EAA brand, opinions?

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lionking

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I just discovered this handgun being on the look out for target bulls eye single action/double semi-auto with adjustable sights under $1000 . H&K and SIG are normally priced way above this unless you get lucky finding a used one selling for a deal. Only other option is a Beretta 92 which I do love and have. Other ones like Glock and Springfield XDM are striker fired.

EAA Witness match P, available in 9mm, .40, 10mm and .45 ACP.

I have heard of EAA for a long time but first time I'm really looking at the brand, opinions?
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EAA is an importer. They don't make anything. What you want to know is the reputation of the particular manufacturer of the gun - in this case, Tanfoglio.

Their metal-framed guns (not the base series, but the nicer models) are very, very popular in USPSA/IPSC and have been used to win lots of national and world championships. I love them. You do have to understand they are basically performance machines made for competitive shooters - they're not going to be like Glocks. They're going to be much better than Glocks, but have more personality. They are built for a market where everyone tinkers with their guns. Doing a trigger job on them is not a matter of buying a new connector and dropping it in, for example. And you might have to tinker just a bit to get it to run 100%... but, once set up correctly, they will run as reliably as anything (including Glocks) in a competitive environment of crazy high round counts.

The polymer thing is... well, it's something they are doing. I haven't played with one, but the grip is much bigger than on the steel-framed guns. Frankly, I don't understand the appeal of a big polymer gun (and they are pretty big).

ETA: Please be aware that the Match P and Match P Pro (which is short for "production") are different guns. The former will be SAO, the latter DA/SA. The one you have pictured appears to have an SAO trigger - there's a lot more curve on the DA ones.
 
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A whole LOT of folk love EAA as entry level competition guns.

This one sounds like just what you're looking for.

Well made Italian take on a legendary Czech, basic design at a great price. Seems like an easy bet if you want a pistol of such pointed and deliberate design as a *competition* gun.

I have yet to keep an EAA as they always seem to duplicate something I already have or eventually acquire but I've been 100% pleased with all of them.


Todd.
 
EAA witness pistols are Tanfoglio CZ pattern pistols imported and rebranded. The alloy frames get great reviews, but I know zilch about the polymer frames aside from the fact that a coworker has a witness p match in every flavor they make them in. He’s a good guy with good taste and is solid on what he buys, so if he liked his 9 well enough to drop coin on a 10, 45, and I think 40sw then that’s enough for me. I still want two-tone alloy though.
 
A whole LOT of folk love EAA as entry level competition guns.

There's really nothing "entry level" about their elite-series guns. If you're shooting a division that requires a DA/SA gun, there's literally nothing to upgrade to that's better.

There's also nothing particularly "basic" about their design or feature set. CZ re-copied a lot of the stuff Tanfo' had added to the type when they launched their Shadow 2 and TSO models (which are awesome).
 
I had one of their all metal guns probably 12 years ago. I didn't keep out for long because I don't compete and sold it to fund something else. It shot really well though.
 
I have five CZ75 style pistols made by Tanfoglio. Some are steel, a couple are polymer. They're my favorite service-type pistols.

Here's an inexpensive polymer 40 caliber version.
 
I've had several EAA Tangfoglio products metal and plastic in 45 and 9mm. All were good , trust worthy, and well worth the money
 
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I prefer the metal-framed Witness pistols. One of the best features IMO is the conversion kits available for them. I don't know of another pistol - certainly not one with a metal frame - that has more factory conversion options available. At one time there were 10 calibers available, although not all were offered by the factory.

Mine came in .45 and .22 as originally built. I had plans to get 10mm, 9mm and .38 Super conversion kits but that ended up getting pushed to the side.
 
They are based on the CZ design, but be aware that they are NOT clones and very few parts are interchangeable outside of some small springs.

That said, parts availability (stock and aftermarket) today is very good compared to a few years ago.
Stock triggers suck, but as mentioned, they are made for a market where everyone, bar none, is going to be upgrading the trigger anyway. You can vastly improve it yourself with a few minor aftermarket parts and some 600 grit sandpaper if you are remotely mechanically inclined. The Elite series at least,is very accurate, another nod to competition. Much more than most service grade pistols.
 
I have 3 steel Tanfoglio guns, all made about 30 years ago. The two full sized ones are pretty much my favorite guns.
 
I used to own 3 Witness pistols. 9mm, .38 Super and .45 ACP. I was a strong supporter of the Witness, but when my .45 started locking the slide back with rounds in the chamber, that all changed.

NOTE: Do NOT suggest reasons and solutions for this problem. I tried everything you can think of and more, consulted with Witness gurus, etc. I found out it’s a not-uncommon problem and no one knows why it happens.

When I called and talked to the “gunsmith” at EAA, he told me, without asking anything about ammo, that I’d been shooting hot handloads in the gun (a lie) and my warranty was void. Then he hung up.

I tried talking to other EAA employees, but was always referred to “the gunsmith” who refused to discuss the problem or examine the gun. I sold my other two Witness pistols and the .45 sits in the safe.

