Wreck-n-Crew
Member
I am a little behind on the review for My Tanfoglio Wintness Elite Match in 10mm. I am closer to 6,000 rounds at the moment.
As far as round count goes I should have been here a lot sooner but I dont take the Elite Match out as often because I hate chasing brass for one. For 2 tired of loosing it. Needless to say I have worked on several methods to help solve the issues and I know have the easiest method to retain the most brass and it works for me.
As far as how a 10mm is we all know they can sling some brass. The trouble is when you mess with loads or recoil spring weights you can make things worse. A brass catcher is only so efficient too.
I shoot 180gr for the most part and load them for full power. I never saw a use in having a 10mm of your going to shoot 40 cal. velocities. If I wanted 40 caliber velocities I would just have a 40 caliber!.
On to the pistol.....
The Elite Match is an Italian made pistol. I must say they build a nice one too. This is no exception either. The fit and finish as well as the case are on par with a fine made pistol. In some ways the cost of the pistol is not bad and can be compared to some higher end offerings on the market.
Some facts about the pistol....
It comes in a nice case with dual 3 digit combination locks on the latches. Reminiscent of the old brief cases you see in movies from the 80's and 90's movies that are always full of cash. The foam is not the cheap stuff and is cutout to hold the gun,mag, and cleaning kit.
The pistol comes with one 14 round ( if you can ever get the last one in there) magazine. To this day I forgo the 14th round because the spring is just too stiff. So 13 it is. The magazine follower is worn enough now on the place that holds the magazine catch. So no automatic slide lock with the factory mag anymore. Bummer. I need more mags and have procrastinated purchasing extra. That ends as soon as I can find some.
It has a pretty decent cleaning kit. The kind where everything stashes inside the handle. The rods screw together and are made of brass. Nice touch I suppose.
The recoil spring is a little weak. 14lb is not made for 10mm. It's made for 40. From what I gather the Italians think we overload 10mm...really!? I have run it with a #20 pund #18 pound and now a #16 pound spring. For what it's worth the #18lb at least keeps brass ejecting in the same vicinity. But it's a little stiff. The #16 seems to work best with the 180gr full power loads. A balance of easier to rack the slide and brass ejection more back and to the right.
The sights are pretty basic with an adjustable rear sight for wind age and elevation. They are easy to pick up for me and I can shoot lights out with them. ( per my skills. ).
The design is a CZ clone. Low bore axis and not a lot of purchase room to rack the slide. So the heavier the spring the better grip strength is required.
The whole pistol has a two tone look with 2 finishes on the frame. Bead blast and smooth stainless. It all comes together with the black slide, slide stop,grips, and magazine. Personally I like the look. Some may not.
Being a match grade pistol it comes with an adjustable trigger. And this trigger is the best feature if you ask me. Whether you want a little stake up or very little it's up to you but it's not the only adjustment the trigger has. The reset is also adjustable and I love it. I have mine set for a little take up, wall, break, short reset.
The trigger feels much lighter because of how smooth it is from day one. No grit. No stacking and the cleanest break you could want. They took the time with the trigger and I have fired much more expensive guns with the nice triggers and it beats some and on par with others. But I can't say it falls behind either. Definitely a positive attribute. The edges are properly rounded and smooth.
The trigger face itself is finished well. It's not a flat face but not a curved trigger either like on a revolver. It has a flat middle section where the finger goes and enough to accommodate the big fat fingers too.
The grip is a typical CZ contour and a little larger that a 75. I still manage to get my short fingers around it and get the finger on the right spot. It doesn't feel big either and my Glock19 4 does even without a back strap . But it's a glock and we all know that the grip is not the best feature on them.
The stock barrel is 5" ( maybe 51/4", memory is slipping) from the looks at the muzzle it appears to be the same rifling found on the older gen Glocks but dont quote me on that! Even so it has had a steady diet of 180gr Coated SWC I cast myself since it bought it new. No leading or coating build up. Cleans easy. Most importantly it is very accurate. In the right hands I would guess as match worthy as any pistol as far as accuracy goes. For other reasons it may not blend well for people. It's not light for one. 10mm is not what most people think of when they think match too.
The mag release is extended but I dont accidentally hit it either. It's very functional and makes me want a 9mm version along with everything else I like about this gun.
Recoil is surprisingly manageable for a 10mm with full loads. Though I suggest a 16-18lb recoil spring. The 20 is too stiff. The original 14 is not strong enough and acts like a
The slide fit is real tight. So much so I was concerned that it would hinder function. Even to this day it fits real snug with no chance of rattle. Almost 6k rounds kind of says it is definately machined with quality to last.
The Elite match is the bottom Tier of the Match and competition line of Tanfoglio pistols. Though the features are rich and no corners cut in quality. The ergonomics are pretty good for a larger pistol and did I mention it is Single Acrion Only? ( think I forgot to mention that)
I practice with my carry pistol ( G19 Gen4 with a trigger job) often enough to keep my skills what they are. But I still cannot outshoot the witness on a good day.
Edit to add: reliability! I forgot reliability! Never a failure caused by the gun. I did load some rounds and the bullet was too long for the magazine though. Did realize it until "click" racket the slide back and the bullets were stuck in the magazine...oops! Lol.
Such a pleasure to shoot.
