Stoger Cougar problems.

S

sigxder

New member
I've read lots of good things about the Stoger Cougar. I felt it compared to the PX4 and actually liked the feel of the Cougar better. Got it home and stripped it, cleaned it, lubed it up and took it shooting today. I took 200 rounds of the Fedral Champion 115gr. 9mm fmj. 150 rounds no problems at all. After that the gun stopped lockng the slide back on the last round. Then started having failure to feed. Used two mags and it did it with both of them. So are these guns with th rotating barrel very sensitive to getting dirty?
As I said I cleaned and lubed the gun well before I shot it. Just wondering after 150 rounds it might gummed the gun up. It really shouldn't be that easy for 150 rounds to cause the gun problems. I've gone to some shooting schools and put 500+ rounds through SIGS, Glocks, XD's, Beretta 96G Elite, with no problems. Let me say up front I really like the gun.
No tool marks. Finish seems to be good to very good. Like the three dot sight set up. Hope I can find some nightsights for it. The frame to slide fit was very loose which kind of surprised me. Got quite a bit of play in the slide and the gun rattles when shaken. I'm used to that on guns with thousands of rounds through them. Not a new gun. But all of them at the shop I purchased from. Trigger not as good as my SIGS. But decent and should get better with breaking in. Well back to the original question.
Again it happened with two brand new mags so not a mag problem. My grip was good and tight. Also started having failures to feed soon after the slide lock problem. Maybe got a bad box of Federal towards the end of my shooting session. Maybe underpowered???? That and the dirt from the previous rounds????? I'm going to shoot it tomorrow with diferent ammo. Any ideas?? If it has the same problems tomorrow back to Stoeger. Love the feel and balance of this gun. It just feels great in the hand for a double stack. Hope I don't have to go through a major ordeal. Hope it's just a glitch with a new gun.
 
A friend of mine bought one of those cougars in 40 shorty when Beretta began production on them...paid handsomely for it too, but its a nice handling weapon. So far, not a lot of problems with it but we did notice it favored handloads towards the stout end. He had a lot of issues with starting loads for almost every powder he tried, but once he passed the middle weights of the recommended charges, things began to improve a lot. His issues were similar to yours. FTF's failure to lock back and such....
 
Stoeger Cougar is indeed a nice gun, however, I have experienced occasional failures to feed with this handgun.

I have so far used 5 different Stoeger Cougars and fired over 600 rounds with them, not less than 100 rounds with any one of them. Except one, other four had min one and max 4 failures to feed in over 100 rounds fired through them. Every time, the bullet would not be fed properly and would stop the slide from completing its motion. Most of these stoppages occurred once I had already fired around 50 rounds or more from that particular handgun. As per my experience, Stoeger will have occasional mis-feeds if the ammo is not as per gun's liking or the gun is dirty or too much lubricated.

The other rotating barrel handgun which is commonly available in Pakistan is Chinese CF98 (also known as NP42). It also has the same problem but proportionately more than Stoeger Cougar. With JHPs, the problem increases and there are more FTF. I think the problem lies with the feed ramp which is partially located at the base of the chamber and partially on the connector. For a perfect feeding, these two portions of feed ramp have to align perfectly every time. Whenever they dont, their is a mis-feed. Polishing the feed ramp and keeping the gun clean reduces the problem but does not eliminate it. I have no experience with Beretta PX4 Storm and Cougar 8000, however, I don't carry any rotating barrel handgun for self defence any more.

Hope it helps. :)
 
Don't give up on the cougar for the money you couldn't buy a better gun I have 2000 rounds down the pipe in my 8040 500 of them in one range session with no cleaning or lubrication. I enjoy shooting this gun more than any other that I own
 
My 8000 did the same thing when it was new. Kept it good a wet for the next 500+ rounds and now all is well. Runs like a top.
 
I have the Stoger Cougar 9mm and it was REALLY rough shooting for the first few hundred rounds. After that it really smoothed out and consistent. Give it a little more time.
 
Thanks for the help. Like I said my first trip out was good for 150 of the 200 rounds. 100 more tomorrow. I'll see if things smooth out. I hope so because I really love th feel of the gun. If it doesn't clear out it will have to go though. Can't have a gun I can't trust. If it won't go through say a couple hundred more rounds I will send it back to Stoeger. If they can't get it to work it's gone. It must be workable though. A couple of friends had the Mauser M2 .45 with the same system and it worked. The PX4 has the same system and I don't hear complaints on it.
After cleaning it I noticed alot of gunk in the gun. I used Tetra Grease on the gun. Figured with the revoving barrel system and being new it needed lots of grease. i may have overdone it. I'll try a lighter coating tomorrow.
 
I bought a Cougar 8000F in August. It's worked flawlessly with fmj, mostly Winchester white box. I had one stovepipe with Federal Hydra-shok 124gr jhp in 20rds. Haven't shot anymore of those 'cause fmj are just cheaper for practice right now.

