New Stoeger 8000

Wehrmacht_45

Are these new Turk made ones as well built as the Beretta ones? Looking at getting a cougar but if the quality is the same I will go with the Stoeger since its going to see some abuse.

theboogeyman

Hey there,

Just finished reading a review of it in the lates Guns & Ammo. Apparently the only difference between the two is the nameplate and location of manufacture - same tooling, everything. Beretta of course owns Stoeger, and apparently dropped the Cougar as not to compete directly with the new PX4, which is simularly sized and also has a rotating bolt. I have a PX4, and honestly, I'm thinking of getting a couple of the Cougars as home defense guns as well, as the design is proven, and the price is right. If you're seriously thinking about getting one, try to find a local range where you can rent one, and try it out. Just my two cents, but I think you'd find it to be a good gun for the money.

Wehrmacht_45

See I read in shotgun news about a year ago that the new Beretta line was to originally have the Cougar, Px4, and 92 as the main large autoloaders, but since the Turks now use the Cougar for their security forces, they decided to move production there. However there were teething problems getting it all done and set up so the cougar was dropped from the line. The move was in part, a plan to free up space at existing factories for increased production. Either way...no ranges here rent guns for about 70 miles, and the ones that do, dont have much. I'll probablt just have to lay down a gamble.

theboogeyman

Hmm....hope that gamble works out for you. The Stoeger version made the cover of the January '07 G&A, and the reviewer seemed to be pretty impressed. I know internally, the design is quite simular to the PX4, and I love mine. I handled one the other day at Jays, and the fit & finish seemed to be right up there with the best of the Berettas. If you do end up getting one, you'll have to post a range report and let the rest of us know how it shoots/feels [;)]

temblor

Looks like the same gun to me if the G&A article info is correct.
FWIW I've got a Beretta Cougar in 40S&W (model 8040) and it's a good gun (of course I naturally paid the Beretta price for mine a few years back).
I test fired a Beretta 96 in 40S&W side by side with the Cougar at the same range with the same 180gr ammo and the Cougar had less felt recoil due the action difference with the rotating barrel, and to me it pointed and felt better in my hand (but may not for you). It reminded me of a SIG as far as feel went.
It has also proven to be reliable and has never failed to cycle anything I have shot in it (although I've probably only put about 200 rounds through it -- but no break in period to loosen things up, etc.). I just bought it to play with and lost interest [B)]. I'm really a John Moses Browning disciple at heart [:D].
On the minus side (if it matters to you) there are not any aftermarket barrels around for them like the model 92 & 96 due to the rotating bbl assembly and I personally don't care for the safety lever which has to be pushed up on mine rather than down (no big deal, but feels different).
Mines DA/SA rather than Double Action only, but don't know if they are still made that way or not.
Good Luck......................[^].

br549

i do know the stoger's sure knocked thebottom out of the value of the beretta 8040's. before they came out a beretta used sold for between $400-450.00 now a person is lucky to get 250.00 for one.