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My Thoughts on the Coonan 357 Magnum
First of all: The man stopping 357 magnum in a 1911 style semi-auto is just plain sexy!
Second: I have read a little about the original Coonan 357 magnum released in the 80's and the stuff I have read about the new one are vast improvements over that previous design. Since I have no first hand knowledge of the old design, I will not be comparing.
So, why do I want to buy a 357 magnum in a semi-auto? Why not? It's a gun, a fine looking one, and not something you see on the range everyday. That is enough for me. It does not fill some niche', it not a SHTF gun, it is not a competition gun (but I suppose it could be), it is not my "bump in the night gun", or any other really practical purpose that I can muster at this moment in time. If I ever have to justify to my wife, I suppose I will just have pull something out of my fourth point of contact at that moment.
Unpacking: The weapon comes in a nice soft case emblazoned with the Coonan Logo and the words "Nothing left to envy". The foam inside is custom cut for your weapon and accessories. The Duracoat finish on my weapon is pretty to look at and, while I am not always fond of alumagrips, these with the Coonan logo are really nice looking. The controls are all bead blasted (or brushed not sure about the process) for the dull stainless finish. In contrast with the black Duracoat frame / slide is a nice touch. There are two shiny metal magazines with red followers, a gun lock (of course), a small bottle of FP-10 lubricant, an additional spring (10lb for shooting 38 Special), and a small metal pin on a key chain. I must admit that at first I did not realize what the pin was for. After a closer inspection of the magazines I found the hole for the pin goes at the base of the follower. You insert the pin, place your fingers on either side of it with the magazine base plate on your thumb and loading all 7 rounds into the magazine is easy peezy. I did load the magazine the 'traditional' way and managed to do it without much difficulty, but I much prefer the pin to take slack off the spring and make loading effortless.
My choice in weapon was a couple of upgrades over the standard version. The base model is stainless steel, plain wood grips, one magazine with dovetail front and rear fixed sights. I upgraded to the Duracoat black finish, the fixed, serrated Trijicon® Night Sights, and second magazine. MSRP for my options was $1728.99, though I did not pay that for this weapon. One thing I did not notice immediately, but did stand out when looking at pictures of other options on the Coonan is the absence of any markings / logo on the slide. Don't get me wrong, I like it plain, but the slide on the basic stainless has "Coonan 357 magnum automatic" laser engraved.
The first thing I wanted to do was compare to one of my other 1911's and see what parts were the same. I looked it over, made some notes then looked to Coonan's website to see what they said, as I am NOT a 1911 guru by any measure. Here is their list:
Quote:
--------------------------------------------------Obviously, the rimmed .357 Mag cartridge, and the associated pressures, require a lot of modifications from a standard 1911, but there are still quite a few interchangeable parts, including:
Hammer & Pin
Hammer Strut & Pin
Sear, & Pin
Sear Spring
Disconnector & Pin
Thumb Safety
Plunger Tube, Pins (Front & Rear), and Spring
Barrel Bushing
Recoil Plug
Grip Screws
Grip Bushings
The specs of this pistol as supplied by Coonan are:
Weight - 42 oz empty with magazine, 48 oz loaded with 7 rounds
Length - 8.3 inches overall
Height - 5.6 inches
Barrel length - 5 inches
Capacity - 7 + 1
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The things I noticed immediately were the trigger (pivoting like a BHP design) and an extra pin to retain it on the frame (the pin is hidden on the left side of the frame by the slide stop), the trigger guard is more squared, the magazine well (and the grip) are thicker front to back, external extractor, and the fact that the frame is "blocky" with a noticeable absence of any style cuts.
Breaking down the weapon is exactly like breaking down any other 1911 with a barrel bushing and a standard guide rod. I noticed, with pleasure, that there was no firing pin block safety. The remainder of the field strip went just like any other 1911. There is no barrel link, only a notch that goes behind the slide stop.
I have yet to do a detailed strip. Since there are some different things to take apart, I will wait a bit and perform that action later. I am sure it is pretty straight forward, but just do not have a reason (other than curiosity) to perform a detail strip right now.
As for fit and finish, there are some rough spots along the slide that will absolutely smooth with use. The finish is great except for a few tiny places where the slide to frame fit is. There are some spots where the finish did not take, but when the weapon is assembled only the most anal retentive would notice it. I have actually seen much worse in production guns. While I did not notice it myself, one gun review commented that, in a detail strip, they noted "several components had a hand fit for smooth operation uncommon with most production 1911's".
As you can imagine re-assembly went just as well as the dis assembly. No tools required. I performed a function check which gave me proper operation indications just like any 1911 (without the firing pin block safety). The safety is the standard 1911 style and not ambidextrous. Also, there is no ambi-safety and I do not believe that was an option when ordering. The slide release is extended, which is nice with the larger grip to accommodate the 357 Magnum round. The grip angle is identical to the 1911, so it feels comfortable to operate for me, since I like the 1911.
Coonan says the trigger pull is just under 5lbs. I believe them. It feels great. No mushiness, just a crisp break with a distinct reset.
On to the range!
Well, my first (and only) trip to the range so far was accomplished with limited ammunition so I can't give a complete report on accuracy. I can give you my initial impressions.
FUN!
The fireball from Magtech 158gr JHP (semi jacketed) completely obscured my target (Man sized silhouette at approx 25 yards)! Very cool effects. Recoil was about what I expected in a heavy gun with 357 magnum, not much at all. very manageable. The weapon fed well with no failures in the limited ammo I had available to put through it (about 20 rounds).
The fact that I forgot my ammo and the fact that Coonan recommends shooting 38 Special AFTER the break in period of 200-ish rounds kept me from trying out any 38 Special for now. One thing of note: Coonan magazines are designed to feed 357 mag or 38 Special with no spacers required. I guess there was some issue with that on the original Coonan 357 Magnum.
Final notes:
Was this weapon worth he price tag? I think so. It's a fun weapon to shoot. While not unique, it's (for the moment) rare enough on most ranges to be a good attention getter and conversation starter. Also, for those of you that like to reload: A recoil operated, spring tunable, semi-auto that will accept 38 Special and 357 magnum sized rounds should be a very interesting prospect for 'rolling your own" custom rounds.
I suppose, with the right loads of ammo you could use it for hunting, or as a backup to your primary hunting gun during modern gun season. I knows guys who have hunted with 357 Magnum, but I have no experience with that myself.
For me, this will (for now) be a 'range toy'. I don't see any holsters offered on a regular basis for carry (and I think this would be an OC gun). I could get something custom I suppose, but I doubt I will choose this weapon over my other options currently available when I decide to strap on an OC gun. But that said, I can see me keeping this gun long term and I would recommend it to others.