Failure of the slide locking back after last shot seems like a weak magazine spring or the magazines not seating properly. The slide catch is activated by the magazine follower after the last shot. Since you say your magazines are alright, take the slide off and make sure the slide catch isn't getting caught on any burrs on the frame. That's the only thing I can think of. Maybe you have defective magazines. The two that came with my gun were so stiff that the first 10 or so times I loaded them to full capacity I was gritting my teeth to offset the pain in my fingertips. Definitely no weak magazine springs with my gun.
 
Last edited:
Is yours an "F" model? If so its easy to make it a "g"(decocker only/no sefety) in about 5-10 min for $0.00.

I bought my Beretta 8040 as a police surplus. I have no idea how many rounds it had eaten prior to me getting it but it cycles buttery smooth and I have had no feed issues through 350 rounds so far.
 
CK,

I actually like the safety/decocker on mine. But it would be interesting to know how to modify it to decocker only. Any references you could point me to?
 
CK,



I actually like the safety/decocker on mine. But it would be interesting to know how to modify it to decocker only. Any references you could point me to?
Click to expand...

It would take longer to find a reference than to tell you what needs to be done. There is a small bb and spring that hold the safety lever in the safe position. Remove that bb/spring and it acts like a Sig's decocker. Pull it down to decock then release it and it goes back up. You can put it back any time too. Look in the manual for how to remove the safety from the slide. You basically knock one pin out.
 
Stoeger Cougar is one of the reasons why I don't deal with semis. please don't get me wrong; the Main reason is that I prefer revolvers for a variety of reasons.

I too liked the feel of the cougar so I bought it one day. I made sure to buy the right rounds, I gave it a proper inspection, and so-on. The handgun was jamming right from the get go without getting thru a full clip. It came with two clips so i tried the 2nd clip with the same result. I called bass pro and the guy said that once a gun is shot it is sold for good. he also added that he had no idea who I was and that I had 7days to return it if I hadn't shot it. that puppy was returned the next day. I was just envisioning the thing jamming someday when my wife needed it while I was working or whatever. she isn't into guns, so the revolver helps in that respect too(though she does seem to have a fondness for glocks- not quite sure where that came from. lol)
 
Stoeger Cougar is one of the reasons why I don't deal with semis. please don't get me wrong; the Main reason is that I prefer revolvers for a variety of reasons.

I too liked the feel of the cougar so I bought it one day. I made sure to buy the right rounds, I gave it a proper inspection, and so-on. The handgun was jamming right from the get go without getting thru a full clip. It came with two clips so i tried the 2nd clip with the same result. I called bass pro and the guy said that once a gun is shot it is sold for good. he also added that he had no idea who I was and that I had 7days to return it if I hadn't shot it. that puppy was returned the next day. I was just envisioning the thing jamming someday when my wife needed it while I was working or whatever. she isn't into guns, so the revolver helps in that respect too(though she does seem to have a fondness for glocks- not quite sure where that came from. lol)
Click to expand...

I'm interested in hearing more here.

How many rounds did you fire before deeming the gun unreliable?
Did you clean the packing/shipping grease and properly lube the gun per the manual?
What were the "right rounds"?
What does "jamming" mean exactly?
 
I'm interested in hearing more here.

How many rounds did you fire before deeming the gun unreliable?
Did you clean the packing/shipping grease and properly lube the gun per the manual?
What were the "right rounds"?
What does "jamming" mean exactly?
Click to expand...

CK Bigoldi,

I fired under 100 rounds and probably somewhere between 30-60 but thats an approximate guess. I fired less than a clip or two before I started having reliability doubts. I was in the army, so I have experience with magazines and fixing weapon issues that occur during firing. the first time I did that and the 2nd time during the 2nd clip the issue couldn't be resolved. it would shoot a few rounds and than cease. the mag was loaded properly; I can say that I'm sure of that.

I am sorry, but I do not know exactly what rounds I was firing. I gave the 9mm leftovers to my buddy once the cougar was returned. I do know that I asked a lot of questions while speaking w/the knowledgeable bass pro guy. he was the one who explained to me that choosing the right rounds was very important, and he was the one who picked them out and told me they were the correct rounds. He also explained to me in the beginning while first trying to sell me his revolver that the semi goes thru 8 different steps every time it fires a shot&if any of those steps fail the firearm doesn't shoot. He tried the revolver sale first because this weapon was mostly for my wife. and she has less experience. We have ruger semis at work and not one has jammed on me yet, and we fire the ones while training that are carried around 'hot' on 24/7 posts that are always ready to go but not shot often.

This weapon was going to be a safe queen if I understand the term correctly or actually a night stand defender+was going to be my wife's firearm for the most part). I had it ready to go for her after day one but something kept egging at me that this weapon was not selfdefense reliable. The next day I went to shoot it and one shot only at first before ceasing even though I had thought I had gotten it 'ready to go'.

