Well, I got an Italian cat yesterday.

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AZGlock13

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I decided to buy one of the Beretta 8040D mini Cougars in the latest CDNN catalog for $289 (shipping was an additional $13). I figured I can't pass on that great price. This is my first Beretta Cougar. Their catalog lists them as Excellent to LNIB condition, but I would consider mine that I just got closer to Very Good to Excellent (it has some minor holster and use wear here and there, but nothing major). It came with some brand of metal night sights installed on it (they don't have any markings on them like Trijicon and Meps usually do (maybe the markings have just worn off)), which are probably around 8 years old or so (the sights still glow fairly well in the dark, just not as brightly as new night sights do). It came with one used 11rd LEO marked 8040 mag with the spacer adapter installed. I bought two NIB 8rd 8040 mini mags ($25 each) from them at the same time. The gun was kind of dirty inside and outside and had a lot of grease on the barrel lug and the removable locking block part. I gave it and the mag a good cleaning. It is looking a lot better now. The DAO trigger pull and feel is really nice on this pistol (fairly light for a DA pull and very smooth and consistent, kinda reminds me of my trigger pull on my S&W model 65 revolver). I haven't gotten a chance to take it out to the range and shoot it yet, but I'm fairly sure this baby is going to shine.

Here's a few pics I took of it after cleaning it up:


Cougar1.jpg


Cougar2.jpg
 
AZGlock13

I was just looking at those the other night, in response to someone who posted the question what could they buy for $300. I told them about the used Beretta 92's and 96's, and then I saw the Cougar and added that one to the list as well. What I'm curious about is how well does it handle with the shorter 8 rd. mags. It seems like you don't have enough grip to work with unless you go to the longer mags with the spacer. I'll await your range report.
 
Yep, with the flush fitting 8rd mags my pinkie finger has to curl underneath the mag (no where for the pinkie finger to grip). With the full size 11rd mag with spacer, no problem at all getting your pinkie finger on (plenty of room); however, I suspect conceal carrying the Cougar with the full size mag will print a lot more than with the 8rd mag. It will be interesting to see how controllable it is to shoot it with the 8rd mags, instead of the full mag. I'm sure hoping the 8rd mags will feel comfortable enough and I will have good enough control while shooting it, since that's how I want/plan to carry it concealed.
 
AzGlock13

That's what I was thinking too; would you have enough of your hand on the shortened grip to maintain control. Didn't the Cougar design utilize a locking system which featured a lug on the barrel, which ran inside a track within the slide, in order to rotate the barrel in and out of battery? If so, this would help with matters of control and handling, as the rotating barrel system is rather effective in minimizing the amount of torque and recoil that's generated when the gun is fired.
 
XavierBreath, Thanks for posting that great range report! I see you have the DA/SA type F one (I wish my Cougar looked cosmetically as nice as yours does (sharp looking Berettas you have there). My Cougar's DAO type D trigger is pretty nice (IMHO). I have a Beretta PX4 type F 9mm and a Beretta 9000S type F 9mm and find the type D trigger pull weight on the Cougar about somewhere between the weight of the DA and SA trigger pull on my other Beretta pistols. I guess the proof will come at the range.
 
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