Coonan Arms 1911-style .357 Magnum

[Guest oldsmobile98]

So, the only semi-auto guns ever chambered in .357 Mag (as far as I know) are the Desert Eagle .357 and the Coonan Arms 1911-style pistol. Coonan made a full-size version as well as the smaller Coonan Cadet. Info here:

Modern Firearms - Coonan pistol

Coonan Arms was out of business for a while, but now they're back. I want to eventually get one of their pistols to go along with my .357 revolver...

There are photos at their website (http://www.coonaninc.com/). Also, here's a photo from Shot Show 2010, courtesy of Gunblast:

What say you?

Edited March 24, 2010 by oldsmobile98

[TMMT]

Eeeegads!!!

I had the chance to shoot one of those long moons ago, that thing could not, would not cycle a single round, not one single time.

Jam.. jam... jam... jam... jam... jam...

I hope they have addressed the um, well the ability for it to at least... feed the next bullet.

[Guest mgjohn]

The LAR Grizzley was in 45 Win Mag and you could purchase a 357 Mag conversion for them. Not sure if they made complete 357 guns or not.

The 357 kits worked with 125g and better ammo, did not like 110g, at least mine does not.

Bigger than a Coonan and smaller than a Desert Eagle. A pleasure to shoot, accurate and most of all very reliable.

[Guest Runnfree]

Love to have one of these

[nightrunner]

id love to have one, great idea IMO.

[Kevo]

Wasn't the .357 Magnum made longer than needed so it wouldn't fit in non-magnum pistols? Personally I'd prefer something more along the lines of a Kel-Tec PLR chambered in 357 or 44 magnum. But I'm a little biased as I'd have to run a string through the trigger guard connecting my thumb and trigger finger in order to shoot this hand-Coonan. IF this pistol can handle Buffaloe Bore type loads I can see the appeal. Probably see the shock blast too!

[eapking]

Can I put .38 spcl+P in it?

[Guest oldsmobile98]

Kevo:

Quoth Wikipedia (.357 Magnum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):

the case was extended by 1/8th of an inch (0.125 in, 3.18 mm). The case extension was more a matter of safety than of necessity. Because the .38 Special and the early experimental .357 Magnum cartridges loaded by Keith were identical in physical attributes, it was possible to load an experimental .357 Magnum cartridge in a .38 Special revolver, with potentially disastrous results. Smith & Wesson's solution, of extending the case slightly, made it impossible to chamber the magnum-power round in a gun not designed for the additional pressure.

and

However, it should be noted that a .38 Special should not generally be used with any .357 automatic handgun or rifle, such as the Magnum Research Desert Eagle.

eapking:

Yes!! (if you use their conversion kit)

Women & Guns

"At the SHOT Show, we'll have a .357 Magnum in standard configuration and then one with sight options. We'll also bring our compact gun with options as well. In addition, we'll have our .38 Special conversion kits there. I will definitely bring one of my FAL receivers, too." Perhaps added to the lot, Coonan is also thinking about manufacturing .45 parts as well.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

Update:

From this thread:

We expect to be taking orders in June, and shipping within 4 to 6 weeks thereafter.

Also from that thread:

Once the standard size is firmly in production the plan is to build Cadet models concurrently.

The Coonan Classic is the standard-size model. The Cadet is the smaller model.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

A Coonan will be on the cover of Gun Digest 2011:

[gregintenn]

There is a reason you don't see many semi autos chambered for rimmed cases....they don't chamber reliably! Why not get a 357 SIG or a .40?

[Guest REDDOG79]

The LAR Grizzley was in 45 Win Mag and you could purchase a 357 Mag conversion for them. Not sure if they made complete 357 guns or not.

The 357 kits worked with 125g and better ammo, did not like 110g, at least mine does not.

Bigger than a Coonan and smaller than a Desert Eagle. A pleasure to shoot, accurate and most of all very reliable.

My uncle has a LAR Grizzley in 45 Win Mag and it is supposed to be handed down to me when he is done with it as I have big enough hands to use the pistol. that is unless his daughters marry someone with hands like ours.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

There is a reason you don't see many semi autos chambered for rimmed cases....they don't chamber reliably! Why not get a 357 SIG or a .40?

'Cause I'm stuck on the idea of carrying a revolver and a semi-auto, both chambered in .357 Magnum. Don't ask me why.

Apparently Coonan has done some serious work on the mags to make them work. I guess we'll see.

[Guest Benelli Nova Guy]

I would like to handle one of those. The grip would have to be crazy thick.

[Oh Shoot]

I would like to handle one of those. The grip would have to be crazy thick.

.45ACP is wider than .357.

- OS

[railfancwb]

Can I put .38 spcl+P in it?

Originally, Coonan made a conversion set to allow use of 38 special ammo. Basically, the kit included a lighter weight recoil spring and a magazine with a piece in the rear to force the shorter ammo to the front of the magazine.

[Guest 10mm4me]

'Cause I'm stuck on the idea of carrying a revolver and a semi-auto, both chambered in .357 Magnum. Don't ask me why.

Apparently Coonan has done some serious work on the mags to make them work. I guess we'll see.

Why not get a 10mm revolver & auto...It's more powerful & actually works.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

They're in production and for sale. Choose your desired serial number from 001 to 500 (some are taken already). Lots of options on sights.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

If I had the cash right now.. I would order one!

[Guest oldsmobile98]

Bump for a good-lookin' picture...

[Kevo]

Can't wait to see one of these shooting at dusk on Youtube

[Ebow1]

I bet serial number 357 was one of the first to go.

[Oh Shoot]

$1200 for the cheapest model

$60 for mags

Guess I won't pre-order one quite yet.

- OS

[Ebow1]

Yeah, I'll stick with a .38 super Taurus PT1911 for less then half that.

[Guest oldsmobile98]

They just posted a FAQ on their website.