Coharie CA89 9mm
Coharie CA89 9mm
I was enjoying my Coharie CA94FS clone of the Heckler Koch MP5 so much that I thought I'd better try the short barreled one. I live in a state where I can't have an SBR, so I have to make due. But I've been surprised just how easy it is to hit pop can size targets with this thing at 20 paces. If I can hit a pop can at 20 paces, I can index any threat at typical home defense distances also. So I got that going for me.
You're right. I did "cheat" for this pictures and put the same Aimpoint ML2 sight and TLR2 light on this as are featured in the AR15 pistol page directly preceeding, but hey, they're modular. That's what it's all about baby. That and the fact that these pictures were taken months apart, and nothing is static. Quit your persnickety critiques, or go buy me another set yourself.
Here is the old next to the new, CA94FS & CA89. There is a lot of internet chat room banter about Coharie's questionable pedigree, but having now owned two of them, I have nothing but praise for them. Both work in better than 99% reliability range, and seem to be of fine workmanship. Are they as nice as the original German HK's? No, and a discerning eye can easily spot the differences in finish, especially on the internal parts. But, on the other hand, HK's are now selling for over $4000, if you can find one. Most of them are all shot out too. These are brand new, and while the quality may be slightly down from an HK, it is still leagues better than most wartime production firearms created in the past. I mean, compare these with a Guidelamp M3 "Greasegun", and you'll see what I mean. These are fine firearms, and a lot closer to HK's level of quality than to earlier wartime stampings. Plus, they're available in civilian legal form at a price that is (relatively) affordable.
When I first got the CA89 out to the range, I experienced SEVEN failure-to-eject stoppages in the first magazine. Then I had three more failures of the same type in the next magazine, and three more after that. I was upset, and thinking it would have to go back and be tweaked under Coharie's excellent lifetime warranty. I kept shooting, and have not had a single failure in the several hundred rounds fired since. Must have needed a "break in" period. Regardless, it now works great, with every magazine and ammo type I've tried. It's very fun, and it's wicked appearance makes it just that much more fun.
Maybe someday I'll move to some less draconian state where I can do the paperwork and put a stock on it, but for now, it's a fun pistol.
Coharie CA89 9mm semi-automatic version of the MP5 submachine gun