[rifleshooter]

So the Stoeger Cougar that I had replaced for its defective finish was replaced by a good-looking, unreliable beast of a pistol.

I put one magazine through it and found it to be terrifically accurate. In the second magazine, the rounds began hopping up vertically into the top of the chamber. Then it was short-stroking, stove-piping, and FTE-ing on every round. I finally put it away after 40 or so rounds.

On inspection, the inside of the slide was once again de-laminating on the bearing surface; the titanium nitride coating was all scratched. The barrel lugs had begun peening; the sharp edges were contributing to the slowed operation of the pistol.

After I cleaned and diagnosed the problem, I cleaned up the razor-sharp edges of the barrel lugs with a file and polished them with a rotary tool and a cotton pad in jeweler's rouge. This took the razor's edge off and burnished the metal. The scratched area on the slide I cleaned with the same buffer, and then I put the rouge on the barrel lugs, slide and a retainer, then worked the rotary action back and forward in the slide 200-or so times. The metal surfaces where contact is made were all lapped from this action. I polished the compound off, then re-assembled the pistol using some moly grease.The action is just baby's butt smooth now. I am confident that the pistol will shoot reliably now.

 

[btleslie]

Good to hear you were able to correct your problem. Let us know how she works now.

 

[rifleshooter]

Good to hear you were able to correct your problem. Let us know how she works now.

I will. These guns are famous for their incredible reliability. My first Cougar, the one with the dodgy finish, was reliable as can be, but less than perfectly pin-accurate. I suspect its slightly looser tolerances were to account for this.

I believe that this pistol will be accurate and may be reliable. I shall take it to the range and put at least two hundred rounds through it to be sure.

 

[rifleshooter]

Ok, so back from the range... and there were 7-8 stoppages. Every one was an FTE/stovepipe. They became fewer in number as the session wore on. I will disassemble and report later today. It was shooting right; close inspection shows the rear sight is drifted 0.0625 right, accounting for the 1" displacement. Accuracy was equivalent to my accurized PT917cs, which is a wonder.

So yeah, the whole thing's a bit of a disappointment. I will put another hundred rounds out of it to see if I can break it in. My experience tells me that it will never be a reliable gun I can trust, so once I get it running right, I will sell it on.

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