I have reviewed several pistols in the Coonan line up, the .357 Magnum Classic, .357 Magnum Classic factory comp, .45 Automatic, and 10mm Automatic so I am somewhat familiar with the platform. The Compact is a bit of a different animal so I thought it warranted a separate review.
Range Time
First Impressions
Standard three dot sights, the rear being dovetailed in and is drift adjustable for windage. The steel mainspring housing is textured and the traditional 1911 grip safety has a deep beavertail.
Here you see the external extractor, one of the features that differentiates this pistol from a traditional “1911”. The pivoting trigger, another Browning Hi Power feature, breaks clean at just over four pounds with very little take up and some over travel.
Extended traditional 1911 thumb safety and slide stop worked flawlessly. This is a newer finish from Coonan, their IonBond Duracoat. During some 350 rounds and over three months of usage, the finish held up well. If you are looking for a more muted look over the stainless you now have a factory option.
Closely examining the pistol’s insides showed no signs of premature wear or breakage. I understand 350 rounds is not a lot of ammo through the gun, but I am sure if something was ill fit or substandard it would have shown up by now.
Conclusions
3 shot group shot from a rest at 25 yards
The 1911/Browning Hi Power hybrid Coonan pistol has proven to be a solid platform to feed the rimmed .357 Magnum cartridge, due to some magazine and pistol innovations. There is little arguing the .357 Magnum is a potent round for self-defense or even medium game hunting, and I believe the autoloader has some advantages over the revolver. With a similar sized revolver, you are going to have one or two more round capacity with the Compact and the speed of reloading from a magazine. With an autoloader and the reciprocating mass of the slide working against the recoil spring, you will have some diminished perceived recoil. While the Coonan Classic is a fine pistol, being full-sized it is not as conducive for concealed carry as the Compact. After some 350 rounds downrange from standard ball to defensive rounds, the Compact gave no problems and was plenty accurate for its purpose. I would see this pistol serving very well as a concealed carry pistol for the town or the trail.
Specifications
- Caliber: .357 Magnum
- Barrel Length: 4” Stainless Steel
- Magazine Capacity: 6 rounds +1
- Weight: 39 oz. empty / 45.5 oz. loaded
- Length: 7.7” overall
- Height: 5.4”
- Width: 1.3”
- Finish: Stainless Steel or Blued
- Full length Guide Rod
- 24 lbs Recoil Spring
- Link-less Bull Barrel
- MSRP $2.025
Acknowledgments
Hunter,
I enjoyed your write up on the Coonan Compact. I have envyed the full size “Nothing Left To Envy” Series since it’s inception am glad to see Coonan continued the 357 linage continued with the Coonan Compact 357. Great review, I appreciate your continued interest and reviews of the Coonan weapons. I am left to wonder what he will call the compact in keeping with the “Nothing Left To Envy.” I’ve tried but it doesn’t come. This has to fit into his “Envy” line somehow. Son of Envy ??????