I’m of the opinion that no clothes feel better than my old faded blue jeans. When I pull them on, they don’t just fit, but feel like they are a part of me. Through the belt loops I slip my Ted Blocker gun belt and my old leather belt-slide holster. Into that holster goes my handgun. When the handgun first slid into the holster, it was like pulling on my favorite old pair of jeans. It felt right at home.
The Beretta 8045 is a continuation of the now-defunct Beretta 8000 (a.k.a. Cougar). Ironically, Beretta discontinued the 8000 during the same year that Desperate Housewives hit the airwaves (2004), a show that gave new prominence to the two-legged definition of the word “Cougar.”
The thing I found interesting about the Cougar is that it was designed for .45, then adapted to .40 and 9mm, not the other way around. Most manufacturers design for a smaller caliber, like 9mm, then try to beef up to larger rounds, not so with the Cougar. Also, the Cougar was designed specifically to be a little brother to the famed 92FS, hence, why it looks so very much like the 92/96 series. Although shorter in length and with a slightly more abbreviated handle (not by much) they share the same dimensions otherwise.