Although the .410 Bore shotgun shell was developed by the Eley Brothers in 1874, it would be just over half a century, in 1929, before Marlin Firearms would introduce the first lever-action shotgun chambered in this caliber. Even though this slim shell is still in production 150 years later, the various makes and models of shotguns chambered to fire it have gone into production and then fallen out of company catalogs as demand has waxed and waned.
The Range Side borrows its design from the Winchester 1894 center-fire rifle design.
In 2003, Winchester Repeating Arms made an effort to revive the lever-operated .410 Bore with the launch of the Model 9410. It was based on the ever popular Winchester 1894 lever-action rifle, which carefully preserved the features of the platform that folks prefer. But unfortunately, even though it was handy and well-made, it was also short-lived. It arrived on the market during one of the .410 bore's periods of low demand and soon fell out of production. They are now quite rare, and I've thought at times it would be nice if Winchester or another company would make an effort to bring them back.
A twist knob safety has been added to the top of the bolt.
In 2024, Heritage Manufacturing Co. did just that with the launch of the Range Side series of lever-action .410s. As of this writing, these hardwood-stocked long guns are available in three metal finish options, including all-blued carbon steel alloy, blued steel with a case color receiver or a total matte nickel finish. This evaluation takes a closer look at the weather-resistant nickel finished version of the Range Side shotgun.
The Range Side is a manually operated, single-action trigger shotgun based on the Winchester 1894, or more precisely, the Winchester 9410. This means it sports an open-top receiver design and an angled ejection pattern. The right side of the barrel, near the receiver, is laser engraved, “Range Side .410 Bore 2 1/2" ONLY.” The left side states, “Made in Turkey by Balmaksan Arms/Khan” and, “Imported by Heritage MFG, Bainbridge GA.” In order to meet importation regulations, the top of the bolt assembly is fitted with what can best be described as a twist-knob safety selector.
The lever loop is wrapped in leather to reduce wear and tear on the shooting hand knuckles when working the action.
Twisting this knob to the left side, marked with an “S,” sets it into SAFE mode, which blocks the firing pin. Twisting it to the right, marked with an “F” for FIRE, allows the firing pin to impact the cartridge primer when the hammer falls. This shotgun has two additional safeties. One is the rebounding hammer which locks back and away from the firing pin after the gun is fired. There is also the lever's grip safety. The lever must be squeezed and held in place by the shooting hand in order for the Range Side to fire.
The weather-resistant matte nickel finish is applied throughout.
The 20" round-profile barrel is fitted with a brass bead front sight and a pair of bands securing the magazine tube and the fore-end. This model ships with a total of five removable choke tubes, a choke storage case and a wrench. The Range Side arrives with the Cylinder choke (no constriction) installed at the factory. The remaining choke constriction options include Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified and Full choke, which has the tightest constriction. Although it's just fine to experiment with the chokes when using lead birdshot or buckshot, the owner's manual is clear in stating that only the Cylinder choke should be used when shooting slugs. For steel bird shot, either the Cylinder or Improved Cylinder chokes can be used.
The fixed tubular magazine holds up to five rounds of 2.5" .410 shells which are fed into the tube through the right-side loading gate. A sixth round can be carried in the chamber. However, the gun arrives with a sporting magazine plug installed which limits the shotgun's ammunition capacity to 2+1. The owner's manual provides a simple walkthrough for removing the plug. The magazine tube cap is topped with a sling swivel stud with a second stud mounted to the bottom edge of the shoulder stock.
This shotgun can hold up to six rounds with one in the chamber.
The long, gently curved and smooth-faced trigger is paired with an exposed hammer that has a serrated spur. In order for the Range Side shotgun to fire, the hammer must be either thumbed back manually or cocked by cycling the standard-size, leather wrapped lever loop. The single-action trigger exhibited a light take-up before breaking cleanly with 4-lbs. 4-oz. of trigger pull.
This model ships with a total of five chokes along with a storage case and a choke wrench.
Behind the trigger is a small, square stud protruding from the receiver which blocks the trigger from moving back when pressed. This is the first of two studs connected to the grip safety. The second stud is engaged by the lever loop. When the loop is squeezed snugly against the straight-profile shoulder stock's grip, both studs are pressed up into the receiver, which in turn frees up the trigger. And so, to summarize, in order to fire, the bolt-mounted safety must be twisted to the Fire position, the hammer must be cocked and the lever loop squeezed as the trigger is pressed. Located at the rear of the lever loop is the stock’s takedown screw with six-point star shaped head.
