Beretta 8000

The Beretta 8000 (Cougar) series pistols are manufactured by Beretta of Italy.

They first appeared on the market in 1994 as a more compact alternative to the full-sized Beretta 92 service pistol in order to offer a compromise between concealability, ease of carry, accuracy and firepower.

It was originally developed for the .40 S&W cartridge, which was a new cartridge at the time. It was later also manufactured for other calibers, such as 9×19 mm, .357 SIG and .45 ACP. These pistols are suitable for use by police and for civilian self-defense.

Description

Cougar 8000 series pistols are recoil-operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistols. These pistols use a relatively rare rotating barrel locking system, in which the barrel rotates on recoil to unlock itself from the slide. The rotating motion of the barrel is controlled by the stud on its bottom, which follows the cam track in the steel frame insert.

The frame is made from lightweight aluminum alloy. The basic version of the Cougar pistol is the F model, with double-action trigger with exposed hammer, and ambidextrous safety/decocker levers, located on the slide. Alternative is D version, which is double-action only, and thus have spurless hammer and no safety/decocker levers. Cougar pistols use double-stack magazines in 9 mm, .357 SIG and .40 caliber models, and single-stack magazines in .45 caliber models.