Info Needed...EAA Witness .45 ACP

J

JL Hunnicutt

New member
I need some info on these guns. What are your experiences? How is the reliability/acccuracy? A local shop has a used stainless for $279.00. George Stringer is really complimentary toward these guns. Your info is appreciated.
 
Good price, depending on if there is any appreciable wear. It is NOT stainless it is a heat-treating process they call 'wonder' finish. It is pretty good... much better than bluing and akin to Stainless in its corrosion resistance.

I found the 45 to be very reliable and accurate. It's pleasant to shoot and the 10rd capacity was nice when I had it. Sold two others new to friends of mine. One reported magazine problems that kept him from using hollow-points with that mag, but otherwise both loved their guns.

I'd say for the money that you cannot go wrong. I agree with George. The CZ-75 design is well built and thought out. Tanfoglio does almost as good a job as CZ at making the gun. They are much more responsive to market forces too.

http://www.eaacorp.com
 
JL,

I have had the full size Witness for nearly 10 month's now. I have had 0 FTF's in over 1000 rounds of various ammo, including +p's(although EAA Corp states you are NOT to shoot +P's). I am currently in the process of making my own wood/cocobolo grips, but the project was put on hold as my wife delivered our baby 1 month early and I haven't had the chance to finish, though I am close. I find it easy to carry CCW, and it fits nearly all Beretta/CZ holsters. Blade-Tec makes custom holsters for them as well as Ted Blocker, and others. I have heard of negative comments regarding Witness pistols, but I have yet to experience them. EAA's customer service is lacking, and that is my experience, but Tanfoglio has been more than responsive to any inquiry that I have had.

In my experience, recoil is soft, the trigger breaks cleanly and evenly, the thumb safety is stout and secure and the pistol is very pointable.

badgerarms is correct that it is NOT stainless, but "wonderfinish." I was going to get the CZ97B but when i held it side by side next to the Witness, it won hands down. Nothing against the CZ, but the Witness looked and felt better IMHO. Hope this helps...

Mike
 
What the other guys said and....

I've had mine since April and have put 1200+ rounds through it. It is a very pleasant .45 to shoot due to the girth of the grip and the weight. I've had 7 jams. Five of them were with CCI Blazer JHP's out of a really crappy pro mag magazine that I bought for cheap. The other two were right after I put a 18lb recoil spring in it and the spring was settling it.

Excellent gun for the money. I would suggest the 18lb spring as the 14lb stock spring seemed to let the gun unlock too soon.

Safariland's 560 paddle holster fits it and works quite well.

regards,
David
 
I like mine well enough, though I would concur that it is undersprung. I was wondering what weight to go to, and it looks like 18# is it.:) I feel that the thumb safety is a bit 'light', ala the BHP, or my CZ-75 Military. It has not budged, though, the few times that I've carried it. It is MUCH more compact than the CZ-97, and is barely larger than the CZ-75, mostly due to the barrel and extended grip tang.

I've had only limited use with JHPs so far, and no problems with the various brands of ball that I've shot. I'm waiting to see if it will feed SWCs well, as another poster said that it was finicky with them. The cheapest I've seen a new one in wonderfinish is $319. So, the used one doesn't sound too bad. As always, you should offer less.:)
 
I've had one for about 2 years. I shoot some IDPA with it and alot of paper and plates. I have had no trouble with it at all. It shoots lead reloads as well as hardball Wolf, Winchester, UMC, and fmj reloads. Good trigger, accurate, and reliable. Easy to find holsters for. Mec-gar replacement mags are under $20 bucks. I'm very satisfied with the one I bought.
 
victor, I found that with the stock recoil spring the gun flung brass about 15-20 feet away and there were streak marks on the primers where the gun was unlocking before the firing pin retracted. Those are pretty sure signs that the gun isn't staying locked long enough.

With the 18 pounder the brass goes about 12 feet. I occasionaly get streaks on the primers but they are lighter. The gun functions fine with the 18lb spring. You might want to experiment with a 20 pounder but I would shoot enough to make sure the slide isn't going to short cycle.

I was a little concerned about the safety too, but I've found that it stays put. It seems it releases easily when pressed straight down but it isn't succeptable to being rubbed off by indirect pressure.

