petej55, et al.: Steyr M357 vs Cougar 8357?

M

Mike P. Wagner

New member
My "poor man's alternative to the .357 SIG" (a CZ-52 shooting the 7.62 x 25 Tokarev) cracked its slide last week. I have been thinking about replacing it with the real thing. The CZ-52 is very cool, but it's pretty far out pf the mainstream, hard to get parts for, etc.

I have read petej55's glowing review of the Steyr M357, and also at least one other glowing review bu Extremist. I am leaning heavily toward saving my pennies for the M357.

One other choice occurs to me, the Cougar 8357. One regional difference might make this a good choice- the North Carolina Highway Patrol is going to the 8357, which may mean that parts and ammo will be readily available in NC for this pistol. Is this a correct supposition?

The core of the tradeoff looks to me to be weight vs. low bore axis. The Cougar is a little heavier (32.4 oz vs 28 oz), but it looks like it has a much higher bore axis. I don't know what to make of Beretta's claim that the rotating barrel absorbs a lot of energy. The most extensive .357 SIG shooting that I have done is in a SIG P239, which is 27.4 ounces, and I was comfortable with that, so I don't know how to evaluate these differences.

How would people compare the Steyr M357 and Cougar 8357?

BTW, if you want to rant and rave about how the .357 SIG is the instrument of the Devil, please start a new thread. I've already picked the caliber. :)

Thanks,

Mike P. Wagner
 
Both are good guns. The Cougar is in the lead in the sense of having agencies using it now. The Cougar also has very light felt recoil since it's so heavy and has a short barrel.

The M357 is pretty cool. But it depends how the new Steyr Company owner will support it. Right now it's still not available in the "special" states like CA, etc.
 
I just got mail from the people at gunfinder.net that said that the Cougar's had been recalled. Do you know anything about that? They also said that the Steyr "is not out yet", but someone else repsonded they'd bought one. Do you know anything about that?


Thanks,

Mike P. Wagner
 
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