The Range Side series is neatly finished with Turkish walnut furniture. While the blued steel models have a lighter wood finish, the all-nickel version shown here is stained a darker shade of brown to help emphasize the silver coloring of the steel components. The fore-end and shoulder stock's gripping surfaces are cut with classic fine-line checkering for improved purchase. The shoulder stock is capped off with a black rubber butt pad, it sports laser engraved Heritage logos on the left and right side and it provides a 14" length-of-pull (LOP).
The Side Range is made in Turkey and imported by Heritage Manufacturing.
One of the top reasons for the Winchester 1894 lever-action's enduring popularity is its handy feel and easy swing. The Range Side weighs in at 6 lbs. 2.0 oz. unloaded and exhibited these desirable handling qualities. The 20" barrel is a useful sporting length for this caliber while balancing nicely. The wood to metal fit was clean and tight, the nickel finish properly applied and the controls operated smoothly and properly. In other words, it was a pleasure to work with.
The classically styled checkered walnut stock is treated with a dark finish.
At the shooting range, the Range Side proved to be easy to load and utterly reliable with a mix of 2.5" lead birdshot and buckshot loads with felt recoil staying comfortably within moderate, easy to manage levels. The two lead birdshot loads were patterned at 25 yards with the Full choke installed by firing single rounds into 34.5" x 22" Official IDPA Practice Targets using the 8" central circle as the primary aiming point. I added some black and orange stickers to the center of the circles to make them easier to see at a distance.
Federal's Hi-Brass Lead 2.5" 1/2-oz. #6 Lead Birdshot load is listed with a muzzle velocity of 1200 fps. Ahead of the range trip, I cut open one of the shells from this box of ammunition. It contained 101 pellets which weighed 0.473-oz. When fired at 25 yards, this round yielded a 20" pattern, or a 26" pattern when counting a handful of flyers. About 16 lead pellets landed within the 8" circle.
Ammunition used for formal patterning included two lead birdshot loads and one copper-plated buckshot round.
Winchester's Super-X 2.5" 1/2-oz. #4 Lead Birdshot has a listed muzzle velocity of 1245 fps. The cut shell from this box contained 64 of the larger lead pellets which weighed 0.468 oz. Once again, the pattern was 20" in size but with about half a dozen pellets landing in the 8" central circle.
We've touched on the use of .410-bore shotguns for home-defense in previous posts, including this one. The Range Side's 5+1 capacity, its load-as-you-go side gate, interchangeable chokes and reliable operations make it a solid option for use as a reduced-recoil defensive option when loaded with buckshot rounds. The Full choke was swapped out for the Cylinder choke, the target was moved up from 25 yards to 7 yards and the shotgun was loaded with Federal Premium's Handgun 2.5" shells which launch four pellets of copper-plated 000 buckshot with a listed velocity of 1200 fps. Designed for use in the Taurus Judge revolver, this shell contains an elongated flight control wad that has provided tight patterns in the handguns and long guns I've tested. In this case, the shell printed a 1.05" group with three of the four .36-caliber pellets touching. The hole high and to the right of the 8" circle was made by the polymer wad.
The birdshot spread out to cover the paper targets while the buckshot formed a tight group.
Although lever-action shotguns or the .410-bore shotgun shell may not be the best fit for everyone's needs, they do fit together nicely in platforms like this one. The Heritage Range Side provides a set of safety features and handling qualities to make it a great fit for new and seasoned participants in shotgun shooting sports endeavors. This lever gun can be put to work for small game and upland bird hunting, shooting sporting clays and for pest control around camp or the homestead. And in a marketplace replete with black polymer and tactical modularity, this shotgun's classic styling and handsome hardwood only improve upon its appeal.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Balmaksan Arms/Khan, Turkey
Importer: Heritage Manufacturing Co.
Model: Range Side; Matte Nickel Finish (RS41020NI)
Action: Lever-Action Shotgun
Caliber: .410 Bore; 2.5" Shells Only
Barrel: 20"
Sight: Brass Bead Front
Stocks: Checkered Turkish Walnut
Overall Length: 38.2"
Height: 6.5"
Length of Pull (LOP): 14"
Weight: 5 lbs. 6.7 oz., Unloaded
Capacity: 5+1
Choke: Interchangeable
Trigger Pull: 4-lbs. 4-oz. (As Tested)
Accessories: Lock, Owner's Manual
MSRP: $1,031.99
