EAA Witness ???

S

std7mag

New member
Have been looking for a double duty gun, and have run across the EAA Witness in 9mm. Like the ergonomics for myself, and the g/f.

1) Primary duty would be target, and hopefully some shooting events.
2) Would be open carry pistol while in the woods for the g/f.

Has anyone run into any issue with the gun?
How does it do accuracy wise?

Thanks

Std7mag
 
I have an older one in 38 super, and a newer one (witness steel) in 38 super with and additional 9mm barrel and a baby eagle II and used to have a baby eagle 45. I mention the baby eagle because it's manufactured by tanfoglio. They are my favorite double actions to shoot and are accurate, and the only one I've had issues with is the baby eagle because it needed a heavier spring. They are heavy which makes shooting fun, but could be a downside and the only true downside to me is the lack of aftermarket parts and accessories.
 
... I mention the baby eagle because it's manufactured by tanfoglio.
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I don't think Tanfoglio EVER made any Baby Eagles or Baby Desert Eagles.

Magnum Research made or had many of them made under License from Tanfoglio, but those guns were made in Isreal by IMI and imported by MR. They were LEGAL copies of the Tanfoglio design. Some of the earliest Baby Eagles made have been assembled from Tanfoglio-made parts. IMI also made a number of other Tanfogli0-based/licensed guns under various names for use by the Israeli military and for sale to the civilian market.

Kahr bought Magnum Research in 2011, and Kahr has been in charge since then. MR apparently makes the DESERT EAGLE here in the U.S., but I think they were first built in Israel.

The Baby Eagle is a good gun, and the few times I needed help from Magnum Research, I got it. (My favorite MR gun is the ASAI ONE PRO; I had one and foolishly sold it.)
 
While the cold war was still hot, CZ products could not be imported into the US. someone got the idea of making a clone in Italy that could be imported. It was the spitting image of the CZ but not as well finished or, some claim, fitted.

Some action shooters (gun dancers) swear by TZ and a market of aftermarket parts is available to trick them out.

I got a used one in the early 90s. I enjoyed shooting it, but it was very heavy. My friends call it a toad because it was so ugly. After serving me very well for several years. I gave it to my son in law. That boy is hard on anything mechanical. For several years he access to LOTS of M-882 ammo that he shot in the gun. It is still holding up well and serving him well as a house/car gun. It looks even more like a toad after he forgot to wipe it down after getting exposed to salt water. (I didn't ask).

If you can get one at a decent price you will enjoy it. CDNN has extra mags for a decent price. I don't think you will wear it out.
 
I have an EAA Witness Match in 9mm. I have fired thousands of hand loads through it without a glitch. It is a well made, superbly accurate pistol which is easy to maintain. It is all steel and quite heavy which makes it a pleasure to shoot.
 
Walt, you're correct. I'm not sure why I said 'manufactured' and the only reason I brought it up in regards to witness is the similar design, some interchangeable parts, I think some the frames and larger parts were made by tanfoglio and it's based on the tanfoglio. To the OP, the witness is an awesome gun.
 
Don't own one YET. I will be getting an Elite Match in 10mm soon though. The only EAA Tanfoglios I've ever really heard of being a problem were the older steel 10mms. I believe a new slide design corrected the 10mm's shortcomings. Regardless, the 9mm should be a great gun. People the have owned both often prefer the Tanfoglio over the CZ in box stock form.

Canik also makes a clone of the CZ that is very nice. I have a TriStar T-120 that I love. They also make an L-120 which, like the T-120 has an alloy frame if that would be something worth considering for open carry. The beavertail on these guns is a little smaller than the Tanfoglios, so put one in your hand if you think you might want one. Other that that, they are a good quality gun if you want to look at similar options.
 
std,

I've owned two, both in .45. Both suffered cracks in their slides and frames at low round counts. EAA refused to honor their "lifetime" warranty because they had been hard-chromed. There have been a number of other instances of cracked frames/slides mostly in the 10mm and .45acp chamberings (and I've seen one in .40sw). It is usually with one of their stock pistols and not the higher end ones. If you google "EAA and Customer service" you will find a number of horror stories.

