Heritage Badlander 12 GA 18.5" 2rd Shotgun

The Badlander is Heritage's take on the coach gun, a side by side 12 gauge with 18.5" barrels and the kind of simplicity that has kept break open doubles working for well over a century. There is no magazine tube, no gas system, and nothing to short stroke. You break it open, drop two shells in, close it, and the gun is ready. The barrels carry a black chrome coating that shrugs off moisture and powder residue better than traditional bluing does, and a brass bead sits between them at the muzzle for a fast reference at close range.

Short barrels make this an easy gun to swing in tight spaces, which is exactly why the coach gun pattern survives in cowboy action shooting and behind a lot of shop counters. The receiver is alloy steel, and the whole design comes down to a hinge, an extractor, and a pair of hammers, so there is very little to fall out of adjustment or need tuning down the road. Balance sits between the hands the way a traditional double should, and there is enough weight in the gun to keep 12 gauge recoil civil. It is not a clays gun and it does not pretend to be one. It is a short, plain 12 gauge that will still work after sitting in a closet for ten years.