Any Beretta (Stoeger ) Cougar owners out there ? This is my absolute favorite pistol

[awfulkanawful]

Im new here...My name is Ron. After having purchased about 10 handguns in various calibers and configurations in the last 20 months I settled on one gun as my alltime favorite. Its the Beretta (stoeger) Cougar in 9mm . I now own 4 ! 3 are stashed throughout the house , the other is my everything else gun. I have shot alot of pistols , and the Cougar just absolutely fills my ticket as for the love of one gun. Im comfortable , accurate ,and secure with my abilities as far as one can be.
Past pistols were various revolvers , S&W 4006 and 4506 , Beretta 92 and 96 A-1 , also ruger P94 and a Beretta .40 storm. I want to hear from others about the love , hate , or experience with the cougar.....so lets hear it. At the range someone is always amazed at the accuracy and handling of one of my Cougars , as far as quality , recoil ,reliability , feel , and also price. Im NOT saying its better than any other pistol....It IS what I settled on for myself , and I wasnt expecting a gun made in turkey to impress me as it has.....period. I DO shoot ALOT , and after appx 5000 rounds through these combined have had ZERO misfeeds , jams , etc....They digest ANY ammo so far , as well as my crappy , quickly made handloads from range brass that comes from god knows what or where.
I DO own a SR1911 .45, and also am looking hard at a Springfield XDM (just to say I have a poly).....but just dont really like polymer pistols. Still....for me the COUGAR RULES for my standards as being my perfect fit and function.

 

[2wheels]

Used to have a Stoeger Cougar I used as a range toy and occasional truck gun, gave it to a friend when he turned 21 and got his CCW permit.

For the money it's a great handgun and I'm not afraid to recommend other people at least take a look at it. But as for me, I'll never warm up to Berettas slide mounted safety/decocker. If I ever get another DA/SA 9mm it won't be a Cougar, maybe a Sig SP2022.

 

[Dave1965]

I had one of the full size not the compact. Good and cheap price gun. Same quality as beretta since same company owns them. It just always felt a little clunky in my hands so I got rid of it.

 

[Pukindog12]

When I purchased my first 9mm it was a Stoeger Cougar 8000F. Right off the bat I loved it! I liked it so much I soon acquired a 2nd one.

I especially like the ergonomics. Fits my hand like a glove. Very reliable (flawless so far) and very accurate (at least in my hands). Fit and finish are great. The only thing I would change on it would be to move the safety/decocker to the frame.

So as to not inadvertently activate the safety while racking the slide I converted both of mine to a decocker only (8000G) version. If you are interested in doing the conversion here it is:

http://berettaforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=56105

 

[awfulkanawful]

Pukindog.....This is VERY interesting

So in essence it is decocker only , springs back into fire mode ? I gotta check this out some more before I convert all 4 ! The inadvertent possibility of the safety being put on would then be completely alleviated ? This makes complete sense to me.

 

[labhound]

I have two Stoeger Cougars, a 9mm 8000 F and a .45ACP 8045. Love both! Perfect grip fit for my hand, 100% reliable, accurate, and IMHO a steal for the price!

 

[wbwanzer]

Welcome Ron.

I love my Cougars also. Great pistols, especially for the money. Here is my 9mm with Beretta grips and my more recently purchased .45.

 

[2wheels]

So in essence it is decocker only , springs back into fire mode ? I gotta check this out some more before I convert all 4 ! The inadvertent possibility of the safety being put on would then be completely alleviated ? This makes complete sense to me.

It never made any sense to me that Beretta pushes their safety/decocker models, while decocker only models are very difficult to find.

What do I know though... I was raised by a Sig fanboy, I think safeties on DA/SA guns are silly.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Two police trade-in 8040Gs (DAO) here - my favorite .40. Thanks, CDNN...

 

[jhco]

bought a Beretta about the time the stoger came out. I was intrigued by the design but didn't care to own a stoger so I found a unfired beretta 8000 in box with 5 extra mags. Paid 500 for it and have never fired it. I just never had the need to, Maybe I will one day.

 

[unmitigatedaudacity]

Been packing an 8045F Mini-Cougar for a decade now...

...as my primary daily carry piece. Her name is Isabella, and she fit my hand like a glove the first time I saw her. I have large hands, so the model is really good for me, and as a big guy I'm able to wear the Cougar concealed without too much trouble. (I keep a Sig P238 in my front pocket, and carry spare mag's for both. Being a giant has its advantages; I have lots of places to hide spare mag's.)

(Okay, I realize what I just said. Keep it professional. Don't go there.)

I bought the Mini variety because the shape of the 8-round mag's fit my hand better than the full size Cougar. I'm feeling a bit jealous now that Stoeger is offering the 8045 with a rail, but I'm experimenting with a couple of options for adding a rail to Isabella. Nothing seems promising except having a machinist CNC a shim to add to the dust cover. If I can get it to work out I'm planning to add a Viridian C5L and have a Kydex pancake holster custom made at Alabama Holster Company.

Would anyone else out there be in interested in having a shim so they can add a rail to their Cougar?

I'd love to locate some 8-round magazine spacers or some complete 8-round mag's for my Mini, but I've googled the known universe and come up dry. If anyone has any available, please drop me a line. I have a 6-round mag I'm never going to use again if anyone wants it.

All the best,

George

 

[hAkron]

If you are interested in adding to the collection, Wideners has the original Beretta version

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100000365&dir=700|1012|1026

And in .45

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100000364&dir=700|1012|1026