Cobray M11 9

ronl · December 10, 2014, 11:46 PM

I've always believed that the M11 was just a bullet hose with no practical use, maybe one step above a Tec-9. I got to fire one(semi) last weekend and I have to admit I walked away rather impressed. Jug put out at 20-25 yds. and I nailed it the first shot. Okay, that was a fluke. Hit the jug the second time. Hmmm. So there're 30 more rounds in this mag, let's rock n' roll a little. I cranked off about 20 rounds as rapidly as I could pull the trigger and even though I didn't hit the jug every time, I was surprised to see the bullets hit pretty close to the intended target, all within about a foot. I took two more aimed shots and hit the jug twice. I have to admit my opinion of the little bullet hose rose dramatically, and it was actually a lot of fun.

**44 AMP** · December 12, 2014, 12:26 PM

I had one of those, back in the 80s, shortly after the design was reworked to fire from the closed bolt.

As a gun that worked (functioned) it was pretty good. As a gun that was usable, not so much. Bullet hose is a good way to put it. Point shooting seem to be as good as any kind of attempt to aim using the peep sight at arm's length.

Even though larger and heavier than any regular 9mm pistol, I found the recoil from the Cobray to be worse. The 90 degree grip and the heavy bolt moving back and forth over it made the gun feel like it kicked worse than any other 9mm I've met.

The safety, located well forward on the frame (below the barrel) simply CANNOT be reached with the shooting hand. It must be worked with the "off" hand, and requires a full 180 degree flip of the M16 type lever.

The greatest aid to using the M11/9 that I found was to replace the low, button shaped cocking knob with a taller one, similar to the original Tommygun knob. The larger area of the knob makes cocking the gun easier, but more importantly, the large knob with a slot through it forms a "hasty" rear sight, and is much more easily used than the tiny peep sight (a hole through a stamped steel plate) that the gun comes with.

One word of caution, the knob I got was knurled, and had sharp edges on the slot. Take a file & stone to the knob, or get cut!

As a civilian legal replica of a MAC 10, they are neat. As a practical handgun, not so much...

Hawg · December 12, 2014, 01:17 PM

I had one of those. It was fun to play with for awhile but it got old pretty fast. I traded mine off for a Winchester 97 repro. BTW the mag holds 32 rounds.

Cheapshooter · December 12, 2014, 01:25 PM

My son had one that became quite interesting. It was a guessing game when you pulled the trigger if it would fire one round, or the entire magazine!

I mean the entire magazine. Letting off the trigger didn't stop it when it went full auto.
Made for some looks, and conversations at public ranges. Especially the supervised ranges.

December 10, 2014, 11:46 PM	#1
ronl Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2007 Posts: 1,125	Cobray M11 9 I've always believed that the M11 was just a bullet hose with no practical use, maybe one step above a Tec-9. I got to fire one(semi) last weekend and I have to admit I walked away rather impressed. Jug put out at 20-25 yds. and I nailed it the first shot. Okay, that was a fluke. Hit the jug the second time. Hmmm. So there're 30 more rounds in this mag, let's rock n' roll a little. I cranked off about 20 rounds as rapidly as I could pull the trigger and even though I didn't hit the jug every time, I was surprised to see the bullets hit pretty close to the intended target, all within about a foot. I took two more aimed shots and hit the jug twice. I have to admit my opinion of the little bullet hose rose dramatically, and it was actually a lot of fun.

December 12, 2014, 12:26 PM	#2
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 30,444	I had one of those, back in the 80s, shortly after the design was reworked to fire from the closed bolt. As a gun that worked (functioned) it was pretty good. As a gun that was usable, not so much. Bullet hose is a good way to put it. Point shooting seem to be as good as any kind of attempt to aim using the peep sight at arm's length. Even though larger and heavier than any regular 9mm pistol, I found the recoil from the Cobray to be worse. The 90 degree grip and the heavy bolt moving back and forth over it made the gun feel like it kicked worse than any other 9mm I've met. The safety, located well forward on the frame (below the barrel) simply CANNOT be reached with the shooting hand. It must be worked with the "off" hand, and requires a full 180 degree flip of the M16 type lever. The greatest aid to using the M11/9 that I found was to replace the low, button shaped cocking knob with a taller one, similar to the original Tommygun knob. The larger area of the knob makes cocking the gun easier, but more importantly, the large knob with a slot through it forms a "hasty" rear sight, and is much more easily used than the tiny peep sight (a hole through a stamped steel plate) that the gun comes with. One word of caution, the knob I got was knurled, and had sharp edges on the slot. Take a file & stone to the knob, or get cut! As a civilian legal replica of a MAC 10, they are neat. As a practical handgun, not so much... __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

December 12, 2014, 01:17 PM	#3
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,376	I had one of those. It was fun to play with for awhile but it got old pretty fast. I traded mine off for a Winchester 97 repro. BTW the mag holds 32 rounds.

December 12, 2014, 01:25 PM	#4
Cheapshooter Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 8,306	My son had one that became quite interesting. It was a guessing game when you pulled the trigger if it would fire one round, or the entire magazine! I mean the entire magazine. Letting off the trigger didn't stop it when it went full auto. Made for some looks, and conversations at public ranges. Especially the supervised ranges.