Revolver rounds in semi auto pistols

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44 AMP

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A recent thread covering shooting semi auto rounds in revolver got me thinking about turning the question around, so here it is..

Anyone (else) shooting "revolver rounds" in semi auto pistols??

I shoot .357 and .44 Mag semi autos (as well as revolvers and single shots)

Do any of you? And what are your experiences doing so??
 
No experience with revolver rounds in semi autos but I do think the Coonan 357 is an interesting gun I would love to try. However, because it's not going to reliably cycle 38 special ammo and full power 357 mag is not economical as a plinking caliber, I would rather own a semi auto in 9mm, 38 super, 40 or 45 than in a magnum revolver caliber. I was late to the 38 super game getting my first after 40 but as a hand loader I really like that caliber in the 1911 platform where it is more reliable than the less powerful 9mm luger. However, you just can't beat the common 9mm luger for economy in the handgun world.
 
I have a Coonan model A, one of the first 1500 guns they made. Its set up for .357 only. I understand the last batch they made (Classic Coonan I think they called it) came with a conversion to shoot .38 Specials as well as .357s.

IF economy of ammo is your main metric, then in centerfires, 9mm Luger is the way to go. But if you're shooting for performance over cost, the magnums are the biggest bang for the buck.

I handload, so factory ammo prices aren't my biggest concern.
 
Shooting a couple magazines of .357 from a Coonan a few years ago is the sum total of my experience with this. As a long time 1911 guy, I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but I actually enjoyed shooting the Coonan. The Coonan was reliable with factory 158 grain .357. Factory 110 grain .357 did not have quite enough umph to fully cycle the slide, resulting in stove pipes, etc. To me, it felt like the .357 Coonan recoiled less than the 10mm autos I've had shooting the old 200 grain Norma, Buffalo Bore, Underwood, etc. ammo.

I talked to Dan Coonan many years ago at SHOT. Seemed to be a nice guy.
 
I fired my friend's desert eagle in .44 magnum. For only a few times though. I was new to guns and was scared of that thing. I had a Beretta 92 in 9mm, a pea shooter in comparison.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
I bought one of the last Coonans produced and it came with a 38 Special recoil spring. It sits unused in the case, never tried it. I load my own ammo so other than labor the cost is almost nothing. I have a lifetime supply of bullets, primers and powder, thanks to now extinct live auctions, where you used to buy boxes of some guys reloading supplies for $10 or $15.
I love the Coonan. Full power 158 grain loads feel like a 10mm 1911. In a head to head accuracy test with multiple Smith & Wesson revolvers and one Ruger Blackhawk it was the equal of the best of those. My Coonan functions reliably with 125 - 158 bullets.
I also have a Desert Eagle 44 magnum and it is certainly the easiest 44 magnum to shoot and one of my favorite guns.
 
One of the things I like most about magnum semiautos is that the size and shape of the grip (along with the weight) give it a completely different feel from either a DA or SA revolver.

The Desert Eagle has, to my mind, the worst grip of the semi auto magnums I have. It is not just large, its larger than it needs to be. I can manage it, but the Coonan, the LAR Grizzly and the Auto Mag are much better in my hands. The Wildey is almost as bad, but is a little shorter front to back than the DE though it feels "fatter" side to side.
 
44 AMP said:
A recent thread covering shooting semi auto rounds in revolver got me thinking about turning the question around, so here it is..

Anyone (else) shooting "revolver rounds" in semi auto pistols??

I shoot .357 and .44 Mag semi autos (as well as revolvers and single shots)

Do any of you? And what are your experiences doing so??
Click to expand...

Sole and only experience was shooting .44 Magnum through someone's Dessert Eagle. It was unreliable.
 
Sole and only experience was shooting .44 Magnum through someone's Dessert Eagle. It was unreliable.
Click to expand...

This seems to be a fairly common thing. Someone gets to shoot a few rounds from someone else's Desert Eagle, and when there is a issue, that's what they seem to remember most.

Not that I can find any fault with them for that...:rolleyes:

I've had a .357 Desert Eagle since 84, and a .44 since 90. They're not quite like any other pistols I know. They are rare birds, haughty and unforgiving. They require a special diet, and have to be handled just the right way, or they don't fly right.

What works fine with a service class semi auto often won't with a Desert Eagle.
 
I bet the level of revolver glut that is coming as baby boomers get older will overwhelm the market to some degree.

Going forward, I don't see anyone actively trying to build and sell a gun so people can spend more on a gun that shoots expensive rounds in an impractical way compared to other options.

The video game world is large. Call of Duty is worth $31 BILLION dollars. I think the DE lives on because of video games. Use young people buy experiences. Connecting to old DE uses in video games checks that box for an experience and nostalgic purchase.

