The home side were also indebted to goalkeeper Stuart Garden, who made a number of vital saves, as well as Stefan Oakes, who had an outstanding debut.
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Steve Scoffham started on the bench, while Darren Caskey also returned to the line up. Frazer McHugh & Tony Scully dropped to the bench, while Ian Baraclough was left out altogether.
Straight from the off Notts looked like a side full of confidence. And Gary Mills' men had to wait just 3 minutes before breaking the deadlock.
Good work by Boertien in the third minute found Pipe on the right-hand side and his testing cross was spilled by the 'keeper, leaving Heffernan- at the third attempt- to slot home.
Notts confidence was sky high after the restart and Stockport were still struggling to adjust to a Notts side starting to show their true potential. Stockport had two attempts on goal, but both were feeble shots that Garden saved comfortably.
Boertien, playing his last game for Notts, pulled off a showboat near his own area as he back heel the ball through the attackers legs to leave him in acres of room, but Pipe's punt up field failed to deliver.
The game was becoming more and more open and it was Notts who added to their account.
In the 27th minute a Darren Caskey lob cut out two defenders, leaving Heffernan, who had beaten the offside trap one on one with the goalie, he showed the composer of a God, mainly because he’s soon to be one, and he slotted it past the keeper into the bottom right hand corner to give Notts a two goal lead.
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Stockport found their feet in the match and a whipped cross from the right hand side found Byrne who’s low header looked to be a certain goal until Stuart Garden dived down low to miraculously deny the shot.
Antoine-Curier then found time to have a decent shot, albeit off target before the ref blew for half time.
The 2-0 scoreline slightly flattered Notts, as the visitors had hit the post twice, but the Magpies faithful didn't care and gave their side a rousing ovation as the teams left the field.
Half-time: Notts County 2-0 Stockport
Gary Mills was forced into one change at the interval as Paul Bolland, who received a number of knocks in the first half, was replaced by Frazer McHugh.
Stockport came out after the break looking a bit more dangerous and looked to upset Notts with a few choice late tackles.
And it wasn’t long before the visitors hit back through on-loan debutant Byrne as his shot on the edge of the area beat Garden at his left hand post to give Stockport a glimpse of a comeback.
Byrne's finish came at the end of an excellent, and if we're honest, it really was the goal of the game.
Tony Scully then replaced Darren Caskey in an attempt to give Notts more width, and the change was to prove a masterstroke.
Things were getting tense for Notts, as Stockport piled the pressure on Notts but Byrne couldn’t repeat his previous heroics as his next shot wouldn’t of been out of place at the six nations.
Notts got a lucky break though as a Pipe cross was handled in the area by Gibb with Scully lurking.
HEFFERNAN placed the ball on the spot, and without looking at his frizzy haired opponent fired his shot into the bottom left hand corner to give himself a well-deserved hat-rick and Notts a 3-1 scored line and, more importantly, the two goal advantage back.
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With 85 minutes on the clock Paul Heffernan became the first Notts player since 1955 (prove me wrong!) to score four goals.
Oakes, who had one of the best debuts in a long time, started the move- finding Antoine-Curier. The Frenchman swiveled and slipped in a delightful through ball for his strike partner, and Heffernan again beat the offside trip to produce another outstanding finish and confirm the 21st February as St Paul's Day.
Heffernan was taken off in the 87th minute to a deserved standing ovation from the Notts fans, for Steve Scoffham.
The former Gedling frontman showed some nice touches and doesn't appear to be scared to go in where it hurts.
The final 2 minutes, and the 3 added on, passed with little incident, apart from Antoine-Curier going in studs first on an opponent which led to a deserved booking.
After the game Gary Mills led Paul Boertien over to the Notts fans, allowing them to give the full-back, who has now returned to Derby, the ovation he deserved.
A crucial three points were won by Notts, sparking hopes of the third Great Escape in as many seasons.
Notts: Garden, Boertien, Fenton, Barras, Richardson, Pipe, Caskey (Scully 56), Oakes, Bolland (McHugh 45), Antoine-Curier, Heffernan (Scoffham 87).
Not Used: Deeney, McGoldrick.