I've also got a number of CZ's and much prefer them to the EAA's.


good luck- oldandslow
 
I have an EAA Stock 10mm. It's one of their higher end Witnesses in da/sa. It's one of my favorite guns to shoot.
 
I've got the Witness P in 10mm. I love it. My next handgun purchase was going to be a 1911 in 45 ACP. But after further consideration, I am now strongly leaning towards another Witness. In 10mm of course!
 
Up until oldandslow's statement about cracked frames and slides I have never seen nor heard of major structural failures. I have a buddy with a 45 witness as well and he just replaced the recoil spring. Factory $13. Had return to battery issues he thought were feeding problems. Runs like new again. Between his witness and eagle there are no cracked frames or slides and other than the aforementioned they run %100.

If I'm not mistaken (%98) sure that they make the baby eagle anymore. Eaa imports more than one of the cz clones. They have a SAR that is a witness copy. Little rougher trigger and finish but a few hundred lower. Think I priced the sat version .45 around $400. Don't directly quote the differences but I'm in the ballpark.
 
Although it's been mentioned many times before on this forum, I'd like to ensure that the OP understands that EAA is an importer and NOT a manufacturer.

In addition to the Witness line made by Tanfoglio in Italy, they also import and market a number of other brands, notably including the Turkish company Sarsilmaz in recent years.

Also, consider yourself warned- although Witness pistols are generally top-quality, a few bad ones slip through periodically (as with any product made by human beings), and EAA customer service has a less than stellar reputation. This is arguably the main drawback to purchasing a Witness pistol. Although you potentially won't ever have to deal with EAA firsthand, there's always the possibility that you will.
 
Regarding EAA customer service - I don't care about it. Even if EAA went belly-up and Tanfoglio went out of business, I would still snap up the Stock, Stock II, Limited, Witness Gold Team, Hunter and/or Limited Pro if someone decided to dump theirs because it was no longer supported or customer service cussed them out and then hung up on them!

Sphinx no longer makes the AT2000 (or at least I believe they have been discontinued) and I will gladly snap one of these beauties up if someone wants to sell me a nice one for $1,000!

Tanfoglio makes really nice high-end guns. You get a heck of a lot more gun than you will with almost any other gun selling for the same price. I dont' care for the lower end Tanfoglios, but I do think even the Witness Match pistols are great pistols for the price.
 
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Don't overlook the Turks! The Sarsilmaz SAR that EAA also imports, and the Tristar imported by TriStar Sporting Arms, Ltd.
Both, like the Witness, are CZ75 copies.
 
I've had several witness semi autos, 45 and 9 mm.All were stellar and accurate.one small problem with a safety. They fixed it quickly and no charge. Lot of gun fun for the $.
 
Skans said:
Sphinx no longer makes the AT2000 (or at least I believe they have been discontinued) and I will gladly snap one of these beauties up if someone wants to sell me a nice one for $1,000!
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Check out the new Sphinx SDP. It's the compact version of their fullsize Sphinx service pistol, and very much like the 2000 series ATs. (I've had two of them.)

I'm shooting a Sphinx SDP on loan from the importer now, and it does everything the AT2000 did. It just maybe isn't as pretty at the AT2000 series. (The high-gloss stainless frames of the AT2000 were a turnoff for me, as they showed every little mark or scuff. A matte finish would have been better, I think.)

The Sphinx SDP has the same CZ ergonomics, same basic CZ pattern, but it's all taken a step or two farther, and available for under $1000 -- maybe quite a bit less in some places. They're arguably like a CZ Custom Shop gun, but a bit less expensive. (The CZ Custom Shop offers their own CZ Compact SDP but it runs about $400 more... I don't know which is the better buy, as the CZ Custom Shop guns are generally very nice guns; I do like the Sphinx SDP.)

The SDP I'm shooting is amazingly accurate. And while I don't like decockers, and that was the only version available when I got this one on loan. That said, I'm tempted to see if I can buy it from them later. Wonderful trigger (after I installed a lighter hammer spring -- with their approval.)
 
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