A theoretical study is presented for the coherent transport properties of a magnetic nanocontact. In particular, we study a symmetric nanocontact between two identical waveguides composed of semi-infinite spin ordered ferromagnetic chains. The coherent transmission and reflection scattering cross sections via the nanocontact, for spin waves incident from the bulk waveguide, are calculated with the use of the matching method. The inter-atomic magnetic exchange on the nanocontact is allowed to vary to investigate the consequences of magnetic softening and hardening for the calculated spectra. Transmission spectra underline the filtering properties of the nanocontact. The localized spin density of states in the nanocontact domain is also calculated, and analyzed. The results yield an understanding of the relationship between coherent conductance and the structural configuration of the nanocontact. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.