10mm fans -- thoughts on the EAA Witness?

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Old Dog

Old Dog

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Looking to get back into 10mm ... no longer a fan of Glock, traded off (regretfully) a Colt Delta Elite.

Been pondering either the SIG P-220 Elite in 10mm (haven't found one locally yet), but yesterday was offered a shot at an unfired Tanfoglio EAA Witness in 10mm (stainless finish) for what seems like a price too good to be true.

Examining the Witness, it seems solid with a decent fit and finish, and one has to like 15 + 1 for open carry up in the mountains. Strangely, the pistol comes with only one magazine and a quick internet perusal didn't come up with a source for spare magazines (or holsters).

Anyone have any experience with the 10mm Witness? (Or the SIG 10mm, for that matter).
 
I have the Elite Match. Love it, still looking for a good leather holster. Check with EAA and eBay for extra magazines.
 
These are well built guns and great shooters. Like all CZ's and there clones, the slide is sometimes hard to grasp as it is extremely thin vertically. They have excellent ergonomics and are very comfortable. Magazines can be expensive and EAA is difficult to deal with on warranty issues. If the price is right I would seriously consider it and wouldn't have any real functionality concerns.
 
Hilarious. Just came on the High Road to ask if anyone sees Witness Match pistols for under $600 anymore and this thread is on top.

I've read the steel Witness pistols (entry level) will crack w/ high power 10mm but EAA will fix it if you ship to them. Also any of the Witnesses above the steel like the Witness Match, Hunter etc are excellent w/o the cracking problem.

Take that for what it's worth from a guy that's never owned one.
Good luck!
 
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I have experience with the Elite Match pictured above.;)

The Witness is a fantastic pistol IMO. I originally intended to get a 10mm for mine, but three rare 10mm guns all but jumped in my lap and I pounced.:D
 
I like mine. The stainless finish is nice.

I recall an issue where there was a slide cracking problem with an earlier version of the design. Something about a rounded vrs. squared off slide profile? Hopefully someone can clarify the details. If this is a newer gun it won't be an issue.

CS can be spotty, or so I have read. Never needed to use it myself.

Be aware that Rock Island makes a 10mm 1911 now, too.
 
Been shooting a full-sized steel 10mm Auto Witness for a couple of years now with excellent results and no problems. I've seen magazines show up on GunBroker regularly, also you can order them directly from EAA. The 'cracked frames' reports that I have read online trace back to one individual who had his two Witnesses chrome-plated. He refused to consider a phenomenon called hydrogen-embrittlement, which can cause damage to the strength of plated steel items unless they are correctly heat-treated afterward. EAA refused to repair the guns since he had voided his warrantee, so he went on jihad against the gun and the firm.

Tanfoglio is the manufacturer and has an excellent reputation in Europe, where their sponsored shooters do very well in 3-gun and other competitions. The website "henlyshootsguns" has a lineup of add-on parts for the competition shooter.

Unlike the Delta Elite, there is full chamber support, so you can use full loads without concern. The same can't be said for early Glock 20s, though they supposedly fixed the problem in recent production. One assumes that the SIG 220 Elite has a fully supported chamber, for the price they ought to. When I was shopping for a 10mm Auto, my LGS had a gently used Glock 20 with an extra .40 S&W barrel, and the steel Witness. The Glock felt to me like a poorly balanced hammer, just clumsy and without natural pointing. The Witness felt like a real handgun, with the balance and pointing properties that mark a proper design. I bought the Witness for $450, and have never regretted it. Even at the new prices I consider them a bargain in this caliber.
 
I have a compact Witness in 10mm I bought used. The origional owner had to replace the slide (I think he said at his own expense) because it cracked. I like it a lot but I don't shoot it that often.
 
"elite"

Any time I see the word "Elite" fashionably engraved on the side of a pistol, I envision a four-eyed, double-chinned, marketing executive in New York, New York, rubbing his hands together in delight thinking of all the suckers he's going to take in with his tiny bit of paint and smoke.

"Not this little grey duck."
 
"match"

"Match" means something. Match-Grade ammunition, for example, means the ammunition meets or exceeds a certain standard; that the powder charge in each cartridge will be within a very narrow deviation, and that bullet weights and shape will also have a very small deviation between them.

"Elite" means nothing.
 
Gentlemen, thanks for all the info, very useful! (well, at least through post #11). Wreck-n-crew, that's the gun, and thanks, I'd not found the mags on Midway (one of my mainstay suppliers). Edarnold, appreciate that info as well.

Think I'm gonna pull the trigger on this deal and get back into the 10mm game ... (I'll admit I'm a sucker for the Tanfoglio styling, too).
 
