Cougar 8040 Problems.

[bikermutt07]

I can only see the pictures, but I'd say that is normal wear for a cougar.

Mine is isn't nearly as pristine as your barrel.

I just filed the burrs and carried on.

A rotating barrel design is going to wear itself in. I doubt it will give any failures.

Keep it properly lubed, stay safe, and keep on shooting.

[bikermutt07]

Here are some pics of my barrel before I filed.

[bikermutt07]

And here are two more pics.




I hope this helps and eases your worries.

[JohnKSa]

I don't see anything in the OP's pics that looks alarming in the least.

The portion of the lug that has been rounded is not important to lockup. The lockup is only depending on the flat edge of the lug facing the camera. As long as that isn't being deformed and as long as the gun cycles, there isn't any cause for concern as far as safety goes.

The wear on the bottom of the barrel is where the barrel bears against the support area of the locking block and also isn't a cause for concern.

I'd keep shooting it. I can't see a reason not to.

You can use a light grease on the worn areas and on the interface between the locking block and the barrel "tooth" to cut down on wear in the future.

[Boom Boom Boom]

After all the talk about how banged up the gun was, I am happy you posted pics. I think you exagerated the "defects" a bit. That is normal wear. When metal rubs metal, metal wears.

What really burns me is how you are berating Stoeger over nothing. It seems to me they made a great product, were fair, responsive, and conclusive. Please correct me if I am wrong, but if I understand what your saying this is what happened=

-Bought a gun that felt perfect in your hand
-fired it extensively
-it shot accurately
-it shot reliably
-you loved it

Then you took it apart and showed it to some "gunsmith" who I'm sure has a hammer and a file and is therefore an "expert" on the Stoeger Cougar who told you it was clearly defective. So you sent it to the manufacturer, who recieved it, evaluated and returned it within 2 weeks. The manufacturer's (Stoeger, by the way has been in the gun business for 50 years) trained professional gunsmiths who have seen thousands of cougars told you it was fine and normal wear. They even personally called and actually spoke to you (or the gunsmith i dont recall) AND it still shoots perfectly...

Yet after all that you are convinced its a defective product and Stoeger did you wrong in some way?

About the only thing i would agree with is that they should have reblued the barrel, but then again it would have just worn off eventually so does that even matter? not really.

I dont get why you are so mad?

[superfleet]

First off the "gunsmith" is the "gunsmith at YOUR dealer, if he has not been trained to evaluate YOUR pistols, maybe that's something YOU should look into. Why is it my problem, or duty, to evaluate the gunsmith at a dealer listed on your website for competence? Seems to me that if you dont, nobody will.

(Stoeger, by the way has been in the gun business for 50 years)

Why is that relevant?

trained professional gunsmiths who have seen thousands of cougars told you it was fine and normal wear.

LOL, trained gunsmiths who stone a barrel roughly, then hit it with cold blue? Give me a break dude.

AND it still shoots perfectly

Never said it didnt, at all, ever. I dont know why you, or the guys you work for keep bringing that up. To me it's a non issue whether it shoots now. The future is what I am concerned with.

i would agree with is that they should have reblued the barrel

If there was nothing wrong with the pistol, why blue it at all? It wouldnt have needed to be blued had the "factory" not FIXED a pistol that was just fine in the first place? If it was just peachy (like they, and you say it is) why stone the barrel at all?

Look, it's like this. It can be summed up really easily.

I have never owned a Cougar.

I noticed some wear, and brought it to the attention of the gunsmith at the dealer where I purchased it

He told me that it was "potentially" dangerous.

I sent it back, or rather the gunsmith sent it back at my cost.

I got no phone calls from Stoeger CS telling me what they were going to do to the pistol, until it was already back at the range, when I called them to ask what they did.

Obviously I was wrong about it being "potentially dangerous", or I should say that I was misinformed by someone who should know better. That is not Stoegers fault, and I can admit that. I wont be having any dealings with that dealer again.

I fault Stoeger for:

Fixing a pistol that wasnt broken, and doing a crappy job of it. My ignorance in not knowing it wasnt broken, I can explain by saying I have never owned one, and took the gunsmiths advice. They have no such excuse.

Not keeping me informed about what they were going to do to my property.

Other than that I consider the case closed as I no longer have the handgun as of this afternoon, I traded it for an M&P with another dealer.

[superfleet]

I don't see anything in the OP's pics that looks alarming in the least.

The portion of the lug that has been rounded is not important to lockup. The lockup is only depending on the flat edge of the lug facing the camera. As long as that isn't being deformed and as long as the gun cycles, there isn't any cause for concern as far as safety goes.

The wear on the bottom of the barrel is where the barrel bears against the support area of the locking block and also isn't a cause for concern.

I'd keep shooting it. I can't see a reason not to.

You can use a light grease on the worn areas and on the interface between the locking block and the barrel "tooth" to cut down on wear in the future.

Dont get me wrong, but I posted to several forums asking what everybody else thought of it, and got no such replies as yours. If I had, I might have felt comfortable telling the "gunsmith" to go pound sand. It would have saved my 35 bucks, and lots of typing, and lots pf phone calls. Oh well. Since you are a staff member please feel free to delete this thread if you wish. Thank you.

[wpsdlrg]

The initial comments you received were all based on your descriptions, without photos. That was a mistake, at least on my part. I can only speak for myself when I say that, once I saw the photos, it became clear that there probably was little or nothing wrong with the pistol, in the first place. Next time, I'll be sure to dig a bit deeper, before assuming that someone's descriptions are well founded.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy your M&P. Good shooting.

[JohnKSa]

Dont get me wrong, but I posted to several forums asking what everybody else thought of it, and got no such replies as yours.

You posted the pictures and everyone who responded still thought there was a safety issue?

To be clear, I'm not saying that's perfectly normal wear, but you were concerned about the safety of shooting the gun. That's why I responded that I didn't see anything that looks alarming--and I still don't.