No, I did not clean it via the manual. Everytime I buy a firearm I do test shoots before I do anything. I usually even do this before even the most basic wipedown. You could probably pick this apart and creat a long thread on cleaning guns and so-on; the bottom line is I donot think a brand new firearm purchased from a licensed dealer which comes with the manufacturer's test shot in its package should have to be cleaned to be considered reliable. The weapon maybe should be cleaned, but it should be fire ready. Opinions on this matter will vary, but I had issues with having this my wife's SD weapon and I like to return the firearm if it doesn't meet my criteria(this is my own made up protocol/lol/but this was the first time I had to exercise it).

Maybe it wasn't a jam but I think the term fits. I was using the basic verbage to explain a semi(or any firearm) that fails to fire a round while the shooter thinks it is 'hot'. I brought my wife back(who at that point was done with the gun purchase and didn't want to waste any more time/lol/) and I let her choose another firearm. I have to go now but I'll check in later. I am not a weapons expert, but I do have knowledge and the firearm wasn't making the cut or I was missing something. It was the only firearm I ever had an issue with I couldn't rectify. The OP's thread struck a chord - why was this happening to him as an example. I purposely chose beretta(spelling) after I liked the feel of the cougar. that might have been a lesson to let my wife choose her SD weapon in the 1st place

ps-sorry/no time to proofread this post for errors
 
I bought some Winchester White Box 115gr. fmj for my second trip after cleaning and lubing. 100 round pack. Everyone feed, fired, and ejected no problem. Last night I bought 150 rounds of the Federal Champion 115gr. fmj. I clean and lube my guns after every session. Fired all 150 rounds without a problem. Must of needed a little breaking in to get things going.
One more thing I'd like to ask Cougar owners. I think I mentioned this to begin with. The slide to frame fit is very loose. I can grasp the slide and it will move back and forth in the frame. Like a gun that had thoudands of rounds through it. All the models at the shop I bought from where like mine. Are they fit looser than a traditional Browning tilting barrel set up because of the rotating barrel? Thanks for the your suggestions. I guess new guns come from the factor needing a break in. All the guns I bought years ago were good to go from the box. Lots of companies want you to shot 200-500 round to break the gun in. A suspect the guns aren't finished to as high of a degree as older weapons. Well it shoots everything I feed it now. Accuracy seems good. It will probably get better as I get used to the gun. I'll look for night sights next.
 
The slide on mine feels 'tight'. It doesn't feel like there is any slop in it. But I can't really compare it to anything. This is my first semi-auto handgun. Compared to any other gun I have, though, it feels normal.

Just got back from the range too. Sure enough, while I was shooting Winchester white box 115gr fmj, after about 20-30 rounds it started failing to feed the next round. I hadn't cleaned it in about 150 rds, so stripped it and did a quick cleaning of the feed ramp and barrel. I'm going to thoroughly clean it later tonight as the one today was kind of hasty, but right after I did that it cycled perfectly for about 30 more rounds. Even shot eight rounds of hydra-shock 124gr jhp at the end and it worked fine. I guess the moral of the story is to keep them clean. I've got about 500 rounds through this gun and the only problems were what happened today and what happened with the stovepipe in my first post on this thread.
 
sigxder,

Just wanted to post/ask more info so we don't end up playing 'phone tag' or whatever the equivalent is on discussion forums.

What do you mean exactly that the slide moves back and forth? It moves muzzle to chamber or side to side? If it's muzzle to chamber, that seems like it'd be caused by a funky recoil spring, for lack of better terminology. Side to side wobble seems like bad machining.

I've got no travel in the slide, muzzle to chamber, unless I try to make it move. Side to side wobble, I get nothing either, even if I'm shaking the thing.
 
No, I did not clean it via the manual. Everytime I buy a firearm I do test shoots before I do anything. I usually even do this before even the most basic wipedown. You could probably pick this apart and creat a long thread on cleaning guns and so-on; the bottom line is I donot think a brand new firearm purchased from a licensed dealer which comes with the manufacturer's test shot in its package should have to be cleaned to be considered reliable. The weapon maybe should be cleaned, but it should be fire ready. Opinions on this matter will vary, but I had issues with having this my wife's SD weapon and I like to return the firearm if it doesn't meet my criteria(this is my own made up protocol/lol/but this was the first time I had to exercise it).
Click to expand...
:confused: So, for all you know, not cleaning the gun may have been the entire problem. And, now that it's gone, you'll never know for sure. Perhaps you should re-examine your basic assumptions. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
no bigbill I will not do this. I purchase what I want with my money. I do not want any firearm that I buy brand new from a dealership that is not fire ready. personal choice I guess&my right. I did inspect the weapon; it did not seem dirty in any shape or form but I know cleaning a weapon in the beginning is more than just it being dirty sometimes. My wife didn't feel comfortable with it either, so this was also a deciding factor in the quick return. I didn't have time to sit on a decision either. It all worked out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top