Having had a rim locking P32 a long while ago, the appeal just isn't there for me at all. The revolver rounds just aren't sacred to me or that interesting.

One millennial's opinion. Glad people like theirs.
 
Uncomfortable!

That word best describes full house .44 magnum in my old Gen 1 Contender. IMO the stock is rather wonky and the Contender does not weigh much at all. Some padding along the backstrap would be welcome, If I ever start shooting it much, new stocks perhaps in rubber would be welcome. Actually wood be be fine, were it properly shaped. Comfort trumps styling, why styling is important here is beyond my simple mind. I can't imagine 45-70 in my Contender, but I could buy the barrel.
 
On the other side of the coin, the .44 Mag Desert Eagle is probably one of the most comfortable .44 Mags to shoot with full house loads (and the DE won't work with anything else). The size of the grip is the problem for some, the recoil is quite mild for a .44 Mag handgun.

At the risk of thread drift, I have a Contender in .44Mag, the old classic 10" octagon barrel, and it's much, much worse to shoot than my 14" .45-70!

I had an LAR Grizzly in .44 Mag, and it was a handful, but much more pleasant to shoot than my S&W M29 when loads get into the 1200fps range. More felt recoil than the Desert Eagle, because its lighter, but the 1911 style grip made it more pleasant to shoot than the S&W DA grip shape.
 
i remember owning a 50ae and when i went back to 44 mag de, it felt like i was shooting a 38 special. lol.

this discussion reminds me of the old saying where people.....

measure it with a micrometer,
mark it with chalk,
and cut it with an ax.

the only value of knowing or shooting the (WRONG) ammo in a gun designed for (SOMETHING ELSE) would be in an end of the world scenerio.

otherwise its silly to spend good money on a working concept only to cram fodder into it just to see what happens.

heck, might as well we all just go back to flintlocks and cram rocks and wood chips in it.

what was that tv show where 2 guys tried things used in movies, to see if it was possible or plausible?
there ya go.
 
otherwise its silly to spend good money on a working concept only to cram fodder into it just to see what happens.
Click to expand...

Somewhere between silly and barking stupid, and yet, some people always do it, though if they have to pay the price of the consequences out of their own personal pocket, the seldom do it more than once....

Seldom...:rolleyes:

Saw this happen once involving a Desert Eagle. Guy got one, brand new, and, through a combination of ignorance and arrogance, turned it from a gas operated repeater to a manually operated repeater. :eek:

Since it was new, still under warranty, he to it to our local smith, expecting repair, or replacement, since it was "broken". Gunsmith noted lead in the barrel and asked him what he had shot it with. He said he had used lead bullets, though his account of how much changed a few times, four boxes one time another time he "didn't even get through a full box" and he was most indignant about it saying (repeatedly) the gun should run on it, he never had any trouble in any of his other guns,...etc.

The smith took the manual from the pistol's box. opened it to the first page and pointed to the large bold type that said "Use ONLY Jacketed ammunition".

Gun went back to the maker, and came back repaired. Along with a note stating that the repair was not covered warranty work, and a bill for the new barrel assy. $285 which, combined with the shipping was about half the new MSRP of the gun at that time. Guy was not happy, but he did pay...

seems that there is always someone who thinks they know more about something than the people who make it, and cannot be convinced otherwise, without some kind of pain.

I had not considered the .22LR to be a revolver round, before starting this thread, since the .22LR is common in ALL action types, but one certainly could consider it a revolver round, and include it in this discussion.

There's probably more semi auto .22LR pistols than any other single caliber.

Not too shabby for a "revolver round". :D
 
44 AMP said:
This seems to be a fairly common thing. Someone gets to shoot a few rounds from someone else's Desert Eagle, and when there is a issue, that's what they seem to remember most.

Not that I can find any fault with them for that...:rolleyes:

I've had a .357 Desert Eagle since 84, and a .44 since 90. They're not quite like any other pistols I know. They are rare birds, haughty and unforgiving. They require a special diet, and have to be handled just the right way, or they don't fly right.

What works fine with a service class semi auto often won't with a Desert Eagle.
Click to expand...

In this case we were shooting someone else's handloads, obviously not on Magnum Research's spreadsheet of approved known good .44 loads.

(Yes, though, it was comfortable to shoot.)
 
75% of my auto handgun shooting is .38 Special and .32 S&W long.

My favorite handgun bar none is my .38 Spl. SIG Hämmerli P240. If magazine capacity was a tad larger, it would be my nightstand gun.
 
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"Does a .22 LR count? Rimmed case going back to S&W No 1 revolver. "

I'd say yes. There have been a number of semi-automatic pistols (primarily target pistols like Walther, Hammerli, and Pardini) chambered for the .22 Short and .22 CB, and many hundreds, if not thousands, of models chambered for .22 Long Rifle.
 
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