The bigger group was mag dumps ( 3 I think? ) See attached images.
As far as round count goes I should have been here a lot sooner but I dont take the Elite Match out as often because I hate chasing brass for one. For 2 tired of loosing it. Needless to say I have worked on several methods to help solve the issues and I know have the easiest method to retain the most brass and it works for me.
As far as how a 10mm is we all know they can sling some brass. The trouble is when you mess with loads or recoil spring weights you can make things worse. A brass catcher is only so efficient too.
I shoot 180gr for the most part and load them for full power. I never saw a use in having a 10mm of your going to shoot 40 cal. velocities. If I wanted 40 caliber velocities I would just have a 40 caliber!.
On to the pistol.....
The Elite Match is an Italian made pistol. I must say they build a nice one too. This is no exception either. The fit and finish as well as the case are on par with a fine made pistol. In some ways the cost of the pistol is not bad and can be compared to some higher end offerings on the market.
Some facts about the pistol....
It comes in a nice case with dual 3 digit combination locks on the latches. Reminiscent of the old brief cases you see in movies from the 80's and 90's movies that are always full of cash. The foam is not the cheap stuff and is cutout to hold the gun,mag, and cleaning kit.
The pistol comes with one 14 round ( if you can ever get the last one in there) magazine. To this day I forgo the 14th round because the spring is just too stiff. So 13 it is. The magazine follower is worn enough now on the place that holds the magazine catch. So no automatic slide lock with the factory mag anymore. Bummer. I need more mags and have procrastinated purchasing extra. That ends as soon as I can find some.
It has a pretty decent cleaning kit. The kind where everything stashes inside the handle. The rods screw together and are made of brass. Nice touch I suppose.
The recoil spring is a little weak. 14lb is not made for 10mm. It's made for 40. From what I gather the Italians think we overload 10mm...really!? I have run it with a #20 pund #18 pound and now a #16 pound spring. For what it's worth the #18lb at least keeps brass ejecting in the same vicinity. But it's a little stiff. The #16 seems to work best with the 180gr full power loads. A balance of easier to rack the slide and brass ejection more back and to the right.
The sights are pretty basic with an adjustable rear sight for wind age and elevation. They are easy to pick up for me and I can shoot lights out with them. ( per my skills. ).
The design is a CZ clone. Low bore axis and not a lot of purchase room to rack the slide. So the heavier the spring the better grip strength is required.
The whole pistol has a two tone look with 2 finishes on the frame. Bead blast and smooth stainless. It all comes together with the black slide, slide stop,grips, and magazine. Personally I like the look. Some may not.
Being a match grade pistol it comes with an adjustable trigger. And this trigger is the best feature if you ask me. Whether you want a little stake up or very little it's up to you but it's not the only adjustment the trigger has. The reset is also adjustable and I love it. I have mine set for a little take up, wall, break, short reset.
The trigger feels much lighter because of how smooth it is from day one. No grit. No stacking and the cleanest break you could want. They took the time with the trigger and I have fired much more expensive guns with the nice triggers and it beats some and on par with others. But I can't say it falls behind either. Definitely a positive attribute. The edges are properly rounded and smooth.
The trigger face itself is finished well. It's not a flat face but not a curved trigger either like on a revolver. It has a flat middle section where the finger goes and enough to accommodate the big fat fingers too.
The grip is a typical CZ contour and a little larger that a 75. I still manage to get my short fingers around it and get the finger on the right spot. It doesn't feel big either and my Glock19 4 does even without a back strap . But it's a glock and we all know that the grip is not the best feature on them.
The stock barrel is 5" ( maybe 51/4", memory is slipping) from the looks at the muzzle it appears to be the same rifling found on the older gen Glocks but dont quote me on that! Even so it has had a steady diet of 180gr Coated SWC I cast myself since it bought it new. No leading or coating build up. Cleans easy. Most importantly it is very accurate. In the right hands I would guess as match worthy as any pistol as far as accuracy goes. For other reasons it may not blend well for people. It's not light for one. 10mm is not what most people think of when they think match too.
The mag release is extended but I dont accidentally hit it either. It's very functional and makes me want a 9mm version along with everything else I like about this gun.
Recoil is surprisingly manageable for a 10mm with full loads. Though I suggest a 16-18lb recoil spring. The 20 is too stiff. The original 14 is not strong enough and acts like a
The slide fit is real tight. So much so I was concerned that it would hinder function. Even to this day it fits real snug with no chance of rattle. Almost 6k rounds kind of says it is definately machined with quality to last.
The Elite match is the bottom Tier of the Match and competition line of Tanfoglio pistols. Though the features are rich and no corners cut in quality. The ergonomics are pretty good for a larger pistol and did I mention it is Single Acrion Only? ( think I forgot to mention that)
I practice with my carry pistol ( G19 Gen4 with a trigger job) often enough to keep my skills what they are. But I still cannot outshoot the witness on a good day.
Edit to add: reliability! I forgot reliability! Never a failure caused by the gun. I did load some rounds and the bullet was too long for the magazine though. Did realize it until "click" racket the slide back and the bullets were stuck in the magazine...oops! Lol.
Such a pleasure to shoot.
The bigger group was mag dumps ( 3 I think? ) See attached images.
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