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Sevens · August 15, 2014, 03:23 PM

We've got an infrequent poster here on TFL who worked on both the original Coonan pistols and the current ones. IIRC, they've done a lot of testing with the guns even with -NO- recoil spring in them. So the proper spring is certainly critical to the running & functioning of the pistol, but I'm quite vague on just how important it is to the health and longevity of the pistol.

That's likely a discussion for genuine gun builders and tuners.

What I do know about the Coonan Classic is that the OEM spring for .357 Magnum is 22lbs and if you want the Coonan to run reliably and all the time, feed it the BEAST. It wants your full bore ammunition, that's what it eats and that's what it was designed around. If you want to make a Coonan MALF, give it wimpy ammo.

The current pistols also ship with an accessory spring specifically for shooting .38 Special and that happens to be a 10-lb spring and it's been my experience thus far that when you put that spring in, the SAME rules apply. Your .38 Special ammo also needs to be at the -FULL- end range of .38 Special. Light target stuff isn't going to work in the pistol. You'll have a manually operated repeater. (kinda neat, actually!)

August 15, 2014, 03:23 PM	#39
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	We've got an infrequent poster here on TFL who worked on both the original Coonan pistols and the current ones. IIRC, they've done a lot of testing with the guns even with -NO- recoil spring in them. So the proper spring is certainly critical to the running & functioning of the pistol, but I'm quite vague on just how important it is to the health and longevity of the pistol. That's likely a discussion for genuine gun builders and tuners. What I do know about the Coonan Classic is that the OEM spring for .357 Magnum is 22lbs and if you want the Coonan to run reliably and all the time, feed it the BEAST. It wants your full bore ammunition, that's what it eats and that's what it was designed around. If you want to make a Coonan MALF, give it wimpy ammo. The current pistols also ship with an accessory spring specifically for shooting .38 Special and that happens to be a 10-lb spring and it's been my experience thus far that when you put that spring in, the SAME rules apply. Your .38 Special ammo also needs to be at the -FULL- end range of .38 Special. Light target stuff isn't going to work in the pistol. You'll have a manually operated repeater. (kinda neat, actually!) __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.