Witness 9mm?

N

Nightcrawler

New member
The local shop has a Witness 9mm for less than $300 (can't recall the exact price). It's new. My roommate likes it and is considering buying it. There are plenty of pre-ban 9mm magazines in 15 and 16 round capacities out there for the Witness, so that's a little bonus.

SWAT Magazine gave the Witness 10mm a good review. Does anybody have a Witness 9mm? How is it? Would it make a good first handgun for my roommate?
 
The Witness 10mm is a good value because there isn't any other 10mm available at a comparable price. On the other hand, for marginally more money than a 9mm Witness you can get a CZ-75B (figure $350 instead of $290) and have a much better piece of equipment. The Witness is just a CZ rip-off -- nothing wrong with that, mind you -- with inferior workmanship, finish, and trigger feel. Handle both and you will know what I mean, the difference is large and obvious. Hicaps are abundant too. The Witness isn't a POS by any stretch, I owned one in 10mm and it was quite reliable and passably accurate, but the CZ is superior.
 
just askin'...

See, the gun shop in question doesn't HAVE a CZ, and my roommate is on a college student budget. This won't be the handgun he'll rely on for the rest of his life, or anything like that. He plans on saving up for a nice .45, probably a Kimber or similar 1911 Variant, in the future, but he saw this one in the shop and kinda grew attached to it.
 
The EAA Witness is a clone of the CZ and handles just about as well and as reliably. Witness accuracy is up there with the CZ, which is just amazing. You may want a little trigger work later on, but this is just "icing" on the cake.
 
I paid $275 for my all steel 9mm Witness about 2 years ago. It's been great, very reliable and extremely accurate - far more than my Taurus PT92 that cost $100 more. A friend bought one from the same shop the same week and has had the same experience, they're great guns.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
 
Your friend would probably have great luck with the Witness 9mm.
I have a Windicator .357 and a friend has a Witness-ported .45 and both are nice competent handguns.
 
I feel your pain as to the college budget. Hell, when I was in college I couldn't afford a hamburger...much less a pistol!

I don't own a Witness but have handled and shot a few at the range. Tanfoglio(the manufacturer) makes a good weapon most of the time. Sometimes their QC isn't the best, but all of the manufacturers are guilty of that at one time or another.

The ones I have shot have been pretty accurate overall. Considering the guy's budget, I would say go for it if he can't find a used CZ75 for the same price.
 
EAA Witness

I acquired a TZ 75 in a trade several years ago. I probably had $200 it it. I have always carried a glock or K frame Smith. I did shoot the gun from time to time and was impressed with it. They seem to be heavier that the CZ from which they were copied.
Because of the weight, I never did carry it much.

My only comment about the gun is that it does not have any de-cocking mechanism. Other that that, it appears to be a great gun.

I eventually gave it to my son-in-law, who shoots it very well indeed. He is issued a 92 Beretta that he carries on duty, but prefers the TZ 75, and shoots it better than the Beretta. That is not necessarily criticism of the 92 but perhaps the state of the g.i. piece that he was issued.

I spend some time in Costa Rica. It seems that the TZ is very popular there and is preferred over the Taurus, which is seen a lot.

If the TZ was the only gun that you had, you would be well armed indeed.

Shoot often, shoot safely



jay
 
Witnesses

Witness makes a pretty good gun. I've got a Witness .45 Long Slide, and its a fine gun -- but its taken a lot of work (gunsmithing and dry firing) to get the double-action trigger to where its really acceptable. The SA is outstanding.

I've seen a lot for sale for around $200.

Witnesses seem to be somewhat different than CZs with regard to the trigger pull. Every CZ I've handled or shot had a pretty good DA first shot, and they've all been improved noticeably with time or gunsmithing. Witnesses seem to have a lot more STACK and staging in their DA than CZs, and if mine was any indication, gunsmiths can't do a lot to improve them.

For the money, your friend would do well to consider two other guns: a Ruger P-95 (9mm) or DaeWoo DP-51.

(I just picked up a DP-51 in a trade for a couple of old C&R rifles and I'm very impressed. The DP-51 has double action, single action, and something different, a third "Tri-action" mode, in which you start hammer down with a SA pull! A reasonably accurate gun, too. One of my shooting buddies shoots it better than I do, at the moment.)
 
OWN TWO

Buy.

If custom 'smithing is required (all my guns are 'tweaked') talk to Bob Cogan at www.apwcogan.com

One of my 9x19's (Nowlin hard-fit barrel) is 100% (yes, 100%) reliable, and really really accurate.

One is stock; used as test bed for multiple caliber/slide combo's, reliable and accurate.

NOT THE BEST triggers, but I don't realy care because they're "safe" triggers (nice-speak for "long, gritty, creepy, 5-6lbs"), not the fanciest fit/finish, but military-quality, hand-fitting, metal!!! pistols worth owning.

AP&W, EGW, 10-Ring, and maybe a few others can tune these up.

Buy.
 
Walt Sherrill
Tell us more about your Daewoo Dp-51 sometime.I wonder if this is the one that Century has,as they no longer allow commoners to see their inventory.:mad:
 
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