stoeger cougar

[chute2thrill]

i'm in the market for my first handgun... for home defense and recreational shooting... i kinda have my mind set on a stoeger cougar because its cheap and made by beretta... on paper it looks like a nice pistol...but i don't know anything about the rotating barrel action... it sounds a little too complicated to be reliable... does anyone have this gun and have they done any reliability tests?

 

[possum]

welcome to THR, there are many great choices out there, if the couger feels good to you then there is no reason that you shouldn't go for it. and i think the couger would be a great start everything that i have read about them has been positive. IIRC they aren't made by berretta, it is a berretta design that was originally called the couger 8000 IIRC. there is no reason that you should feel that the rotating barrel should have any effect on reliability. there are many guns out there that have that in common with the stoger couger. IIRC stoger is turkish built. wait a little while and i am sure that someone with more intel about the design and the gun in particular will pop up here. i say get 9mm cheaper ammo, just my opinion.

 

[balin]

I have had no problem with mine. Check into the ruger Storm as it is one of there new models and uses the same rotating barrel.

Whoops Berretta I mean.

 

[DevilDog0402]

I have had no problem with mine. Check into the ruger Storm as it is one of there new models and uses the same rotating barrel.

Are you talking about the Beretta PX4 or the Ruger SR9?

 

[makarovnik]

I'd love to have one but can't find one anywhere. My gun shop says they have a six month waiting list to special order it. Awesome weapon!

 

[Scratchy]

My buddy loves his Cougar. All I've heard was good things.

 

[jzimm9mm]

I have the Beretta Cougar 8000, which is identically the same gun as far as I know. The rotating barrel is actually very simple and there is no reason to question the reliability of the pistol. I've put thousands of rounds through mine with no problems.

Southern Ohio gun (www.southernohiogun.com) is advertising quite a few new and used Beretta Cougars in their mail flyer for very reasonable prices. You might want to give them a call, or have your favorite FFL call them up.

Jer..

 

[balin]

Sorry I ment Beretta not Ruger. Just got home from the graveyard shift and was more brain dead then usual. Here is a quick link that mentions the 2 of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_Px4_Storm

 

[RPCVYemen]

... i kinda have my mind set on a stoeger cougar because its cheap and made by beretta... on paper it looks like a nice pistol...

See if you can rent a Cougar somewhere. I was fascinated by the rotating barrel design - it seems to make more sense not to be moving the barrel up and down!

Then I rented one. I found that it really doesn't fit my hand. I have big paws, but pretty stubby little fingers. While I could control the Cougar, it felt a little "over full" in my hand.

I ended up going with an AR-24. It felt better in may hand.

I also realized that while the rotating barrel seems like it should be a more accurate design, there are plenty of really accurate tilt-barrels out there. And most of them can shoot more accurately than I can.

If you can't find a Cougar to rent, you may me able to test ride a Beretta 92. I don't really know, but it may have the same ergonomics as a Cougar.

Mike

 

[jhco]

no offense but when you can buy a used beretta in any caliber in great condition somtimes in the box if you really look, for $400~ why would you buy a stoeger, but thats just my opinion and i collect berettas

 

[FieroCDSP]

Nothing wrong with the Cougar. It's the same as the Beretta Cougar, only made in Turkey. Mine shoots just fine, perhaps even more accurately than me. Easy to field-strip for cleaning, and after you figure it out, the detail strip is straight-forward. It's a bit blocky, but less so than the Ruger P95. The weight is just fine and the ergos are okay.

Here's my posting on the one I bought.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=297529

In any case, if it fits you, and is reasonably priced, there's no reason not to go with it. Just because it's "not a Beretta" in name, doesn't mean it's less of a gun. I'd take a new NIB gun than a used one.

 

[jhco]

your right but if kia bought the patent from bmw for the m3 and started making it in korea then its still a korean kia and not, "Just like the M3 but with the kia name on it". lets be real here I know its a great gun just as good as the beretta but all im saying is since you can pick up a like new used beretta for the same price as a new stoeger then i going for the real deal

Plus whats the deal with the 9mm stoegers slide haveing that weird angle cut on the front of it and the 40 looking normal. All the berettas have the same look no matter what caliber it is

 

[UTdave]

I recently bought the Stoeger Cougar 9mm as my first handgun, mostly because of the "value" (I'm getting a Beretta for 1/2 the price!). It's a nice gun, but I'm not totally happy with my purchase, for a couple reasons. I don't feel like I shoot it as accurately as say, a Glock 22. I'll blame myself for the poor accuracy, although I have gotten a lot of shots where I swear I was aiming better than where the shot ended up, my groups look like crap compared to some other guns I've shot. Again, I'm not necessarily blaming the gun for that, but I've left the range a little frustrated. Size - it's got a 3.6" barrel - decidedly compact in length, but it's 5.5" tall (decidely full size), with a thick grip, making it hard to conceal.

