Cougar .40 - Do I Own A Lemon?

Gusgus

New member
Even though I've been a "gun owner" for 25 years, I've really only gotten into handguns about a year ago. One of my first acquisitions was a Beretta Cougar in .40. I couldn't hit the side of a barn with this gun, but attributed it to my inexperience and the inherent inaccuracy of the caliber.

Well, I went to the range this afternoon with my brother & son in law. Since I hadn't shot the Cougar in over a year, a decided to take it along. To make a long story short, the Cougar was printing all over the place. I'm talking 10" to 12" groups off hand at 10 yards. I put the same ammo in my .40 Walther P99, and shot the center out of the target. We where doing fine with an assortment of autos & wheelguns in 9mm, .40, .357 sig, .357 mag, and .44 mag, but none of us could shoot a respectable group with either my brother's 9mm Cougar, or my .40 Cougar. Of the two, the .40 was by far the worse.

Many on these boards seem to love their Cougars, so what's up with ours? Both where purchased new, both have less than 500 rounds through them, and they where not the shortest barreled guns of the group. Could it be that the three of us just don't know how to shoot this gun, or should they be going back to the factory. I can't see anything wrong with these pistols - the barrels seem to fit well, bushings are tight, etc. I'm ready to trade the gun in, but am a little concerned with putting an inaccurate POS is the hands of someone that may not discover this, until it's too late.
 
Have a certified instructor (range master of some type)shoot your pistol. That way, you MIGHT be able to determine if it is the gun, or you. My first impressions are that its the gun (since you shoot the other pistols accurately). But, still have an expert shoot your Cougars (for a second opinion).
 
I had some problems with a rental Cougar in .40 recently. I would shoot a nice 2 inch group at maybe 10 yards (good for me) and then get a flyer that would almost miss the target completely, maybe 12 inches off center. This happened repeatedly with the Cougar, but with no other gun I tried, for the first time ever I felt justified in blaming the gun and not my shooting. Otherwise I found it to be a very nice pistol to shoot, but if the gun can't hit what you're aiming at, what's the point ?

Mike H
 
I have a Cougar .45 that easily groups 3-4" at 25', and will go down to 2-3 with a little practice. It's my car gun, so I shoot it twice a year for function check, but overall, it's been pretty accurate for a short barreled .45. I'd get a second opinion and then send it back to the factory if necessary. Good luck. M2
 
I love my Cougar 8040. Never an accuracy problem for me.
 
Gusgus,

I would tend to agree with Quantum Singularity and advise getting a second opinion. If they can't do any better it's time to send the pistol back to Beretta.

I don't have a .40 but I love my Cougar .45. I shoot it at 25 yards because 25 feet is no longer a challenge. It's that accurate.

Good luck.

Joe/Ga
 
I had a Similar problem with a .32 tomcat I ended up sending it to Beretta they had it a week or so sent it back, It shot just fine then but I never found out what they did to it,I did see a new extractor,I cannot believe that was the Problem,But it did shoot straight after that
 
Yeah,
I know that most Cougar owners really like theirs, and I really hate trading in ANY of my guns. I'll take it to the range, the next time, and see if someone more experienced can shoot it straight, or even try a bench rest. If there is something wrong with the pistol, I think I'll give Beretta a chance to fix it, before considering a trade in. Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
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