I was having a conversation with a buddy a few months ago, and he happened to mention that he owned a Beretta Mini-Cougar in .40. He was complaining that he was having a heck of a time finding a holster for it, and I offered to make him something up out of Kydex. I’d forgotten all about it when he called me up yesterday and said he was in the neighborhood and asked if he could drop it off. So of course I said yes, and he told me to make sure I took it out and shot it some before I gave it back. Didn’t have to tell me twice!
I’ve always been intrigued by the rotating barrel recoil system of the Cougar and the PX4, but never had the opportunity to shoot one until now. I braved the 5” of snow that we got overnight and took it out to the range today along with my P229, which is the only gun I own in .40, so I figured it would be the closest comparison. For ammo, I had some of my reloads and a few old factory rounds that I had lying around.
Dimensions - For something with the word “Mini” in its name, it’s actually a pretty big gun. The slide is large and bulky (more on that later), and the top end is very similar in size to my P229.
Carryability - As mentioned above, it’s not a small gun, especially in the slide. It’s not light, either, at 34.9oz with a loaded mag. The grip, however, is very short, which makes it very concealable for such a large gun. This comes at the cost of capacity…the mag only holds 8 rounds.
Ergonomics - The controls on this thing are identical to my 92FS. If you are ok with those, you’ll be ok with this. If not, you won’t. The short grip only allows for a 2-finger hold on the gun. I’m one of those weird people, though, that likes boot grips on my revolvers and my Glock 26 with the flush factory floorplates. The floorplate of the Cougar mag has a pronounced toe on it that makes it very easy to establish a master grip in the holster, and like my other short-gripped guns, I find that I can tuck my pinkie underneath for a very solid grip purchase.
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Trigger - Once again, the trigger is very “Beretta”...loooong but smooth, and not overly heavy. The reset is crisp and tactile, and possibly a bit shorter than my 92FS was with the stock trigger bar. With the LTT trigger bar that my 92 has in it now, though, the Cougar feels longer. Like every Beretta I’ve shot, the length-of-pull at the break is quite short despite the girthy grip…so short that I have trouble keeping my hand from contorting and pushing the sights offline at the break. I have this same problem with my 92 and my 81, and it manifests itself here as well. It can be overcome, but I have to work at it very deliberately.
Action - This is what makes this thing special. Instead of your typical browning-style tilting barrel, the Cougar has a rotating barrel with lugs that engage a stud on the locking block and a groove in the top of the slide. The square base of the locking block rides in that squared-off dustcover at the front of the frame. This keeps the barrel in-line with the sights throughout the full range of slide travel, and theoretically makes for a more accurate system.
Recoil - Overall, I can’t say I felt a huge difference in recoil between the Cougar and my P229. It did feel like there may have been slightly less muzzle-flip, but the Sig has always been criticized for it’s high bore axis, so that may have been more an issue with the Sig than it was a benefit of the Beretta. Both guns handle the .40 very well overall, and I honestly can’t say that the rotating barrel made a noticeable difference. I’d probably need to compare it to something with a similarly shorter grip like a P224 or a G27 to know for sure.
Accuracy - I initially had some trouble pushing rounds to the left, probably due to my difficulties with the Beretta trigger. After a couple of mags, I figured it out and managed to keep them centered. I was shooting indoors so my range was limited, and it was freezing cold, and I thought that overall my groups were pretty mediocre at 12 yards. They were a bit better with the Sig, but not by much (B8 targets on the left).
Pointability and Speed - I shot another set of targets at 3 yards (B27 centers on the right above) on the clock to test pointability and speed. These were shot from the low ready, and times are notated by each hit. The P229 was faster, and yielded more accurate shot placement overall…but we’re also comparing a gun that I own and have trained with (although it’s been a few years) to one I was shooting for the first time. I planned to do some testing from the holster as well, but then something happened that prevented that….more below.
Reliability - All of the shooting detailed above was done with my reloads. They’re using a semi-wadcutter bullet, which can actually be pretty problematic when it comes to feeding in semi-autos, but both guns fed and fired them all just fine. I also had some old factory ammo that I brought along to test some hollow points in the gun, Gold Dots and one Federal Hydrashock. While shooting the Cougar, I had what I initially thought was a double-feed. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the case head of the round in the chamber had been ripped completely off, leaving the walls of the case in the chamber. The round in question was my one factory Federal Hydrashock (the Gold Dots all shot fine). Thankfully there was no damage to me or the gun, but I didn’t have the appropriate tools with me to remove the case, so that gun was done for the day. When I got home, a pair of needle-nose on the case wall through the extractor notch pulled it right out without much effort.
I’m not 100% sure what happened here. In most cases of out-of-battery discharges that I’ve seen in the past, the case wall completely detonates or blows out the side. This case is bulged pretty uniformly around the base, and the head is ripped off almost uniformly around the inside just ahead of the extractor groove. There is a mark in the case wall where it appears to have been blown back against the extractor hook. My theory is that the gun somehow unlocked prematurely, allowing the case in front of the rim to bulge and blowing the unsupported head out the back. I’m not sure if this is the result of a mechanical issue with the gun or some kind of incompatibility with that Federal ammo (fast-burning, low-flash powder maybe causing some timing issues with the rotating barrel locking system?)…or just a plain old faulty round.
Ultimately, I’m going to have chock that malfunction up to ammo rather than the gun as everything else I put through it shot just fine. None of the other brass I recovered showed any evidence of bulging or cracking. My buddy said he’s never had an issue with it in the past, either. I don’t have any more Hydrashocks to try in it, anyway, so there’s not much else I can do to test it.
In conclusion, I think it’s a cool gun, and definitely something different. I didn’t find that the rotating barrel really made any improvement in practical accuracy or felt recoil, though, and the bulk and contour limitations that it adds to the design aren’t really worth it IMO. If you like Berettas, though, and are ok with the ergos, that short grip makes for a sweet carry package that you can’t really get with a 92 (even the compact). It’s definitely an interesting design, and coupled with Beretta quality it’s worth at least giving it a try if the opportunity comes along. You’d have a hard time talking me out of my P229 for one, though.
. I'm with you, though. I got to shoot a 4516 a few months ago, and given the choice between the two, there's no contest...I'd rather have the Smith. Wouldn't trade my P245 for either of them, though.
