I'll try to make this brief, but it won't be easy. In fact it's not possible. One of those things that has made me shake my head in awe and disbelief for years.
I ordered a new Coonan Classic .357 Automag from the factory when the line first came out in the mid-2000's, I was on the waiting list for awhile, as they did not mass-produce them and had a small business and staff.
My FFL was a major sports retailer in Montana. I went on a two month vacation to Arizona, and was assured by my FFL that if the gun arrived while I was gone, they would catalog it and have it in their safe vault until I returned.
The Coonan arrived at the FFL about one month before I returned home. I checked the gun out visually out of the box before receiving it, and it was a beautifully crafted piece, without a single visual flaw to be found. Coonan prides itself on their dedication to hand-crafted perfection, and they are made in the USA to boot... 100% of the gun.
My friend and I brought our weapons to our favorite indoor shooting range. This is where I would give the Coonan its first trial run.
I sent my silhouette target quite a distance down range from my booth. Every booth to either side of me was active. The place was noisy.
During my very first shot, I hit the soundproofing on the ceiling, causing debris to flutter to the floor of the range, short of the target. Having been NRA trained as a 12 year old, 24 years in the military, and with many years of practice and many types of firearm ownership under my belt, I was not only shocked but embarrassed as hell! As was my shooting buddy. Everyone stopped shooting to see why I shot the ceiling. Like...who's the idiot?
This was unimaginable to me. I thought "what could I have done wrong?"
After a time, and after the range got back to normal, I pushed myself to try again, with a death grip on the gun which I really shouldn't have required, but the last thing I wanted to do was a repeat. So, I did a repeat! I shot the freaking ceiling again! More debris!
That was it. I was done. Humiliated and embarrassed. I brought the target back. It had two nicely placed holes in it. Both in the black. Turns out that Coonan was firing two rounds fully auto, and so fast that neither I or my friend could hear it.
Gun goes back to the shop and back to Coonan. Coonan calls me and says that they will not warranty the gun because it had been tampered with internally. They asked me what I did to it. It had crude grinding done, and the sear was ruined. It took me quite a lot of PR skills and my background to finally convince them that I had not, and never would do or even attempt to do what had happened inside the gun. I wouldn't know where to start, and had never gunsmithed in my life, nor had any ambition to. And especially since that Coonan cost me $1200.00 at the time...the most expensive gun I've had to date.
The fine folks at Coonan repaired the gun under warranty, although I still don't they believed my story 100%. I later sold the gun.
There are only two scenarios I can think of here. Either someone at the factory or the FFL store tampered with the gun. The reason why? I haven't a clue. Of course both parties say that there neither of them could have or would have done such a thing.
Okay, so much for my short story. Still a mystery, and a very odd one. If I were a betting man, I'd say the sporting goods store had some disgruntled worker or nut case who removed the gun from the vault during that month, took it home and screwed with it, then replaced it back into their vault.
Cheers!
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