Reviewing Heritage Badlander: A Modernized Classic SxS Shotgun

Not as iconic as the Colt Single Action Army or the Winchester ’73, the versatile double-barrel shotgun was still a fixture in the Old West. No settler would be without one if they could help it; same goes for stagecoach messengers, who coined the term “Riding Shotgun.” Then there’s the lawmen and the outlaws. A charge of buckshot could certainly be a gamechanger and sometimes just the sight of those gapping twin barrels was intimidating enough to stop a gunfight before it started.

Heritage Badlander Shotgun Details

Heritage is well known for their budget-priced Rough Rider Single Action .22 RF six-shooters. Recently, the company has branched out into long gun production with a Rough Rider revolver carbine, a Settler .22 RF lever-action rifle, and Mare’s Leg version, plus they’re now they are offering a side-by-side, double-barrel shotgun called the Badlander. This imported smoothbore can be had in 12 and 20 gauge, plus .410 bore. One of the first things you’ll notice is the short barrels. Most “Coach Guns” have barrels 20-22 inches in length; this model has 18.5-inch barrels, just above the legal limit. Another notable feature of this side-by-side double is the tapered cylinder-bore barrels with no choke.

The twin barrels are attached together by upper and lower ribs; the upper rib makes a good sighting plane. At the muzzle there’s a brass bead front sight. All metal parts on the Badlander – barrels, receiver, and trigger guard – are alloy steel, and have a non-reflective black chrome coated finish. The pistol-grip buttstock and forend are checkered, and made of Turkish walnut, with a satin finish. On the butt is a rubber recoil pad, and near the toe of the buttstock, on the both sides, is the Heritage “brand.” Wood-to-metal, metal-to-metal fit, and overall finish was quite good.

Heritage Badlander for a cowboy action shooting match.

Classic Design Meets Modern Enhancements

The Badlander features a basic box-lock action with concealed hammers that cock as the barrels tip down from the breech for loading. A standard top-lever latch on the rear tang pushes to the right, opening the breech. The tang also includes the manual safety. Shooters pull back for safe and push forward to fire. The placement of the top lever and safety make for fast and easy operation. Upon breaking open the barrels, an extractor lifts the shells out about 0.25-inch for extraction. There is no automatic ejector, which is a requirement for Western Action Shooting (WAS). It also has double triggers, which I prefer, as this allows me to pull which ever trigger I want first. Markings are few, and these laser etchings are located on the bottom of the receiver. There’s nothing gaudy about the Badlander.

With an empty weight of 6.4 pounds, the Badlander is lightweight and the length of pull from the front trigger is 14-3/4 inches. It shoulders quickly, with a balance point just ahead of the trigger guard. It’s slightly muzzle-heavy and swings naturally; the top rib guides the eye to the brass bead front sight. It has the attributes of simplicity and durability, plus an old-school design, that fills the bill for WAS competition. Take-down for cleaning is simple. First make sure the gun is unloaded, then pull the safety catch back to the ‘safe’ position.

On the bottom of the forend is a latch. At the end of the latch is a hollowed-out circle in the wood; using a fingertip, pull down on the latch, and simultaneously pull down and forward on the forend for removal. Next, with one hand, grasp the barrels, and with the other hand, push the unlocking lever to the right. Tip the barrels down and back slightly, and they will separate from the receiver. That’s all you need for cleaning. Re-assemble in reverse order.

The Heritage Badlander 12-gauge side-by-side shotgun.

Range Checkout

The Badlander sent to me for testing was a 20 gauge. I was curious about how the short, cylinder-bore barrels would pattern at a typical distance used for WAS target placement. I decided to shoot a pattern at 12 yards with each barrel. The shotshells used were Remington Game Loads, that have a 2-3/4” length, low brass, with a factory velocity of 1,225 fps, and carries 7/8 oz. of #7-1/2 lead shot. This is a typical load used in CAS events. The targets I used were Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C B-27 target centers; which are perfect for patterning, as the pellet impacts show up with yellow halos on a black background. I attached two of them together, side-by-side, and affixed a yellow aiming circle in the middle of the two targets.

Loading the Badlander, I brought it up to my shoulder and pulled the first trigger, firing the shell in the left-side barrel. The pattern was fairly dense, but more pellets impacted on the right-side target, and slightly high. I replaced the target and shot it with the right-side barrel. The pattern was more centered, still slightly high, but had good density. This kind of pattern; compressed and well-centered is good, because in WAS, there are no misses with the shotgun, you shoot until you hit. Targets must be visibly impacted, or in the case of falling targets, they gotta fall.

The Proof is in the Pudding

If I can, Old West type firearms are taken out to an actual WAS event for a workout. I found a Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) club near me called The Knob Creek Gunfighters Guild. They have a cowboy town range on the Knob Creek range grounds; you know, the place where they used to have the famous annual machine gun shoot. As I have been a SASS member for some 32 years, I ran into some cowpokes that I knew from times past. The weather was good and we formed up into a posse and shot five stages. As I don’t normally shoot a 20 gauge, I had to buy some extra shells, and my shell belt was for 12 gauge, but I found that if I put the smaller shells in upside-down, they would stay in place.

Long story short, the Badlander performed famously. I did not have a single miss on a shotgun target through all five stages, and all the falling targets fell. But I did see cowfolks who were in too big a hurry miss shotgun targets, which cost them time on the clock. I like the fact this scattergun lacked an aggravating automatic safety to require flicking off before shooting. The chambers on the Badlander were polished enough that the smooth-sided, plastic Remington shells extracted easily, and with the shotgun opened, a flick back ejected the shells.

Shooting the Heritage Badlander shotgun.

More Rounds Downrange

When I ran out of Remington shells, I went to the other brand I had bought. The shell casings exhibited raised ribs; they failed to eject easily, requiring pulling most of them out. Again, that adds time on the clock. I had no trouble with the rubber butt pad catching on my shirt as I shouldered the gun quickly, and I really didn’t even notice the recoil. I was shooting in the Silver Senior category (I was just a month away from Elder Statesman – age 70) and came in third place. In order of overall score, I came in 13^th place.

I pronounce this new Heritage scattergun to be worthy of your consideration for WAS use. The only thing I disliked was the black chrome finish. It easily marred. Some of the scrapes buffed off; others remained. When you’re putting a gun to hard use, a delicate finish is not something you need. I also think the price-point will put some folks off. Hopefully, the street price will be somewhat lower than the MSRP on the Heritage website. Still, it’s a good value, all things considered. For more information, go to www.heritagemfg.com.