Heritage Coachwhip: Riding Shotgun
It’s a classic trope of Western films and one that’s somewhat based on reality: Every stagecoach in an oater has some grizzled plainsman next to the driver, toting a double-barreled scattergun. That’s what the new Heritage Coachwhip is meant to recall—the days when “riding shotgun” was more than just a slang phrase.
Heritage Manufacturing @ TFB:
Double-barreled bandit blaster
The Heritage Coachwhip is based on the oldest repeating shotgun design you can find, the classic double-barrel. And in this case, it’s really old-fashioned, as Heritage went with a hammer-fired design, just like you would have seen in the late 1800s.
That makes the Coachwhip a lot more Wild West-looking than the Badlander, which came out earlier in 2024. Does it make it better? While hammer guns have their fans, especially in the world of Cowboy Action Shooting, there’s a reason that the industry as a whole moved to hammerless designs in the 20th century.
Even though there are hammers on this shotgun, Heritage also included a tang safety.
The Heritage Coachwhip comes with 18.5-inch barrels, and no mention of chokes, so we presume it’s cylinder-bore. With a steel frame, Heritage had the Coachwhip built with attractive case coloring, another nod to the past. The stock is Turkish walnut, with checkering on the grip and forend. We would guess the rest of the shotgun also hails from Turkey, although Heritage doesn’t say so on its website.
The barrels come in a black chromed finish, not a traditional blue, but vintage-style deep bluing is very hard to find on firearms these days.
The Coachwhip has a classic bead sight, with no Picatinny rail or other modern optic mount. There are no sling swivels, either. Shotguns like this can kick pretty hard, but there is a recoil pad on that wood stock. At 6.7 pounds, you’ll still feel it if you’re pounding slugs or heavy buckshot loads through this scattergun.
MSRP for the Heritage Coachwhip is $984.99; find more details or purchase through Heritage’s website here.
Photos: HeritageManufacturing
Professional hoser with fudd-ish leanings.
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Why do these companies keep putting modern safeties on traditional guns? Lawyer brownie points?
The price is not sensible. There are Stoeger coach guns in my local gun store for $500. I get the allure of exposed hammers. I just don't get the doubling of the price.