Coonan... whats all the hype about?

[justinvan]

Ok, Rodentman's (amongst others) talk about Coonan has got me wondering what is so magical about these guns? I personally find them a little on the boring looking side. I am assuming that they have the trigger and action of a nice 1911. Does the grip feel as small as it looks? I there much available for aftermarke grips? Are they picky as to what you feed them, it seems I remember somebody saying they like hotter loads? Not real sure why but as un-sexy as they are to me I kinda got an itch to get one.

[Seismic Sam]

Obviously you have never seen a Coonan shot in real life. How long have you been hiding in that cave?? Rodentman, would you PLEEZE take this young bumpkin to a shooting range and set him straight??

Never seen a case of delayed 357 puberty THIS long before....

[Rodentman]

The Coonan has a "longer" grip than a 1911 as the 357 is a longer round. It is basically a 1911 design with a linkless barrel. It is fun because it is accurate, and puts out a big blast and fireball. Well, to me that's fun. I never bought any factory 357 ammo but it likes hot reloads, say 18gr of 300-MP or 15gr of H110 with 158g bullets. It comes with a 38spl spring if you want to see the slide move in slow motion.

I have nice aftermarket grips but I can't recall where I got them. It wasn't one of the big names though.









If it's too big you can always get the "compact" version:

[justinvan]

I own close to 15 pieces in .357... just nothing in a semi auto. So i am not sure this counts as .357 puberty

[mmcnx2]

I love my Coonan - have the comp'ed version.

It has a excellent trigger, build quality is on par with the a Ed Brown. Accuracy is as good as it gets. It does prefer 357 power loads, however with the comp it shoots very flat and recoil is very manageable.

I bought it as a novelty and did not expect to shoot it a bunch and instead I find myself shooting it on almost every range trip.

I do think you need to be a 1911 guy (which I am) to really appreciate it. It is a wonderful combination of the 1911 platform and the power of a magnum.

I have 1911's in a number of platforms and caliber combinations. I'm still looking for a 38 special wad cutter to finish out my collection.

[justinvan]

Rodentman, its funny you say its a longer grip (makes sense due to the difference in case length) but in most photos I see it looks to me as though its actually shorter, must be an optical illusion. Has ther been much change over the years in the Coonan line?

[gun_fan111v2]

The Finer Grain offers nice Coonan grips and makes a slim version I want to try. Going back and forth between that and the Alumagrip black...

My first outing I started with SD loads and they kicked a bit but must have had the low flash stuff mixed in - nah. Then went to mild factory load and it was uneventful (like shooting 38s in a 686). Then used the full power loads and that is when I did not want to put it down again.

[Rodentman]

I think these originals are the aluminum grips. I know they are not plastic. I also have the 6" unported barrel.



And a close up of the grips:

[crbutler]

I don't really get the hype that much, either and I have one...

The Coonan is more controllable than a revolver due to more mass, the action using up some of the energy, and a lower bore axis. It also gets a bit more velocity and flash as there is no cylinder gap.

The grip is substantially longer than a 1911, but the whole gun is bigger, so it looks porportional. If you have smaller hands, it does not hold as easy.

Shooting it indoors definitely gives some shock and awe, but it's still fundamentally a 7 shot .357 that is pretty heavy. You will get lots of looks at the range with it.

To me, it's a range toy, but I would be willing to use it on deer or hogs at closer ranges. It's just too big for carry unless you are quite large and are using a duty style set up... and a standard gun would be easier even then.

[2in2out]

I don't own one, but met Dan Coonan at Ahlman's in Morristown a couple of years ago and got to shoot one his pistols. I expected it to be a little more of a handful compared to a 45acp 1911, but it was actually very well mannered. Definitely a cool gun.

[Holland&Holland]

Meh.

I love the .357. Have 3 revolvers and 2 rifles in it.
Would love to build revolver in .357 herret. Have a couple more on the wish list, but the coonan is not one of them. Don't know really why. I love 1911s. Just can't see where the coonan fills any holes for me.

[Amazi]

I think there kinda dumb to, id rather have a desert eagle auto loader 357. deagle to me is a better gun for if I want to make mine a 44, 41 ( granted id never go this rout unless I could find one at a steal) or 357 all I gotta do it a barrel spring and mag swap and I have a new gun.

[usnret]

I think there kinda dumb to, id rather have a desert eagle auto loader 357. deagle to me is a better gun for if I want to make mine a 44, 41 ( granted id never go this rout unless I could find one at a steal) or 357 all I gotta do it a barrel spring and mag swap and I have a new gun.

In thew Desert Eagle, the 44 and the 50 use the same bolt. The 357 uses a different bolt.

[Rodentman]

I have the 50AE and 44mag bbls and mags for my DE XIX. I assume the 357 would work since they market the bolt, bbl and mags for it. I am curious as to how it functions with the same springs given the relative power of each of those 3 calibers.

[justinvan]

I was at Arnzen Arms today trying to decide full size vs compact....