guns in just about every climate there is, from desert to snow covered mountains, grass lands to jungles. Swamps to salt water. I’ve used them for hunting and combat. With proper maintenance, I never had a gun fail me.

The Remington 870 and Mossberg 590 are as tough as it gets. If someone is strong enough to open a break action single shot or double they are strong enough to handle a pump. A 20 ga will be a lot lighter and easier to handle if someone isn't as strong. Recoil is about a wash because of the lighter weight of the 20.

Any type of lubricant in those dusty conditions will just attract dirt, dust and crud that will lead to problems. Under those conditions it is best to remove all traces of any gun oil and run them dry.

Sorry, but if you can't spare a minute or two doing a modicum of maintenance, perhaps you need something else. Do you treat your farm equipment the same way?

My unit had about 15 Mossberg 500s overseas in Afghanistan. They made great tools for blowing hinges off doors (when it was an actual door vs a carpet over an opening) and spare firearms to give interpreters and contractors who weren't officially rated to carry firearms. I think they got cleaned one time in a 14 month time frame. Mostly because the bore brushes, patches, and mops for 12ga are none too common when shooting 5.56, 7.62 belt fed, 50 and 40mm. Stop using WD-40 to clean a firearm. I would rather use Vaseline to keep mine working than WD-40.

MarsocDad45ACP said:

Does anyone own a remington 887? Looks like it will require maintenance and last some time. Is it easier to pump than an 870? Looks to be the glock of shotguns.

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Going to vote against the 887. The 887 is the 770 of Remington's shotgun line. An attempt to improve while cutting cost. And the 770 is a big reason why I am leery of owning anything Remington again. It was that bad of a rifle. In addition to being discontinued 4 years ago and having a recall, best to avoid the 887.

There isn't much spread in 12ga innovation, as you have covered the bases already in model design. I suggest going with the Armscor M5. Try it out for rather low budget (around $250). Twin action bars for reliability and reportedly very easy action for the wife.

1. Your gun maintenance habits are rediculous, and is your primary issue in which it seems you care not to resolve.

2. Check out the Ithaca 37 ejects and loads from the bottom keeping the sides of the receiver covered from the elements. It has seen war, police, home defense and hunting in its heritage.

But with your lack of care and flippant attitude towards care of equipment it’ll likely fail you as well.

Good luck finding your next victim.

I have to agree with what other people are saying. If you really want minimal maintenance and don't care if your gun breaks, just get a cheap single shot. Any gun - hell, anything mechanical - is going to break if it is left outside in the elements 24/7 and never cleaned. Investing in an expensive shotgun like a Beneli will just get you an expensive broken Beneli a few months from now.

The cheapest way to make your gun last is to take it inside every night - you save half the wear and tear from the weather for the grand total of $free.99 . And even taking 10 minutes a week to wipe the crud off and oil it (want to be cheap - use a rag with 5W-30 motor oil) will extend its life over what you have.

MarsocDad45ACP said:

Does anyone own a remington 887? Looks like it will require maintenance and last some time. Is it easier to pump than an 870? Looks to be the glock of shotguns.

I'm retired, don't farm for a living, the equipment I do have gets the same treatment and lasts decades outside.

And sorry I try not to buy anything Italian, I'll refrain from specifics.

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Your Tractor is not a gun and your gun is not a tractor. You can not expect to treat your gun like your tractor and have it last very long.
Your Tractor is a piece of equipment, and I'm sure that you have tools to work on it. Do your tools get the same treatment as the tractor?
Your Shotgun is not a piece of equipment, it's a tool that needs to be cleaned and cared for to keep it in working condition.