Anyways, it's a nice gun that I didn't have to break the bank for, but now that I'm getting my CCW, I need something smaller, and I'm thinking about something bigger that will be a better target shooter and HD gun, so I'm already seeing myself selling this gun in the near future. The nice thing is, even though I paid full retail at $350, I bet I can sell it for close to $300, so it is a safe bet in that regard.

 

[jhco]

should have bought the beretta for $50 more and you could have gotten all your money back when you sold it also it might have worked out better for you mine shoot great.

 

[Librarian]

UTDave, I think the problem may be the sights.

I shoot 'adequately' for SD with my Glocks. I have a very hard time with my Beretta Cougar 8045.

I like the Glock "U" rear sight; I really dislike 3-dot. Maybe it's the bifocals...

 

[ajoker31]

I bought a Stoeger Cougar 9mm after reading a gun rag about how accurate it was (If I recall they had 2" groups at 25 yards). I figured that it was worth $320 to give it a chance. I really liked everything about it, except the accuracy. It was all I could do to get a 6" group at 15 yards from a bench. I've owned many guns, but it was the worst as far as accuracy (may be a fluke and I got a lemon or something).

I sold it and purchased a Beretta PX4 in .40 and a 92fs Inox.....both outstanding guns. The PX4 has the same rotating barrel and shoots very well. Most of my guns are for target plinking but my Glock 19 and PX4 are my SD pistols. If your on a budget and looking for a nice 9mm I'd check out CZ (PO1 or CZ-75), Glock 19 (if your looking to carry), PX4 if like the rotating barrel design.

First, get to a range and find out what feels good and shoots well for you. Good luck.

Joker

 

[tbreihan]

i'm in the market for my first handgun... for home defense and recreational shooting... i kinda have my mind set on a stoeger cougar because its cheap and made by beretta... on paper it looks like a nice pistol...but i don't know anything about the rotating barrel action... it sounds a little too complicated to be reliable... does anyone have this gun and have they done any reliability tests?

I don't own a Cougar, but I shot a lightly used one for sale at a local range. It was a .40, and I am in the market for a 9, but it was a very nice gun with an attractive price.

If the grip on a 92FS doesn't bother you, you'll probably love the Cougar. Trigger reach is similar, but the grip has a smaller overall circumference. Hand-filling, but comfy and easy to grab onto.

The thing I DON'T like about the Cougar... It is fairly large gun that handles like a small gun. Recoil is not bad, but the sight radius is short and the barrel is only 3.6 inches. If it had a 4 inch barrel, it would be perfect.

 

[wingnut]

I have a Stoeger Cougar 8000 as well. It has been great and I really have no complaints at all. No failures ~1000 rounds. All good.

 

[monadh]

My Stoeger

has been excellent. I can shoot 2 to 3 inch groups at 25 yards offhand (I am convinced the rotating barrel enhances accuracy), it has not failed to load and fire each time, and it is well made. It fits my hand well, and is my daily carry. I have found it to be as reliable and accurate as my HK P30.

I bought the Cougar to replace a CZ P-01 that was nothing but trouble from the start.

You will hear all sorts of opinions about this pistol or that, but the choice is up to you. Every company has made a lemon, and lemons get a lot of "press" on the internet. If a pistol fits your budget and your intended use, buy it. I personally would rather have the Stoeger than any other pistol within $200 of the price.

 

[Kymasabe]

Cougar

I owned the Stoeger Cougar in both 9mm and .40cal and both were very, very accurate. The only gun I own that I shoot more accurately is my Sig P226 9mm. I put a few thousand rounds thru both guns without a single problem. I felt that they were both light-recoiling guns and well worth what I paid for them. Excellent investments.

By the way, Stoeger is owned by Beretta. The Stoeger Cougars are made on the same machinery as the old Beretta Cougars. Beretta finally got permission by the Turkish gov't to manufacture handguns, the Cougar equipment was piled in a corner, so they shipped it to Turkey, build identical Cougars with it, and stamp a different name on the side. The only complaints I've heard is that perhaps the finish isn't quite up to Beretta standards. Mine had some very minor tool marks that really didn't matter to me.

 

[monadh]

Now that I've noticed

There are slight differences in the way the Stoeger slide is machined and how the Beretta slide was machined. Will that difference mean the holsters that fit the Beretta won't work on the Stoeger? What holsters do you use for your Stoeger Cougar?

 

[aji]

Have both the 9mm & the 40S&W. Both were excellent out of the box. Have about 1500 rounds thru the 9 and about 500 rounds thru the 40. Not a single problem with either. Bianchi model 100 professional IWB fits both.