Local shop has a .357 sig 94 clone with 3 mags. The gun looks very clean and functions correctly by hand. The name of the builder starts with a Cahoria or something.

Should I take a chance? they want $1500.00 for it.

Your thoughts?

what brand?

357 is expensive AF and very niche.  I'd buy it personally because I have a fetish for the round.

All depends on the clone.

Cohaire arms is one of Todd Bailey’s companies I believe. I think they came after Special Weapons but I can’t really remember.

That's it Cohaire.

I think you are correct about the ownership. He also owned if I'm not mistaken BobCat.

The brand is Coharie Arms. I am guessing that the model # is CA5-357? It was made by Todd Bailey of Special Weapons fame. The scary part would be the bolt. He used Metal Injection Molded steel bolts. I have several .40 caliber clones. Strip the bolt, throw it away, and buy a Rim Country stripped .40 caliber bolt. As I recall the only thing that is different from a  .40 caliber is the barrel. If the magazines have a gloss finish, they are junk. Todd's second generation  .40 caliber mags have a mat finish and work well for me. Good luck with the project.

Scott

Scott thx for the info. I think I will do that. More research is needed.

I wish someone would make some 357 sig bbls

I wouldn't buy it.  Sure it may work, especially after replacing parts with German.  But there is a very good chance you will end up with a $1500+ headache.

For $1,500 I'd buy it if they say it runs. Even after replacing the bolt that's a good price.
If you don't want it, please IM me where it's located.

I know you said you like .357 SIG, but if you get tired of it, you can re-barrel that gun for .40 S&W or 10mm. The only difference is the barrel itself.

This.

If the receiver is good, have it rebuild in 10mm

Id Fucking kill to have a mp5/10

I guess I will be the party-pooper voice of dissent here.

There is no way I would spend $1500 on a TB Clone in 357 Sig.

The odds of it running reliably are probably pretty low, especially one sitting on the "used" rack at a local store.  Assuming history is any guide you will pull your hair out and throw piles of money at it on the prayer it may function one day.  Its not like there is a HK "spec" for 357 sig where you know this combination of parts should work, so you will be troubleshooting without a known good config.    I couldn't imagine the pain of troubleshooting a Bailey built 357 Sig MP5 and having to use expensive 357 Sig ammo to do it while swapping out German parts hoping for the right combination.

If it does run now, Coharie 357/40/10 clones had a poor reputation for the longevity of the bullet guides in the trunnion.  If one of those little welded in guides breaks, the gun is basically done short of a full trunnion/barrel replacement.

Lets say best case it runs like a raped ape from the get go ...a 357 Sig MP5 for me is an answer to a question nobody asked.

Rebarreling it to a 10 or 40 is also probably a crap shoot.  Who knows what spec that trunnion barrel hole is, how wonky the barrel pin hole was drilled,  and if you can find a replacement barrel that will install  and gap correctly with a new 10 or 40 LP.

If you want a 10 or 40, I would just buy one of those out of the gate vs. hoping a Coharie 357 could be successfully rebarreled if you don't like it.

Just my 2 cents anyway

My BW5 runs great.

But it needed a trigger pack and I overpaid.

No one thinks that Todd’s been working through that learning curve in the last 20+ years?  Odds are he’s good at his job now.

When is the last time he made a gun?

More than a decade?

The only person I know of that made a 357 Sig barrels was Murray Urbach.
When I bought the one I had it was $500 off of Gordon Millers' table at Knob Creek.
Depending on the barrels condition and who made it, buying the weapon might be feasible
considering how bad you want a 357 Sig.  Murray did not mark his barrels but they have
16 flutes and are threaded 1/2" x 32 TPI.  The flutes would be most telling as putting
them in a barrels' chamber required pricey equipment back then to do it and most barrel makers did not
spend the money for the equipment needed just for HK barrels.