O-town, I'm not sure how to compare it to the GLock 27. It's kind of apples and oranges.

regards,
David
 
Witness .45

The Witness is a good gun as long as you treat it with kid gloves. I bought one with the fixed sights several years ago and cracked the slide at the rear of the ejection port. Some of the loads were of the plus P variety but not enough so or enough of them to do that kind of damage to a firearm designed properly. So I sent it back and they replaced the slide. Eight months later, with only 200gr lead at 900 to 950fps loads (about 1500) the new slide cracked again in the same place. So back to them. New slide. About six months later(?) the frame cracked from the hole the safety gos through, along the inner rail slot to the back of the frame. By this time I'm really not happy. So this time they send back the gun with the match slide with a frame that was originally part of a .38 super. I still have this firearm and it will shoot 1&1/2 inch groups at 25 yards. I only fire 200gr lead bullets at 875 to 900 fps loads and then only during a match requiring gun that's that accurate. It does need stronger springs and I got mine from Wolfe along with extra power magazine springs. I would like to know how the guns on that same frame in 10mm are holding up. The bottom line is there is not enough steel in the ejection port area for a powerful cartridge.
 
Well, O-town....

It's a full-size, all-steel pistol in .45 acp, whereas the Glock 27 is a sub-compact polymer frame. So obviously, concealment is no comparison, nor is weight. I would hazard a guess that recoil is much less noticeable with the Witness.

The Witness also features a manual safety so it can be carried in Condition One. However, it is also capable of double action. Double action may be problematic because it doesn't have a decocker and is DA/SA. I don't mind DA/SA, but if you're accustomed to Glock triggers it may bug you to have to learn two trigger pulls.
 
LOUDER: I don't know that my brass goes that far, but I do notice the primer wiping with the stouter loads. I may just order both, as you said.

KP95: I've read before that you've had frustration with one.:( I'm glad to see that it's worked out for you. Can you tell us, how did you magage to get a response out of EAA? Or, did you have to contact Tanfoglio directly?
 
Response to VictorLouis

My problems occured several years ago and things may be different now; but, I find it real hard to accept no for an answer. I did deal with EEA and while they were not easy I was persistent. One other thing the chamber on the match bbl that I ended up with is very tight. Resizing the brass is almost effortless compared to my other 45 acp guns. As long as it doesn't break again I will not get rid of it for love or money. Well, maybe for enough money. It's like a guy I knew used to say, "Everything is for sale except the wife and kids; and we can talk about them."
 
Hey anyone have a CZ-75 and a Witness? I am curious to know if the grips are interchangable. Can the witness grips (9mm) fit on the CZ? I want some polymer ivory grips and the only ones I can find are for the witness or TZ-75 line.

thanks

Shiro
 
KP, are you sure that those are the only loads you ran through that gun before you cracked the frame and slide?? After all, you ARE famous for your reloading bench concoctions.;)
 
Thanks to those of you who answered my question, but I was asking about the size of the compact EAA witness to the Glock 27. I typed my question wrong.

O-town
 
I hammer the snot out of my Witnesses.

Bought a 45, never worked 100%. Real accurate, so I just couldn't sell it. Bought the 38 Super top, swapped in on the large frame, and that combo has been flawless.

Might try a different 45 barrel, or maybe a new Longslide top for it.

My 9mm frames, running all available tops, are awesome. 'Course, I've seen a couple bad ones...
 
Should have added that one of my 9x19 EAA barrels slugged at .3586".
Took me a bit to figure that one out. But guess what habit it started?




---------------------------------

"all my misses were factory misses"
 
The Witness saga.

I went back and reread what I had written and I didn't have any problem understanding any of it. Is it that you don't understand or that you don't believe? I can't help you with the first and I don't care about the second. If you see a post from me it will be detailed and the truth, if not relevant.
 
shiroikuma - I've checked a couple of sources, they all tell me the CZ grips won't fit the Witness.
The only problems I've had with my Carry Comp is that it won't reliably feed SWC's. The first 5 or 6 rounds feed OK, after that they jam. All other ammo I've used feeds fine.
Had to adjust my grip at first, my thumb kept engaging the safety during recoil. The slide release lever is a little too far away for my short fingers. Did some checking at the gun shop, the release lever on a Baby Eagle is extended and fits the Witness so that problem was solved.
I've put nearly a thousand rounds through the thing must say overall I'm pleased with it.
 
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