9mm Stoeger Cougar or CZ 75B compact/P01

[stevemis]

I was lucky enough to stumble on an almost NIB Beretta Cougar in 9mm at a gun show. It's Italian Inox and the fit and finish is lightyears ahead of the Stoger versions I've seen... as well as every CZ I own.

That being said, I prefer my CZ's. The Cougar was too good a deal to pass up, and it's a hard-to-find pistol... so I bit.

 

[Starcheck55]

I wanted a PO1 but couldnt find a good deal on one

Top Gun Supply has them in stock for 459...you won't find a better price anywhere.

 

[triplebike]

I have the Stoeger Cougar 9MM. I paid $369 new for it. I think it's one of the best handgun values available. It has been flawless. I have a CZ 75B on layaway that I paid $400 for. I wanted a full sized 9MM & it was between the Beretta 92FS & the CZ. Couldn't pass up the deal on the CZ, it'll be interesting how the two compare.

 

[labhound]

Here's a follow up to my original post. I bought the Cougar. It fit my hand better than the P01. It a soft shooter, accurate and fit and finish is very good. I have become a big fan of both Beretta/Stoeger and CZ, and I especially like the safety/decocker that the Beretta/Stoeger's have. I have a CZ 83 .380 that I really like, my wife has a Beretta Cheetah 85FS .380 and I have a 92FS Inox. I bought the 92 a couple of months ago and had narrowed my choices down to the 92 Inox and a CZ 75B Stainless. The 75B Stainless is still on my list to buy.

 

[triplebike]

Here's a follow up to my original post. I bought the Cougar. It fit my hand better than the P01. It a soft shooter, accurate and fit and finish is very good. I have become a big fan of both Beretta/Stoeger and CZ, and I especially like the safety/decocker that the Beretta/Stoeger's have. I have a CZ 83 .380 that I really like, my wife has a Beretta Cheetah 85FS .380 and I have a 92FS Inox. I bought the 92 a couple of months ago and had narrowed my choices down to the 92 Inox and a CZ 75B Stainless. The 75B Stainless is still on my list to buy.

Enjoy the Cougar, it's an excellent handgun. By the way It likes to be kept lubricated.

 

[twodogs]

labhound-
I think that you will love the cougar. I have had mine for about 2 years now. I looked at the cougar long & hard when it was made by Beretta. I am glad I waited & got the Stoeger version. It saved me about $250.

I have shot both the Beretta & Stoeger version. I could not tell the difference. The fit & finish is the same. The Stoeger is made using the original Beretta tooling. The gun is a great shooter. The only complaint that I have about it is the weight, but that is part of the trade-off, and I knew that going in...

Those that knock the gun, especially those that never held or fired it, surprise me. I never fired the CZ, so I can't give an honest opinion. IMO - when someone knocks a pistol, or anything for that matter, when they have no experience with it, it speaks volumes about them.

 

[CaptainHook]

I also bought a Cougar recently after doing tons of research on it. (the .40S+W) I was a little concerned that the quality might not be there considering the price and manufacturing move to Turkey, but I'm more than satisfied with my purchase. The fit and finish is very good, take-down is simple and easy, and it fires like a dream. It made its first trip to the range yesterday and proved to be very accurate with light recoil for a .40. (thanks to the rotating barrel I'm guessing) Recoil for me was an important factor since I only have one hand to shoot with, but I was able to group a pretty quick 10 rounds in a 2" spread at 15' the first day out.
The only two negatives I've run into with this pistol are the lack of aftermarket rubber grips produced for it, and the weight. It's really got some heft when loaded for its size.

 

[Nick5182]

I don't think you can go wrong with either. The cougar's grip, to me, feels exactly the same as a beretta 92, and in my opinion the CZ has better ergonomics. Like I said, either would be very acceptable for self defense.

 

[Gelgoog]

CZ every time. I have had two beretta cougars and they are fantastic guns in .40 which is what they were designed for. The cougar is over build for 9mm, the nice thing about the cougar is that its rotating barrel does wonders to reduce the snappy .40 but it is wasted on the 9mm.

IMHO having owned both, get the CZ. If you want a .40 then you can't go wrong with cougar, but as far as 9mm goes the 75compact/P01 is the best on the market.

 

[redarmy67]

Congrats on your new Cougar. I enjoy mine. My new P01 is amazing. Maybe you can get both at some point. I bought the cougar to save money on my first gun and then Top Gun Supply put the PO1 on sale and I ended up getting it as well.

 

[MightyPir]

as mentioned above, the CZ is more of a combat gun and the Cougar is more of a HD gun. I have shot with both and like them equally, though have found that the CZ (regular not compact) is a bit more accurate. However, the manual decocking and the more complex breakdown process was not my cup of tea.

The Cougar was significantly cheaper (at least here in Pakistan), feels great in the hand with good pointablity, breaks down easily and has a solid safety/decocker that allows the safety to be engaged when the weapon is chambered and the hammer down. In otherwords, its great for a HD type of a situation. Easier to train SWMO how to use it too.

It is a bit more bulky than the CZ but as its not a carry gun that's not an issue. Quality wise I do not have any issues, the finish is very good, reliability has been 100% over the last two years, and my dad was so impressed that he got one too!!!