Love mine! It's accuracy and minimal recoil is due to the short recoil rotating locking barrel I believe. Spare factory magazines are still around and available so get some.
What color is your frame? Did you Duracoat it or did it come that way? Mine is black but I like the color on yours.
FYI, drop in on the Beretta forum www.berettaforum.net to meet other owners. I have yet to hear anyone say they didn't like their Cougar.
Very reliable and still available 124gr. NATO ball M882 ammo in mine. I have seen what it can do when the shooter does his/her part. Regardless of what advertised super-ammo the "experts" in the gun-rags try to sell you, NATO ball has a long history and has made many recipients very, very dead. It always feeds and always goes bang.
Good luck!
I notice you rested your pistol on the "Beretta Shotglass" that came in the box. Hang on to it. Believe it or not they are kind of collector's items and sold on Ebay.
Really it is just placed in the box to prevent damage if the box should be crushed by other cargo.
You can use it as a Beretta Jello mold!
Cool!
The current model 92's come with a plastic guide rod but I believe the steel guide rod is standard for the Cougar. I have several 92s, some with metal guide rods and some with plastic. According to Beretta USA the metal guide rod only adds weight and the plastic flexes on recoil so the slide will not bind up. I think they consider the plastic one an improvement, not a way to make it cheaper.
On the Cougar it looks like they use steel because of the straight recoil design and need to keep the parts aligned perfectly. I'll ask my son. He's a Mechanical Engineer and figures things like this out by looking at them.
Be sure and keep the channels in the barrel lightly lubed, at least until it is broken in. The slide should move as smooth as silk since the barrel never has to move during the firing sequence. Very nice design.
Shoot sefely,
Good luck with your new pistol. Hope nothing goes wrong with it since Stoeger pulled out of the US market. Not sure who will handle their warranty work-you may want to find out! It sure won't be Academy!!!