I've been shooting Stock 2s and Limited Pros in competition for the last year in 9mm and .40.

I really wish I'd found these guns years ago.

EAA is impossible to deal with. Luckily there are some dealers out there that stock everything and are much more on the ball for virtually anything you'd need other than something warranty related.

Personally I think they are WAY under priced for what they are. The first time I ever picked one up I couldn't believe it retailed for well under $1k in the US. From what I understand, they went "cheap" in the US market for some reason, but that isn't the case in the rest of the world.

They are as big in competition internationally as the 2011 is in the US.
 
"elite"
Any time I see the word "Elite" fashionably engraved on the side of a pistol, I envision a four-eyed, double-chinned, marketing executive in New York, New York, rubbing his hands together in delight thinking of all the suckers he's going to take in with his tiny bit of paint and smoke.

"Not this little grey duck."
Click to expand...
"Match" is engraved on the side of the slide. Elite is not anywhere on the pistol...and they are made in Italy By Tanfoglio and imported to the US like many other fine pistols.
"Match" means something. Match-Grade ammunition, for example, means the ammunition meets or exceeds a certain standard; that the powder charge in each cartridge will be within a very narrow deviation, and that bullet weights and shape will also have a very small deviation between them.
Click to expand...
No you silly american it means it is for "match" competition...it is a pistol built for competition. Actually it is on the low end of their sporting pistols too. Even so the features must be added to most any other pistol and that cost money. An adjustable trigger with less than a 1/4 pull to break and reset is "match grade" and comes out of the box that way. From reading the groupings the pistol is more accurate than me and more accurate in my hands than any of the hundreds of different pistols I have owned or shot. The extended mag release is right there and makes dropping the mag much more efficient. The extended safety just as natural and easy to get to as the mag release.

Single action semi automatic pistol made for target shooting, I.P.S.C. - Standard Division - and I.D.P.A. competitions.
The Match production started in 1986 and it is the first “sport” pistol made by Tanfoglio : the classic line, the duo-tone color combination that
gives it elegance and grit, the reliability and accuracy in shooting are the peculiarities of this model.
The techincal characteristics of this model are: the barrel with polygonal rifling, the slide with large serrations, the extended safety, the
adjustable triggerwith a , the custom magazine catch, reversible for left hand shooters (Also extended), the nylon grips, the adjustbale SuperSight and the removable
dovetailed front sight.
Click to expand...
"Elite" means nothing.
Click to expand...
Neither does an uninformed opinion! ;)
 
Sigh. Every thread lately seems to attract the thread-crappers.

Wreck-n-crew, again, thanks for another good contribution. I am pretty certain that most of us here don't worry so much about the names of pistols or the words etched in the slides.
 
I blew this one up a long long time ago.
Don't use AA#5 powder under 200 grain bullets no matter what the loading manuals tell you.
medium.jpg
 
I had an early 10mm witness, it was actually one of the first ones in country because I pre-ordered mine and even talked to the head of Tanfolgio about delivery when I called about the delays on getting mine.

I shot the tar out of it and used it to work up nuclear loads. I abused on that gun in ways one should not because it only costs $285 back then and well frankly who cares about a gun that cheap. I bought it as a tool and a truck gun so it bounced in the truck and got used routinely for years. At about 10,000 rounds fired I sold it to a shooting buddy who continues to use it and shoot it so I occasionally see it at the range. Still accurate, reliable and well worn.

After several years I started missing the witness as it just shot well and was well made. Tough, tough steel. I won a shotgun tournament and traded the AR I won in on another Witness Hunter and a lot of mags. I have been pleased ever since.

Yes you can break them. Yes you can have trouble with service. I never did either and have been happy with the Witness Hunter I currently have.
 
I had a compact in 10mm with the wonder finish. It would throw the brass 25 yards. Other than that I had no problem with the gun.
 
jerkface11 said:
I had a compact in 10mm with the wonder finish. It would throw the brass 25 yards. Other than that I had no problem with the gun.
Click to expand...
I laugh picturing this for some reason. And then the search for brass commences in a 5000 square foot area.:)
 
Witness

I own 5 in 45 and 10mm...
2 are the Wondefinish Steel...2 are the Stock...and 1 Match.
All good guns.
I bought a new Hunter today in 10mm and took it home....removed the grip panels and found the frame cracked on both sides just inside of the Mag release. I was disappointed. Took it back to the store....they will ship it back free of charge under warranty. Didn't even shoot it....
I like their guns so I hope this is the anomaly in the bunch.....I guess I'll see about their customer service 1st hand.....hopefully it's a positive experience.
 
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