Coonan Pistol

[dfletcher]

I just picked up a Coonan 357 Magnum semi auto - 5" bbl & 2 magazines included - and wonder if anyone else has one, what your experience is? And if anyone has a source for magazines? GB has mags listed, but they're factory original and very expensive - as in triple digit expensive.

[Rogue187]

I think that is one cool gun you have on your hands..
It's more of a collector piece now..
I don't remember too much about them but I read somewhere they shot good but if something breaks it's near impossible to get it fixed.
I really don't know..but it does have it's cool factor..
I'd use it for home defense..can't go wrong with 357 Mag in semi.
I think this gun is kinda like the ASP of the past.

[Schlamoo]

I have a Coonan and love it but would not use it for self defense. Both of the guns I had, (I sold one years ago) had to be lubed very well to function properly. Coonan in thier original instruction book recomended using lithium grease. There are probably are better (slicker) lubes available now. I still use lithium grease on mine but I also shoot mine only for fun. You'll find the lithium grease starts to get thicker and the gun will start to mis-feed after a range session.

Mags? Your on your own. There is no after-market mag and yes factory mags are pricey. Some of the Coonan fanactics swear the black follower is better than the orange follower ones. (Or maybe visa versa). I have both and see no difference between the two.

Save some pennies up and see if you can find a .38 spl conversion kit for the gun. Pretty rare but it consists of really nothing more of a magazine and a recoil spring. Kinda fun to shoot, think of it as the difference between a 10mm and a .40 S&W.

Enjoy your gun! And let me know if you have any questions. I'll do my best to answer them. There is also a Coonan forum on the internet. I'll see if I can find it and will send you the link.

All the best.

[461]

Years ago I really wanted one as the .357 is a strong favorite of mine but I was turned off by the price and reports of reliability issues. I think it'd be a very cool collector piece, I'd say you got lucky to find one.

[dfletcher]

I'm going to use it as strictly the occasional shooter - definitely a "look what I've got" gun. I figure I have a few 45 ACP revolvers, why not a 357 Mag autoloader.

I see alot of parts in common with the 1911 - safety, hammer, mag release and bushing. I'm guessing the rear sight dovetail is the same as 1911. The trigger looks different but I did a quick strip at the store and it uses the same stirrup, but the trigger hangs off the frame. I'll see what else fits later, but like the mag I'm probably for the most part on my own.

[CALI-gula]

I bought mine about 10 years ago, and while I haven't shot it often, it has always functioned flawlessly. As far as lube, now days I use Tetra Gun Grease (image below), which I initially bought the first time to use on my Coonan and one of my Randalls - it's the best I've found for lubing ANY gun, it's all I use now days, and works really well on stainless guns.

While I have had no trouble with mine, I would not trust it entirely as a home-defense gun. It's still a semi-auto trying to cycle a rimmed cartridge. A hiccup is inevitable, and will more than likely happen when you least want it to happen. I think you are smart in viewing it as a "look what I've got" gun, a novelty at best.

There was a guy on Gunbroker a few years ago selling whole Coonan rebuild kits that contained every part on the gun except the frame, grip, slide, and magazine. His price extremely discounted - I think he was just trying to get rid of the stuff. He was an ex-Coonan rep or armorer, or something like that. I bought a kit from him as spare parts. When he shipped it, he had everything packaged and labeled individually in small envelopes. Not sure if he is still on there selling them, but if so, it would be worth picking up a kit from him. To me, the majority of the parts look like standard 1911 items, but the kits this guy put together had parts that matched look and material of my Coonan exactly, so they really were Coonan parts and not just an assembly of 1911 parts.

Magazines? As everyone else said, scarce, but I think they tend to get overpriced on the auction websites. If I am going to spend $150, I'd rather be satisfied with the 3 mags I have, and take that money and put it toward some other gun purchase. I would even rather be patient to find someone in CA selling a Coonan with extra mags instead. I don't think you'll ever see a good price online for these magazines, but you might find one at a gun show in the $50 range from some old timer. I picked one up an orange follower one once for $25 at Costa Mesa - I don't think he knew what it was for, and if I remember right, he mumbled that he thought it was for an LAR Grizzly or Wildey. I told him I thought it was for a Coonan, he grunted something like "maybe", I handed him my $25 and walked away happy.

One last thing, like the Wildey, I don't think Coonans are done for good. I have a feeling you may see them being made again in the future. I doubt they'll ever be available in CA due to the Loaded Chamber/Mag disconnect issue, but parts and mags could become more accessible.

[dfletcher]

Buying the Cooinan gives me a good excuse for hitting the Reno gun show in August. I hope they have one or two mags up there.

[Schlamoo]

I have a sheet that shows the part interchangability between a Coonan and a Colt. It also has the Coonan part numbers for each item. If anyone is interested I'll scan it and email it if you PM me your address.

[mike100]

I actually saw two for sale at the Turners in San Marcos about a year ago (different consignments from different owners). Basically it was the original/better magnum research with crappy marketing.

'Magnum research' and 'desert eagle' just sort of sound cool vs. 'coonan'. They were both $1100. I couldn't justify it since there are 10mm 1911's.

[Schlamoo]

Coonan was the last name of the guy who created the gun.

[mike100]

Coonan was the last name of the guy who created the gun.

He coulda been named lip****z, but like I said, Magnum Research had a better marketing angle and a cooler name. I wouldn't use my last name on any business of mine (because it is too hard to pronounce).

[Res]

I have a sheet that shows the part interchangability between a Coonan and a Colt. It also has the Coonan part numbers for each item. If anyone is interested I'll scan it and email it if you PM me your address.

Schlamoo, I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me a copy. I need to know if the ejectors are interchangeable. Thanks

Dusty@cpof.org