BTW, I live 20 minutes from the business, but they will not take walk-ins. From what I’ve heard from other Witness owners, EAA is happy to help with their top-of-the-line guns, but ignore owners of anything less.
 
They are Wunderbar.

Any negative talk probably stems from like the 80's where some models had cracked frames or slides.

If you like CZ style guns, you'll like the Tangfos
 
I used to own 3 Witness pistols. 9mm, .38 Super and .45 ACP. I was a strong supporter of the Witness, but when my .45 started locking the slide back with rounds in the chamber, that all changed.

NOTE: Do NOT suggest reasons and solutions for this problem. I tried everything you can think of and more, consulted with Witness gurus, etc. I found out it’s a not-uncommon problem and no one knows why it happens.

When I called and talked to the “gunsmith” at EAA, he told me, without asking anything about ammo, that I’d been shooting hot handloads in the gun (a lie) and my warranty was void. Then he hung up.

I tried talking to other EAA employees, but was always referred to “the gunsmith” who refused to discuss the problem or examine the gun. I sold my other two Witness pistols and the .45 sits in the safe.

BTW, I live 20 minutes from the business, but they will not take walk-ins. From what I’ve heard from other Witness owners, EAA is happy to help with their top-of-the-line guns, but ignore owners of anything less.

Well I have not had problems, but hearing this from another customer will likely discourage me from buying another.
This is what forums do well. Thank you for sharing, I hate it when people make assumptions about what I have done.
 
As stated, EAA is an importer. Some of what they import are cheap firearms, some are great. The Tangfo’s are good. Their Baikals, not so much. Their Ural rifles were great.
 
I used to have a Springfield P9C chambered in 40 S&W. the pistols are made by Tangfoglio and a similar pattern as the Witness line of pistols.

The gun would bend the pin on the slide stop under recoil such that it could not be disassembled. The slide stop was a wear item for me.

As a result, I have sworn off EAA Witness pistols and anything else made by Tanfoglio. If I had to guess, it is one of the reasons that Springfield orphaned the pistol.

I'm sure others have had better results, just not me. The P9C is one of the few ;pistols that I have sent down the road.
 
I used to have a Springfield P9C chambered in 40 S&W. the pistols are made by Tangfoglio and a similar pattern as the Witness line of pistols.

The gun would bend the pin on the slide stop under recoil such that it could not be disassembled. The slide stop was a wear item for me.

As a result, I have sworn off EAA Witness pistols and anything else made by Tanfoglio. If I had to guess, it is one of the reasons that Springfield orphaned the pistol.

I'm sure others have had better results, just not me. The P9C is one of the few ;pistols that I have sent down the road.
Springfield had something do with Tangfoglio?
 
I used to own 3 Witness pistols. 9mm, .38 Super and .45 ACP. I was a strong supporter of the Witness, but when my .45 started locking the slide back with rounds in the chamber, that all changed.

NOTE: Do NOT suggest reasons and solutions for this problem. I tried everything you can think of and more, consulted with Witness gurus, etc. I found out it’s a not-uncommon problem and no one knows why it happens.

When I called and talked to the “gunsmith” at EAA, he told me, without asking anything about ammo, that I’d been shooting hot handloads in the gun (a lie) and my warranty was void. Then he hung up.

I tried talking to other EAA employees, but was always referred to “the gunsmith” who refused to discuss the problem or examine the gun. I sold my other two Witness pistols and the .45 sits in the safe.

BTW, I live 20 minutes from the business, but they will not take walk-ins. From what I’ve heard from other Witness owners, EAA is happy to help with their top-of-the-line guns, but ignore owners of anything less.
That's a pretty messed up story there Japle.
 
I ran into the Tanfoglio rep at a S.H.O.T. Show in Orlando several years ago. When I tried to tell him how bad the customer service at EAA was, he turned his back on me. I got in his face and used some phrases I'd learned from SEALs. I am not, as you may suspect, much of a fan of Tanfoglio.
 
My conclusion---from what others have said---- is that the pistols are good but service in the U.S. is very questionable. This is too bad.
 
Sportsmansguide has a Tanfoglio on sale that I've been on the fence about. I looked up reviews, and the reviews on the pistol in question and Tanfoglios in general were pretty good. After hearing about the terrible CS I might experience should I have a problem, I think I'll stay clear of this company... Rather just spend the few extra dollars for the real thing and a warranty via CZ.
 
I usually don't worry about customer service for any company. If I need to have a gun worked I give it to my gunsmith.
 
If I were teaching a business school class, I'd be awfully tempted to use this thread and its myriad clones on the web to show how a company selling a very good product at a very good price point can really screw themselves out of a lot of sales/business just by catastrophically mishandling a comparatively small number of customer interactions.
 
Amazing to say the least. I have a metal Witness 45acp and a Witness Pavona 380. Love them enough that my next gun I hope to be a Metal Witness Compact in 9mm. But then what do I know, one of my favorite shooting pistols is a Taurus PT92C.
 
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