Tanfoglio Witness?

Overall, great. There are many different levels, from base models to premium.

Bad things you'll hear on the web are from decades ago, like cracked slides that were the round vs square or something. I don't know, I just know it hasn't mattered since I was in grade school.

One thing that I find confusing, is the "small" vs "large" frame variants. As far as I know, this is only for 9 and 40. Small frames use CZ75 mags, but can't be converted to 45 or 10mm. All the big calibers will be large frame, and conversion kits exist to swap calibers to anything.

So if you're going 10mm, it won't matter. You'll have a large frame.

I have two, A witness elite match and a compact. They are great shooters. I have since bought .40 S&W conversion kits for them to save on ammo cost. Highly recommended.

It is a variant of the large-framed CZ-95 and is not for small hands. My hands are medium and I'm used to double stacks so not too bad but these are not for EDC use by me.

It would however be a strong contender were I to be limited to one gun and that had to be a pistol.

Tanfoglio has been making CZ75 derivatives since the 1970's. They are good quality. Two of mine are Israeli surplus, a country which has a reputation for issuing good firearms.

I have two Israeli surplus 9mm's with steel frames, a steel framed 45acp target model, a 45acp polymer, and a 40 caliber polymer. They are all full-sized.

None of them has malfunctioned for me.

My 9mm versions are a little larger than my FiL's CZ75, which he bought brand-new, just a few years ago.

This is probably my favorite service pistol, out of many.

Swing said:

Thanks @SharpDog. Much appreciated. My hands are on the larger side, so I have no trouble with larger handguns, though sometimes struggle with mouse-guns. (For example, my all time favorite is the S&W Model 29 and that is on the upper side of handgun sizes.)

@Tarball thanks much.

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I Love my '29's. They are the main reason the Tangy's don't get shot as much:

I had a large-frame .45. Very accurate, never jammed.

Good pistol.

Prices are crazy right now, but if/when they settle down again...

A year or two ago it never took long to find a nice polymer Tanfoglio for a $250 bid on Gunbroker. That's what I paid for my two polymer models.

My two surplus pieces were $330 apiece plus shipping and FFL.

The target model was something like a $440 bid.

All of mine were bought used. I was tempted to buy one new in the late 80's and early 90's when they were super cheap, but I never got around to it.

EAA has one of the worst reputations for customer service in the industry. If you have one of the top-of-the-line guns, they'll help, but with a regular Witness pistol, you're gonna have problems.

Japle said:

EAA has one of the worst reputations for customer service in the industry. If you have one of the top-of-the-line guns, they'll help, but with a regular Witness pistol, you're gonna have problems.

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I dunno why you would ever need their CS. Pretty hard to imagine wearing out or breaking one of these in the first place.....

40K, When your pistol starts locking the slide back with rounds in the magazine and you try to get service, only to find out the "gunsmith" accuses you of shooting hot handloads (even though neither of us mentioned ammo until that instant), tells you your warranty is void and hangs up on you, needing service isn't the problem. What you need is a normal, polite human and at EAA you're not likely to find one.

They are very popular in USPSA competition, although not as popular as the CZ Shadow pistols.
I just ordered a new one, should be here soon

Japle said:

40K, When your pistol starts locking the slide back with rounds in the magazine and you try to get service, only to find out the "gunsmith" accuses you of shooting hot handloads (even though neither of us mentioned ammo until that instant), tells you your warranty is void and hangs up on you, needing service isn't the problem. What you need is a normal, polite human and at EAA you're not likely to find one.

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Fair enough.

My 9mm Tanfoglio runs like a top. I love it. Its accurate, fills my hand well, and I've never had a mechanical problem with it that wasn't fixed by a good cleaning every once in a while. If I was in the market for another 10mm (I like my G29), I'd get a Tanfoglio.

A fair comparison is a DW Kodiak versus a Tanfoglio Witness Hunter. When I made the comparison, I came to the conclusion that the Tanfoglio is a slightly better gun at about half the price.

So, I bought the Tanfoglio, and it is one of my favorites. I shot an entire season of two gun with this gun. Our two gun league was set up so everyone but me shot pistols 7 and 15 yards, rifles at 25 yards. I shot all the courses and all the distances head shots only with the Tanfoglio, except for the Texas Star, Pendulum, Popper, etc that didn’t have a head. I didn’t win a single stage on time only, but won a few after deductions were added to times. Damn, thinking on it now I had a lot of fun that season. Flawless operation, love the gun.

Do you want a SAO, like below, or a DA/SA? Generally, the straighter trigger, less curve is SAO, but not always so.

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I have an EAA Witness 9mm that I bought new about 25 years ago. I used it general range shooting at first then for USPSA matches. It is ported, which put me in open class. I didn't care, it was a gun I already had that I had magazines and a holster for. I later replaced it with other guns for USPSA use. Anyway it has about 50K rounds down the pipe. It has been very accurate and utterly reliable throughout. I have changed springs in it, more out of guilt than necessity. Other than cleaning and the aforementioned spring changes, it has never needed anything.

I later got a job at a gun store and needed to call (very) occasionally for parts to repair a Tanfoglio product. I never actually talked to a human being. It was like leaving a message on an answering machine. However if I outlined the problem and stated that it should be under warranty, the parts arrived free of charge a few days later.

I bought two new EAA .45 steel framed pistols about 10 years ago (one a compact and one full sized). Short story is that both frames and one slide cracked at about a 3,000 round count of standard pressure ammo. EAA had me send them in at my expense and then refused to honor their "lifetime warranty" because they had been hardchromed. Also the compact would drop the hammer when the safety was engaged and the trigger pressed. So they were fun and accurate for the short time they functioned.
And to be fair to EAA I did a recent google search of "EAA customer service reviews" and it seems like their CS has somewhat improved in recent years.

best wishes- oldandslow

This is my favorite pistol. Looks good, feels good, and shoots very good. Load up some 180 GR., XTP's over 14.0 GR. of AA-9, you now have a winner. I did go to a heavier recoil spring.

Japle said:

EAA has one of the worst reputations for customer service in the industry. If you have one of the top-of-the-line guns, they'll help, but with a regular Witness pistol, you're gonna have problems.

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They were helpful to me in ordering my .40 S&W conversions and extra magazines. No complaints.

The Italian Firearms Group sells Tanfoglios under the Defiant label.
http://www.italianfirearmsgroup.com/ftitalia

I have weighed the pros and cons of a witness 10mm for so long that it’s silly. I decided to get one a couple years ago, I’m still debating which variation. Limited, Elite, Hunter... the few witnesses I have held were all small frame full size guns, and I was impressed. If the big boys are as nice I will eventually regret not jumping in sooner.

WestKentucky said:

I’m still debating which variation. Limited, Elite, Hunter...

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You may want to let holster availability help with your decision.

JTQ said:

You may want to let holster availability help with your decision.

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That was helping until I started playing with leather.