Coonan Classic 1911 - .357 Magnum

morning, all.

two saturdays back, i tripped across this teaser at one of our local shops.  was very interested but didn't know much about it so i left it where it sat.  never a good idea with something that's grabbed my eye. 

i educated myself a little that evening on the coonan topic.  seems as though the second cantation of the original company had their doors close in the mid-90's but as of a couple years back, they started things up again.  matter of fact, there was quite a bit on youtube from the 2012 shot and individuals shooting the gun.

ran out hunting early the next morning, mauling it all over in my mind, and by the time i got back to town around 1 in the afternoon, i'd settled on putting the gun on lay-away, if it were still there.

it was, but the store had taken it in on consignment     ...     no lay-away.  so the dickering began.  from coonan's new website, i knew these things were running in excess of $1K for the base package.  the $875 marked price was certainly reasonable, considering it didn't even appear as if this handgun had been fired, save for the 2 test rounds from the company.  but i asked if there was any wiggle-room.

they looked into a binder and said the consignee would go as low as $825 and i agreed to that price as soon as it was spoken.  i grabbed a box of ammo and headed for the cash registers.

once i got the bundle to my truck and took some time to look through everything, i found the original sales invoice and receipt.  it was purchased back in sept. 2010.  the feller handling my paperwork said that from conversations with the consignee, he didn't believe the firearm had 10 rounds shot through it.  sweet.  included in the package was the paperwork and owners manual, a nice soft, molded-foam carry-case, two extra 7-round magazines (for a total of 3), 22# spring for shooting the .357magnum, 10# spring for shooting the .38special, key-chain and the two test-round cases.  grand total at the time of original purchase     ...     $1,313.99.

this'll be my first experience with cartridges intended for revolvers being used in a semi-auto.  looking forward to the handloading of this one.  seeing how it all works with the round still headspacing off the rim, allowing a roll crimp to be used in a semi-auto.?.?.?  should be interesting.

anyway :





it's a large handgun around the grip.  and it's heavy.  when ya hold it you can feel it's got some mass to it     ...     all steel and none of that polymer stuff.  grip wise, it feels alot like my amt's in 9mmwinmag and .45winmag.

they advertise it on the coonan website as a handgun "not" intended to be a first semi-auto.?.?.?.?  not sure what they're getting at.  recoil?  handloading challenges?

after a week of missing out on opportunities to shoot this thing and really itching to do so, i finally got a magazine full of rounds through it this last sunday morning.  group isn't spectacular.  i didn't have myself the best of rests.  was just kinda hunkered down over the tailgate of my truck on a bag snugged up against my brass catcher as close as i could get, not knowing which direction this thing would eject the cases.  darn wind rocking the truck a little.
 
i was shooting american eagles cheap stuff with a 158 gr jacketed soft point.  wanted to get a chrony reading for this post, but that just wasn't in the works yet.  6-shots went into a vertical group just over 2" at about 10 or 12 feet :
 

 
 
all things considered, i was real pleased with the initial test run.  rounds fed perfectly and ejected in a nice little pile in my catcher.  recoil wise, i would liken it to a warm 10mmauto handload out of my lighter tanfoglio witness.  maybe just a little more lively.  but very comfortable.
 
handloading begins now.  i'm preping 100 cases and plan to work around hornady's 140 gr xtp.  of the powder i have on hand, h110 and aa#9 look to be prime candidates for the project, with h110 offering a little more velocity, on average.
 
i was initially worried about a full power .357mag handload in this semiauto platform but everything i've read says it's built for it.  from the heavy slide and frame to the heavier spring.  so we'll do a coin flip on the powder, start low and see where things go.
 
 
in retrospect, this one was kind of an expensive impulse purchase.  coulda got my automag III .30carbine for my iai / amt collection for just a little more $$$ but all in all, i think it was a real good deal for a unique little handgun.
 
seems like i say this about all my handgun purchases but i can see this one becoming a personal favorite in no time (like the last one, and the one before that, and   .........  )
 
 

k