Stoeger Cougar

[Beergut]

I saw one of these in 9mm today at Gander Mountain. I've never seen this brand discussed on this board...is anybody familiar?

Stoeger Industries | HD Video

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[PNUT]

Do a search, there have been a couple of threads lately on it.

[retsupt99]

This will explain it all...

Huey's Gunsight: Stoeger Cougar 8000 9mm - Beretta on the Cheap!

Scroll down to Beretta on the Cheap...

[jwhite75]

Like he said Beretta on the cheap...overall an excellent value of a gun.

[rhrocket22]

I have the Beretta Cougar .45, if its anything like mine you will really likey!!!

[pirate]

A Turkish made Cougar basically, and a very good value in a quality made handgun. Turkey has a highly established firearms history and industry. Along with the Bersa pistols, and used police/or military imports like the CZ 82 and SIG P6 they are one of the true handgun bargins out there.

[JBPDXOR]

I researched numerous pistols and found the Cougar 8000 9mm to be my first DA/SA gun. I have over 800 rounds of various brands of ammo without a single FTF. The rotatying barrel makes sense to me. However, I am not well versed in the kick of a 9mm. My 9mm is easy to lockup back on the target for a follow up a shot. I like the design as I can pull the hammer back for single action or just pull the trigger for DA. Finally, I like the all metal gun versus a plastic one. So the little extra weight helps is recoil.
You can find out a lot more by researching both Beretta handgun forum and Stoeger forum.
BTW, Beretta has 15 capacity magazines for 19.95 each.

[xdcolorado]

I never really fell in love with the feel of my Springfield XD9SC and sold it. I actually preferred shooting my 1971 Polish P64 vs. the XD...odd I know. When I analyzed it, I found it was the hammer vs. striker, the manual safety vs. none, the DA/SA and most importantly how the gun pointed/aligned with my hand/arm...the P64 was natural. The XD wasn't. What did I do?????

I bought the Stoeger Cougar 8000 9mm a few days ago. I've had it to the range twice. In the hand, it feels better, points better and shoots better (for me) than the XD. The feel is SOOOO much better to me. It's like the difference between a finely designed and built mechanical watch (Omega, Rolex, etc.) vs. a very nice Seiko or Citizen. Nothing wrong with the the Seiko or Citizen - but I prefer the other.

The Cougar really is that different to me. It feels like part of me. I've put about 200 rounds of WWB and 50 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense thought it. I've had 3 FTE, all with WWB and with ONE MAGAZINE, not the other. At this point, since it is ejection, I chalk this up to a break in period. If I am still getting FTE after I hit about 500 rounds, I'll send it in for Beretta/Stoeger service. At this point, I'm not concerned at all!!!!

I'm waiting for my permit to arrive. In the meantime, carrying at home, it conceals MUCH better than my subcompact XD did (even thought the Cougar is longer at 7.0"). If this Stoeger is a good indicator of overall Beretta design, build, etc. I may become a Beretta guy! I like it that much!

[czman2006]

I plan on going to Gander Mountain this Tuesday (06-30-09) and having the Cougar in .40 put on layaway. Been drooling over it for a two months!

[Chunkychuck]

My cougar is the .40s&w version. It is the first handgun I have owned so I don't have anything else to compare it to but I haven't had any issues with it firing after 200 rounds or so. My son was up last weekend and I was interested in his opinion. Ex-marine and currently LEO in St. Louis area, all his handguns are Glocks. His comments were: felt good in his hands, thought the DA pull was long, but smooth, and once the gun was SA it had a good letoff. Made me feel better about my purchase.

[Eagleks]

I can't say about the Stoeger Cougar, as I have a Beretta Cougar. However, when we held mine against the Stoeger, we couldn't easiliy see any difference. The tooling they are using is the same Beretta tooling used to build it. Do not know if they changed any materials or the grade of the materials used.

I have had mine about 15 yrs. It has never failed , no FTF's, no issues what-so-ever and still looks new. It shoots well and holds up well, and will shoot any ammo I put in it of the right caliber. What else can I ask for ?