Reviews - Sidearms

 

Western Arms M8045 Cougar F
by Pedro

The M8045 Cougar-F is one of the more recent additions to the GBB pistol range from Western Arms, a name synonymous with quality in the Airsoft world.

Recent offerings from this manufacturer have usually either been updated versions of the Beretta 92f or another in the wide-body, high capacity, Colt 1911 series. Obviously, having a bit of a penchant for U.S. handgun trends, WA has now released the M8045.

First impressions of this Airsoft gun are very, very good. It looks like metal, the slide and frame are made of plastic but the finish is such that it takes more than a casual glance to determine it's not metal. Top marks to WA for this, as many good quality GBB guns can look a bit 'plasticky'. The box that the gun comes in clearly states that the Beretta trademarks are under license and the markings on the gun look pretty authentic. External metal parts include trigger, hammer and sights as well as all the operating controls.

Weight wise the gun is a very solid 980g (just over two pounds). Although the same weight as a KSC Mk.23 SOCOM, it seems heavier because of its more compact dimensions.

The M8045, and the similar 8000, look a little like compact 92's, but without the open top slide. Overall, the pistol's size is similar to a Glock 17, Sig P226, or any other medium frame semi auto. Due to the more ergonomic curved design of the grip, it feels more comfortable in the hand than the squarer Glock range.

Anyone who has handled a Beretta 92F or M9, will find no surprises when looking for the 8045's operating controls, all in just the same place, with the same functions. These are, magazine release, ambidextrous safety/de cocker, slide lock/release, takedown lever and finally the take-down release button.

Pressing in on the metal mag release (which is reversible for lefties), allows the all metal magazine to drop free from the model, a good idea for a real handgun, but for Airsoft, I suggest catching the mags before they hit the ground!

Filling the magazine with gas is the usual affair of holding the mag upside down whilst pressing the gas bottle onto the inlet valve, of course as it's a WA model, you mustn't forget to reset the outlet valve first or you will end up spraying very cold propellant all over your clothes.

The magazine holds 25 BBs, which are easy to load manually, just hold down the follower and pop the ammo in one-at-a-time. No loading tool came in the box, I don't know why, perhaps to reduce the chance of loading deformed ammo?

Obviously, the next step after loading a magazine is to insert the full mag into the gun. Racking the slide to chamber the first round is very satisfying, the slide has good weight and the sound generated is nicely heavy and 'clunky'.

As the slide comes back you can see how well WA have copied the unusual rotary breach design of the M8000 series of pistols. For a GBB Airsoft handgun, recoil is very impressive, sending a sharp jolt down your arm for each shot. Just watching someone else shoot this gun brings a smile to your lips.

The model can be fired as fast as the trigger can be pulled (so 5 shots a second for those with nimble fingers), with welcome predictability the slide locks back on an empty mag. After a fresh mag has been inserted, the slide lock/release can be operated to allow the slide back into position with another satisfying 'clunk'.

Now that the pistol is cocked again we have two options, either fire a round, or use the ambidextrous de-cocking lever/safety. This, rather ingenious device, safely lowers the hammer on a loaded chamber and disconnects the trigger mechanism as an added feature, just like the original. After de-cocking the gun, the firing hammer is also blocked so that pushing in on the back of the hammer still won't fire the piece - handy if you intend to carry the gun securely in a holster with a thumb break strap.

The last operating controls, so far unmentioned, are for field stripping the gun. The 'take-down' lever is located in the normal Beretta position of just forward of the trigger on the left hand side of the frame, with its release button on the opposite side of the frame.

Field stripping the model is a little tricky, but gets easier with practice and as the new parts wear in a little. You will only need to do this for basic maintenance, or adjustment of the HOP-Up unit (Hops is explained in detail on the FAQ page), the slide has to be removed from the frame.

First, the empty magazine has to be removed, also make sure the safety/de cocker is 'off' (in the up position). After removing the magazine, press in on the small release button on the right-hand side of the pistol, opposite the take-down lever, whilst holding this button in rotate the take-down lever 45' clockwise. The slide should move forward about 2 mm. Now, just push the slide from the rear with the right thumb whilst holding the recoil spring underneath the slide with the left hand. With the slide off, the recoil spring and guide are loose so pay attention to their orientation before putting them down.

A small hex key is provided with the gun for adjusting the HOP-Up. As always the instructions are in Japanese, however the diagrams clearly show the location of the adjusting grub screw. I found getting the right balance of HOP to be a particular pain in the rectum, no-HOP, strip gun, no-HOP, strip gun, no-HOP, strip gun, no-HOP, strip gun, no-HOP, BBs jamming due to too much HOP, strip it a couple more times and finally get it right. Hmmm, can we say "F***ed off" [No! Ed]. The good news is that it was worthwhile in the end to get the HOP just right.

Re-assembly is a tad more awkward. The recoil spring guide-block is held in place under the barrel, arrow pointing toward muzzle end. Now the recoil spring itself is slowly threaded through the guide-block, flat end first, till it comes to rest on the inner front of the slide in its recess. Holding this assembly, gently slide it back onto the front of the frame. When the slide is back on the gun it needs to be pulled all the way back and locked open with the slide lock/release lever. Then the take-down lever can be returned to its locked position and the model is re-assembled. A little daunting at first but it gets easier with practice, which you get plenty of adjusting the HOP, hehe.

Performance on the range shows how WA quality standards pay off. Not only is the gun impressive to shoot, as I mentioned earlier, but power and accuracy are both absolutely top-notch. On a warm day at Combat South, the M8045 chrono'ed at 324fps consistently, with Excel Biodegradable 0.2g ammo, that's just less than 1 Joule.

Accuracy at 10m was fine out of the box, but for longer ranges the HOP needs to be very carefully adjusted. Patience, however, pays off and now my M8045 is giving accurate shots out to about 30m, by accurate I mean reliable hits against a stationary human sized target. That is pretty good from a model with a short 3.5 inch barrel. All of these tests were conducted on days when the temperature was about 20-22'c and using 'toy-jack' gas.

This GBB is now about 3 months old and has had about 2000 rounds fired through it. The model has loosened up a little, which is to be expected, but still feels solid and chunky in the hand. Reliability has been good, the only malfunctions due to my failings in getting the HOP just right, but apart from that, none since.

Another first for this gun is it's one of the first GBB pistol I've handled that doesn't have 'loose magazine syndrome' - a problem on my KSC Mk.23 SOCOM, which was only solved with about 8 or 9 short lengths of electrical tape for each magazine. Not so with this WA piece, magazines seat solidly and do not rattle. The magazine release does not sit too proud of the frame so the model is usable in a holster, without worry of accidentally dumping the magazine whilst rolling on the ground (trust me, I spend a lot of time looking for Truffles). Also, as mentioned earlier, the mag release is reversible for left-handed use, a nice touch and when combined with the ambidextrous safety/de-cocker worth noting for any left-handed Airsofters out there tired of using index fingers to remove pistol mags.

Conclusions

Good points:

• Appearance - a faithful (licensed) replica.
  
• Build Quality - outstanding, with lots of metal parts.
  
• Functioning - reliable.
  
• Performance - plenty, thanks!
  
• Game Potential - well, three blighters in its first outing speaks volumes.

Bad points:

• HOP-Up - quite tricky to set well.
  
• Field Stripping - easy to strip, awkward to re-assemble.
  

Overall a very good result with only a couple of minor niggles which a little time and practice will solve. This GBB pistol has easily impressed me more than any other I've used, a conclusion I'm sure any other M8045 owners would agree with.

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