[pgdion]

I finally got my .40 S&W, the winner is (drum roll please) .... the Cougar.

I was leaning towards the Magnum Research MR40 but after looking it over again, I wasn't 100% sold on it. I liked the idea of having a gun from my home state but between the poly, the striker, and the slide fit (the .40 looked good but the 9mm next to it looked a little off) I wasn't quite sold. The fit and finish on the Cougar on the other hand is fantastic and it had all the features I wanted, metal frame, hammer fired, DA/SA trigger.

The runner up was the FNX40, I really like that gun too (maybe some day). The FNX is a nice gun but the Cougar has a better grip and comes in almost $200 less.

Here's the kicker, if you want a Cougar, you may want to look now. The price tag on the gun was $469 at Gander. Seemed high but the .40 does have the rail now and that did add about $40 to the .45 before. I decided to pick it up and am glad I did. The register didn't ring $469, it rang up at $549. Gander adjusted the price for me without issue of course but it looks like the price has gone up and I was lucky that the old tag was still in the case.

I sure love the new Cougar, glass smooth operation. Can't wait to get out and shoot it! I'll post a review in the future comparing the 9mm Cougar to the 40.