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pgdion · January 2, 2014, 06:58 PM

Finally got to the range a couple of times to try the new Cougar out. Just a couple hundred rounds so far but the overall review can be summed up as Awesome!

I dropped the first magazine into the gun and with the first firing I fell in love with this gun and the round. Not nasty, harsh, or 'snappy' ... just a good strong push for recoil. We shot 165gr WWB and 180gr Federal bulk ammo. Both felt comparable, shot accurately, and we had zero issues in two outings. Three of us have shot the gun so far and everyone likes it a lot. Two thumbs up from all shooters.

I took two guns with for comparison, the 9mm Cougar to see how it compares to the 40s&w, and the 92FS as it is always my gold standard. I found the new Cougar to fall in exactly where I was hoping, similar to the others with just more push. The 92FS was still the all around smooth shooting winner with the 9mm Cougar being a bit more harsh but still very good. The 40 Cougar had the smoothness of the 92 but with more force. I'd call it a truely awesome shooting experience. Basically it's what I was trying to dial in with the .45 auto but could never quite get just right. I think this may be the most fun gun I own. I still want to compare it to the PX4 ... if I can just get my father in law to take his out and actually shoot it some time. ;-).

A couple of extra comments on the Cougar,
The finish on the gun is good. This one has a brushed look to the slide where as my older 9mm has a smooth satin look to it. The slide and barrel operation on this one is glass smooth as with the first. Probably the smoothest actions I have (along with the 92FS). When I was first looking it over, the serations on the slide seemed a bit sharp (edgier than my first Cougar). In actual use however I did not notice this, each time I racked the slide I didn't notice any roughness at all. Another plus with the Cougar is they still come with 2 magazines (as every gun should). There is one more noteworthy item. It used to be only the .45acp version came with a rail on it. I believe all versions come with a rail now ( at least the option is available). I'm not a big fan of rails on pistols, but as my other Cougar does not have one, I kind of like it as it makes the two guns a little bit different. Of course if you're a fan of rails, then it's good news.

January 2, 2014, 06:58 PM	#4
pgdion Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2010 Location: MPLS, MN Posts: 1,214	Finally got to the range a couple of times to try the new Cougar out. Just a couple hundred rounds so far but the overall review can be summed up as Awesome! I dropped the first magazine into the gun and with the first firing I fell in love with this gun and the round. Not nasty, harsh, or 'snappy' ... just a good strong push for recoil. We shot 165gr WWB and 180gr Federal bulk ammo. Both felt comparable, shot accurately, and we had zero issues in two outings. Three of us have shot the gun so far and everyone likes it a lot. Two thumbs up from all shooters. I took two guns with for comparison, the 9mm Cougar to see how it compares to the 40s&w, and the 92FS as it is always my gold standard. I found the new Cougar to fall in exactly where I was hoping, similar to the others with just more push. The 92FS was still the all around smooth shooting winner with the 9mm Cougar being a bit more harsh but still very good. The 40 Cougar had the smoothness of the 92 but with more force. I'd call it a truely awesome shooting experience. Basically it's what I was trying to dial in with the .45 auto but could never quite get just right. I think this may be the most fun gun I own. I still want to compare it to the PX4 ... if I can just get my father in law to take his out and actually shoot it some time. ;-). A couple of extra comments on the Cougar, The finish on the gun is good. This one has a brushed look to the slide where as my older 9mm has a smooth satin look to it. The slide and barrel operation on this one is glass smooth as with the first. Probably the smoothest actions I have (along with the 92FS). When I was first looking it over, the serations on the slide seemed a bit sharp (edgier than my first Cougar). In actual use however I did not notice this, each time I racked the slide I didn't notice any roughness at all. Another plus with the Cougar is they still come with 2 magazines (as every gun should). There is one more noteworthy item. It used to be only the .45acp version came with a rail on it. I believe all versions come with a rail now ( at least the option is available). I'm not a big fan of rails on pistols, but as my other Cougar does not have one, I kind of like it as it makes the two guns a little bit different. Of course if you're a fan of rails, then it's good news. __________________ 597 VTR, because there's so many cans and so little time!