Material lust: Coonan Arms .357 Mag 1911 vs. Kimber 10mm 1911. Thoughts?

[Chuck Dye]

So the tax refund is imminent and Coonan Arms is back.  I have lusted for a 10mm since I first saw the Dornhaus & Dixon brochure.  The Coonan has also been an object of lust since first introduced.  Naturally, there are any  number of .357 revolvers to accompany the Coonan, and the S&W 610 and some custom GP100s in 10mm go with the Kimber.  I probably won't buy either autoloader or any of the accompanying revolvers, but I would like your input.

[AZRedhawk44]

I've got a friend with a Grizzly in .357.  Great gun.  Never shot a Coonan though.

Mags are REALLY expensive and hard to find though.

Given a choice between a .357 1911-style, and a 10mm 1911-style, I'd go with 10mm personally.

[vaskidmark]

Did anyone read that as "marital lust"?

As for buying a gun - is there any reason beyond "Because I want to"?

If you have the bucks or can figure out how to survive on Top Ramen and Spam to cover the bills, go for it.

stay safe.

[Fly320s]

Chuck, do you mean .357Sig?  I didn't know anyone is making a 1911 chambered in .357Mag.

[Perd Hapley]

http://coonaninc.com/

[just Warren]

[MikeB]

I have Coonan, actually two of them. They do not always run right with all .357Mag ammo, if you find ammo that works well they will run right. It's been awhile since I shot mine, but if I recall correctly they favored a "heavier" load, heavier grain bullet and not a reduced powder charge. Never bothered trying Self-Defense ammo. If it were me, I'd go for the 10mm, unless you just want the Coonan to have a almost 1911 that shoots .357; which is exactly why I go mine. Though I don't own that Kimber in 10mm, I have several 1911's in 10mm and they aren't picky about ammo like the Coonan.

[Fly320s]

...the more I realize I don't know.

[roo_ster]

Years ago, I, too, lusted after a Coonan in .357mag.

These days, I would get the 10mm 1911.

[Devonai]

You'd have to be crazier than H.P. Lovecraft to want either of those.

Oh, wait...

[MechAg94]

I'd go 1911 myself.

[SADShooter]

My goal is a 1911 chambered in 9x23 Winchester. More oomph than .38 Super, less recoil than 10mm.

[De Selby]

Dont know about the kimber, but my experience with an old coonan was that it was junk.  It was a gimmick gun that never ran right.  If it weren't collectible I'd have traded it for something more reliable, like a Jennings .22 or high point.

[roo_ster]

Dont know about the kimber, but my experience with an old coonan was that it was junk.  It was a gimmick gun that never ran right.  If it weren't collectible I'd have traded it for something more reliable, like a Jennings .22 or high point.

Ow, my liver!

I think the current manufacturer just collapsed from a phantom kick to the jimmy.

[De Selby]

Ow, my liver!

I think the current manufacturer just collapsed from a phantom kick to the jimmy.

Let's hope the new mfg is doing a better job.  I get sour about the coonan because it looked so cool in the shop, and never once got through a full magazine. 

Maybe someone needs to make a rimless .357 to go with an auto carbine and pistol combo.  Wouldn't that be nifty?

[Regolith]

Maybe someone needs to make a rimless .357 to go with an auto carbine and pistol combo.  Wouldn't that be nifty?

You mean like the .357 Sig?

Well, it's pretty close the classic 125gr .357 magnum load, anyway. Which is its whole purpose of being.

[Fly320s]

Let's hope the new mfg is doing a better job.  I get sour about the coonan because it looked so cool in the shop, and never once got through a full magazine.

Which is why I was surprised that someone is chambering a 1911ish pistol in a rimmed cartridge. Those are hard to feed when confined to the angle available in the frame of a 1911.

[Pharmacology]

But can't the .38 super be loaded to the same league of hot-ness that the .357 mag can, and used in a standard 1911 that ridiculous looking grip?

[Boomhauer]

Which is why I was surprised that someone is chambering a 1911ish pistol in a rimmed cartridge. Those are hard to feed when confined to the angle available in the frame of a 1911.

A clue is that the .357Mag 1911 makers have never been hugely successful...

[AZRedhawk44]

You mean like the .357 Sig?

Well, it's pretty close the classic 125gr .357 magnum load, anyway. Which is its whole purpose of being.

No, a .357 that doesn't suck.

I hate the .357 sig.  Bottlenecks don't belong on pistol cartridges.  They use up capacity in the magazine.

A rimless .357, designed to operate in a new M1 carbine and a companion autoloading pistol, would be awesome.  Something that can handle sectional densities matching 158gr-180gr .357 loads.

[De Selby]

No, a .357 that doesn't suck.

I hate the .357 sig.  Bottlenecks don't belong on pistol cartridges.  They use up capacity in the magazine.

A rimless .357, designed to operate in a new M1 carbine and a companion autoloading pistol, would be awesome.  Something that can handle sectional densities matching 158gr-180gr .357 loads.

Exactly - .357 sig might as well have been named .38 ultra. It's like an old super, not a proper .357

[Bogie]

Coonan had a table at Knob Creek. VERY secksy... I wish I had the cash.

[roo_ster]

I never took much to .38Super or .357Sig once I found out about 9mm+P+ loadings.  I also imagine a 1911 in .357mag will have limitations on max/min bullet weight, just like all the other 9mm 1911 variants.

[geronimotwo]

i like the .357mag load (which is why i have a revolver), but i gotta vote 10mm.  semi-auto = rimless!