Stoeger Cougar, Armalite AR 24, or Ruger SR9

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RPCVYemen

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I recently made some money with some stock options. After the obligatory savings, I might have enough left for a 9mm pistol. Right now, I have a Ruger Blackhawk in 45 LC that I enjoy a lot.

I am mainly looking for a plinking/playing at the range gun. I am looking at 3 of them:

  • Stoeger Cougar
  • Armalite AR 24
  • Ruger SR9

I keep being tempted by the Armalite AR 24, but the Stoeger seems like a too good deal to turn down at the price. On the other hand, my Blackhawk has made me a bug fan of Ruger. The downside I heard about Ruger auto-loader in general has been that they are big and clunky, but very reliable and of serviceable accuracy. The SR9 evidently has fixed the big and clunky problem, and the reviews are good.

I am still learning towards the Cougar - I rented a 80357 one time at the range, and pretty much liked it. The roller locking mechanism seems cool, and the price seem to be very, very good.

Comments?

Mike
 
Personally, I'd buy the Stoeger Cougar...

I have a Beretta 8000F Cougar that is the most comfortable gun in the hand that I've ever held. Only the Steyr M9-A1 comes close...

I've handled a couple of the Stoegar Cougars and have been impressed with what you get for the price.

I may yet pick up a Stoeger Cougar for myself...:)

Forrest
 
I have a Cougar 8000 in 9 mm that I bought back in may. If you can find on I would vote for it. They are hard to find. I had to go about 40 miles to get mine.
 
Good luck finding a Stoeger Cougar. They are soldout where I live and I was told if I ordered one in it would probably be 3 months to get it in. You might want to look for a Beretta Cougar instead. As for the AR24 I got one of those and like it as much as my CZ. I have the tactical and like the checkering on the grip. For the money you may want to look at the M9-A1 Steyr they got at CDNN for $340. They are one Very unknown but high quality pistols. Personally I would look into the Cougar.
PS it uses a rotary Barrel lockup it's not roller locked
 
The stoeger is a deal for the money. The ruger p95 is usually a little cheaper, and I would recommend that, but out of what you listed I vote stoeger.
 
I picked up an AR-24 a few months ago and am very happy with it. Perhaps the most ergonomically comfortable gun I own, and I own a bunch. I was just shooting it today, in fact.

I've heard negative reports on the accuracy of the new Ruger. The AR is very accurate. Maybe not quite as much so as my Hi-Power, but close. Haven't shot a Cougar.

Per the previous comment on Beretta Cougars: They were much more expensive than the Stoeger-stamped guns, which are made in Turkey. $500-600 instead of the $350 you see on the Stoeger guns.

Good luck. There probably isn't a "wrong" choice.

-- Sam
 
of those listed , i would go for the couger. I used to own a beretta version that i wish i still had. The stoegers look and feel very good.
you might want to check out the FNP pistols also, they should be in the same price range.
 
The Armalite's got the best chance of having a genuinely good trigger. But I'm not sure why you'd go with a CZ clone when the real thing is so inexpensive and readily available.
 
Cougar! I love mine, can't say enough good things about it. The way to go thats for sure, very well made and I think a good lookin' gun too. IMHO
 
I'd go AR-24. For one, it's the only all-steel gun of the bunch. Secondly, it is a well executed CZ clone made by Sarsilmaz of Turkey. Lastly, even though Armalite doesn't actually make the gun, they have awesome CS are are just generally a pleasant company to deal with.

The Stoeger would be my second choice, as I always did like the Cougar.

I absolutely hate the new Rugers. Not only do they still have the owners manual printed on the gun, but they now include little red things that pop up all over screaming "It's loaded!".
 
I picked up the Stoeger Cougar a couple of weeks ago and I really like it.

no problems with it at all
 
Of the three choices I give another thumbs up for the Armalite AR-24.
Very well made and finished pistols and the triggers are better than stock CZs.
Like the fact or not it is true we sell both pistols lines along with Tangfolio Witness and the Armscour clone of clones.
I have compared them all on the trigger pull guage and the Armalite comes out on top consistently.
 
Thanks for all the advice - I went a looked at an AR 24, and SR9, and a Sig P226 at a gun shop a week ago. I like the AR 24 the best. A local gun shop has the 10rd version w/adjustable sights for $485 - that's the one I will probably get. I wil check a gun show tomorrow, but the $485 seems like a pretty good deal.

Mike
 
The AR-24 feels good, points well for me and is all steel. It's also about $140 more than the Stoeger, which also feels and looks very good, but isn't steel. I'll eventually buy both (that is, if they ever become available in CA); the AR-24 in 9mm and the Stoeger in .40. I hear it was originally designed as a .40 (when it was a Beretta), which makes optimal use of the rotating barrel design.
 
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