Witness 45 ($300) vs. low-end 1911 (5-600$$)

M

mept

New member
I am in the middle of adding to my collection. I have my PPK clone in 22, my euro-polymer glock-like M40 Steyr. My next gun is a Mak which I will get this coming month. For a low dollar 45 what should I do?
Who makes the best full size 1911 in the sub 600 range?
Which is more accurate in general, a low end 1911 or a witness?
Which is more reliable?
 
I have seen FEG's in the catalogs that come in .45 - If they are as good as the 9mm models they might be worth taking a look at. Have heard widely varied reports on the Charles Daly .45's - some excellent some bad...

Might also consider a Taurus or Ruger .45
Both should be relativly inexpensive, but reliable.
 
mept; I think the witness line of guns are good value but the very best value in that price range is the ruger P-90. I picked up a charles daly at a gunshop and it just didn't feel right. If I was in the market for a 1911 I get a kimber or springfield but they're almost twice as much as the ruger. Good Luck, j.s.
 
Ditto what j.s. parker said, the Ruger P90 is a really good, inexpensive .45. The ones I've shot have been accurate, reliable, good trigger pull. Supposedly originally built to handle 10mm, it's a bit bulky but very durable no doubt.

If $600 is your max, I'd look into a used Sig P220; the best .45 IMHO and they sell for under $600 used, around $600 new. As for 1911's the cheapest I can think of would be the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec, I think they still sell under $600. Charles Daly's I've seen I didn't like.

You might also check out the CZ-97. It's a .45, never shot one but have handled several; the DA trigger pull is nice but long, but you can carry condition 1. The Witness pistols are copycats of the CZ's and are decent for the money if you absolutely can't afford anything else. Goood luck.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KOG:
Ditto what j.s. parker said, the Ruger P90 is a really good, inexpensive .45. The ones I've shot have been accurate, reliable, good trigger pull. Supposedly originally built to handle 10mm, it's a bit bulky but very durable no doubt
<snip>

You might also check out the CZ-97. It's a .45, never shot one but have handled several; the DA trigger pull is nice but long, but you can carry condition 1.[/quote]


I generally agree, but would suggest the P-97 as a much improved version of the P-90, and for about he same price (under $350). The P-97 has a newly designed barrel/frame lockup which makes it more accurate, and the polymer frame makes it light and arguably more comfortable to shoot.

The Rugers will shoot anything and are almost indestructible.

I have a CZ-75, which I love -- and the CZ-97 is the .45 version of that gun.

Either way, you can't go wrong, and both are substantially less than most 1911s. (One exception is the Charles Daly II which generally gets good press.)
 
Walt, I totally forgot about the P97. Yes, better design, much less bulk than the P90, polymer frame. I think there's plenty for mept to choose from.
 
Own EAA 45, extremely accurate, but lacking in reliability (but so accurate I kept it).

Low end 1911 = Kimber, Springfield Armory.

Inexpensive 45 = Ruger.

You get what you pay for, except with the Ruger. They seem to be extremely accurate and reliable right from the (inexpensive) box.



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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
You can get a NIB P220 for under $600. Find a local FFL to handle the transfer and serach the Web. There are plenty of deals out there.

The Tanfoglio Witness pistols are spotty. Some are ultra reliable while others require work. it's the luck of the draw. Likewise with 1911s. I've heard very good things about Norincos. I've only had one failure to feed (with unjacketed lead nose) in a Springfield base model after many hundreds of rounds. I've seen NIB Norincos and Springfields in the $400 neighborhood at shows.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
Back a few years ago I did metal refinishing for a small custom gun shop. At least 50% of all the Tangfoglio guns I inspected prior to refinishing were cracked. The slides and frames are too hard. They didn't have their heat treat down. The slides cracked under the ejection port and the frames cracked through the slide stop hole. I doubt if they got it right.
 
I have the ruger P95 and P97 both are low priced , but very well made handgun's.
They shoot almost anything you put in them and do it with reliablity and accuracy.
For a good 45 auto I would go with the Ruger
P97 which now has the locking barrel.

Good luck
Tony Z

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www.vote.com
 
I just got my Witness "Combat." The full-size .45. I've put several hundred rounds of Blazer and Federal ammo through it with no problems of any kind. I've never had a large frame auto fit my hand like this one(CZ style), and I bought it for $309. Pretty good value, and there are numerous things that one can to do enhance the reliability of the pistol, via EAA-CORP gunsmiths. They are the importer of Tanfoglio. There website is www.tanfoglio.com .

I have never shot the Ruger P90 or P97, but they don't fit my hand. I have shot the P95 and it shot well, but still didn't fit my hand like the Tanfoglio. Hope this helps...Mike
 
How come everyone is so hot on the Witness .45 (pro and con) and no one seems to be mentioning the CZ-97? Isn't the CZ pretty reliable, and accurate--everything the Witness is, only better made? And it wouldn't run much higher than a Witness, and certainly way less than a Kimber or Springfield. Plus, IMHO it's way more comfortable in the grip than the 1911, and you can carry it the same way (cocked and locked) or as a double/single action.

Just a thought.
 
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