Range Report -- Coonan .357 Magnum
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:32 pm
It was indeed not a Henry rifle I shot today. But shooting a semi-auto in .357 Magnum caliber was an interesting experience.
It's been over a month since I was last at my outdoor range with either my Henry SGC or Ruger SP101. The weather has been extremely hot & humid here in KCMO, and I just didn't want to battle it. So today I decided to use an indoor range. Oh yes, as I drove to the range in Independence, we finally got some rain this morning.....much needed, and the thunder storm did help to bring us some temporary cooling.
OK. Housed next to the range there is an LGS that carries a variety of rifles and handguns that are somewhat hard to find. I called ahead,just for fun, to see if they had a Coonan .357 Magnum, 5" semi-auto. They did, and I could rent it for $5 at the range. I've handled the Coonan a couple of times in the last couple of years, and read quite a few reviews. It is unusual to have a semi-auto pistol in that caliber. I believe Desert Eagle is the only other manufacturer that currently makes one. So that is how my range time was spent today --- trying out the Coonan.
I brought my own ammo rather than buying the range ammo -- their ammo was close to $35/50-round box. I shot Freedom Munitions .357 Magnum 158gr XTP. The key to a Coonan is that the ammo needs to be hot enough to both eject and chamber another round. My ammo mostly worked okay, but I did have some FTEs. It chambered fine on all rounds, but failed to clear the casing several times during the ejection cycle. When I turned the pistol in, the LGS owner asked me about my ammo and how it performed, and I told him as above. He then gave me some "freebies," which he said were "hotter." I got back on the range and shot some PMC Bronze .357 Magnum 50 Rounds, JSP, 158 Grain. Boy, those PMC rounds were definitely hot and I felt a measurable, very noticeable increase in recoil. No FTFs or FTEs with this stuff. So that was interesting to learn about the Coonan. Oh yes, a couple of basic specs on the PMC ammo: Muzzle Velocity: 1471 fps and Muzzle Energy: 759 ft/lbs.
Here is my first target (a full-sized silhouette), and I shot off hand at 7 yards (21 feet). The other target I had was similar. The Coonan is very easy to sight through, and is very accurate. I shot two 5-round groups here --- and it was a breeze to keep my POIs quite close to that "X." I still prefer shooting my .357 revolver, but this .357 semi-auto is an interesting and unique handgun. If I had had more time, I would have changed the .357 spring to the .38 Special spring and tried that caliber. Maybe another day....whenever we have some more rain!
Take care, Everyone.
It's been over a month since I was last at my outdoor range with either my Henry SGC or Ruger SP101. The weather has been extremely hot & humid here in KCMO, and I just didn't want to battle it. So today I decided to use an indoor range. Oh yes, as I drove to the range in Independence, we finally got some rain this morning.....much needed, and the thunder storm did help to bring us some temporary cooling.
OK. Housed next to the range there is an LGS that carries a variety of rifles and handguns that are somewhat hard to find. I called ahead,just for fun, to see if they had a Coonan .357 Magnum, 5" semi-auto. They did, and I could rent it for $5 at the range. I've handled the Coonan a couple of times in the last couple of years, and read quite a few reviews. It is unusual to have a semi-auto pistol in that caliber. I believe Desert Eagle is the only other manufacturer that currently makes one. So that is how my range time was spent today --- trying out the Coonan.
I brought my own ammo rather than buying the range ammo -- their ammo was close to $35/50-round box. I shot Freedom Munitions .357 Magnum 158gr XTP. The key to a Coonan is that the ammo needs to be hot enough to both eject and chamber another round. My ammo mostly worked okay, but I did have some FTEs. It chambered fine on all rounds, but failed to clear the casing several times during the ejection cycle. When I turned the pistol in, the LGS owner asked me about my ammo and how it performed, and I told him as above. He then gave me some "freebies," which he said were "hotter." I got back on the range and shot some PMC Bronze .357 Magnum 50 Rounds, JSP, 158 Grain. Boy, those PMC rounds were definitely hot and I felt a measurable, very noticeable increase in recoil. No FTFs or FTEs with this stuff. So that was interesting to learn about the Coonan. Oh yes, a couple of basic specs on the PMC ammo: Muzzle Velocity: 1471 fps and Muzzle Energy: 759 ft/lbs.
Here is my first target (a full-sized silhouette), and I shot off hand at 7 yards (21 feet). The other target I had was similar. The Coonan is very easy to sight through, and is very accurate. I shot two 5-round groups here --- and it was a breeze to keep my POIs quite close to that "X." I still prefer shooting my .357 revolver, but this .357 semi-auto is an interesting and unique handgun. If I had had more time, I would have changed the .357 spring to the .38 Special spring and tried that caliber. Maybe another day....whenever we have some more rain!
Take care, Everyone.
I probably should never have mentioned in another post that wheelguns are my favorite handgun. 
