I called Tressitu, the manufacturer, and spent an hour talking to three of their engineers including a gunsmith several months ago.
The concern I'd have is that six months ago, the TZ-99s were all over the place. But now they are hard to find.
That had one for rental at Wade's Guns in Bellevue WA but after a month of infreqeunt use but frequent cleanings, it broke and was sent back to the factory. The gunsmith thought it was a decent gun for the money.
Tressitu's website was great. They were definitely going after the glock/sig market with a less expensive gun. Their webiste even copied the Glock torture tests including TZs that were frozen, run over and thrown into the mud!
But their website is not longer on the web. It was:
http://www.tressitu.co.za/tz_99/tz99.htm
I was real close to snagging one for $269 with a pair of hi-cap mags. It is a Sig clone. Put them side by side and you'll see!
It was designed as a Sig P220/Astra A-100 clone with some thoughful modifications. The rights to make the TZ-99 were bought from an Italian company who previously made the CZ-99 but sold out to Tressitu.
The key diff between the Sig P220 and the TZ-99 is the ambidexterous slide release/decocker. The P228 is much smaller than the TZ-99.
When I shot the TZ-99, it was reasonably accurate when I shot a box of (PMC) pretty much crap through it. It even had a test target like a Sig! It was almost as accurate as my Sig P226. But the fit, finish, and feel of the TZ-99 is chinsey.
But something made me hold off on buying the TZ-99. I ended up saving the $ and buying a gently-used Sig P226 for $130 more.
As someone said, it's an orphan. Buy with extreme caution knowing it's a risky proposition and forget parts, service, and accessories.
It's a $275 hi cap throw-away gun when it breaks!!!!!!!
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The Seattle SharpShooter
[This message has been edited by jtduncan (edited February 21, 2000).]