My Life as a Shooter: The Coonan as "Supercar"

Minnesota has a few firearms manufacturers. DPMS is part of the group containing Remington, and it focuses on semi-automatic rifles of varying chamberings build on the AR-15 platform. Magnum Research got its start making the Desert Eagle under license from Israeli Military Industries, but since diversified. Boberg Arms focuses on pistols meant for Concealed Carry usage.

All of them, to varying degrees, get both respect and criticism for what they do and how they do it. In car terms, they're either mainstream car makers like Toyota or Ford or quirky ones like Kia. However, there is a Supercar equivalent here in Minnesota, and getting one of their signature pistols is definitely on the Wish List. That company is Coonan, and the equivalent is their eponymous autoloading handgun: The Coonan.

Whereas a pretty standard handgun (e.g. Glock 17, Smith & Wesson M&P, Springfield XD) runs about $500-$600 at retail, the Coonan starts at a MSRP of $1495- and that's the no-frills base model. It's a modification of the classic 1911 design, but what it's modified to fire is the big deal: .357 Magnum.

The .357 Magnum cartridge is usually used in revolvers and lever-action rifles for a simple reason: it's a centerfire cartridge with a rim about the base of its casing. The 1911 design is meant for cartridges that aren't rimmed at the base, and it turns out that it took significant work to make the modifications necessary to produce the Coonan. In addition, like supercars, they aren't made in the massive quantities of your Glocks and CZs, which further drives up the price into the premium category.

But it's worth that premium. Colion Noir's brief review shows why this is an excellent addition, after you have your workaday weapons sorted. (Another reason for why this is a supercar-equivalent; it's not the sort of thing you are using as an everyday carry.) For your convenience, that video is immediately below:

Someday, when I've made it, I'll pick one up- specifically this model.