EAA Witness owners...

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skeptiq

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Been kicking around the idea of purchasing one. So if you wouldn't mind, please post a little about your experience with it.

Full size or Compact?
9mm / 40s&w / 45 acp / 10mm?
How do you like the trigger?
Accuracy (group sizes / yards)?
Recommend them?
Any other helpful info!

Thanks in advance!
 
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I really wanted my Witness to work, but it just wouldn't. I had the Witness .40S&W compact with the sharp-looking Starvel finish a few years ago. It was a fine looking pistol with excellent ergonomics and a heft that would inspire confidence in its robustness. Unfortunately, mine would choke on the last 3-4 rounds in all three magazines I had for it, always an identical failure to feed.

I sent it back three times to EAA for warranty repair and all three times had it returned as "Test fired: OK". I ended up practically giving it away in frustration.

When it worked, it was a dream to shoot and provided decent groups. If I were able to test-fire another to find it reliable, I wouldn't mind buying another. I just don't want to take the chance of ending up with another lemon.
I admit to eyeing the Witness in 10mm, but alas... once bitten twice shy I suppose. :(
 
Full size Witness in 45 ACP with the Wonder Finish. Good shooter, accurate, and reliable. Glad I bought this one, has a special place with the others.

DSC00360.jpg
 
I have the full size Witness .45 with the Wonder Finish. These represent an excellent value, I really like mine.

Pros: Great accuracy, excellent ergonomics, solid, well constructed, machined, very tight, SA trigger on mine was very good out of the box, fixed sights well regulated.

Cons: Sights are so-so (front sight is the culprit), supplied magazine on mine was low quality, Wonder finish on mine is uneven and blotchy.
 
I bought an M88, it isn't a witness, but it required a bit of breaking in and some Burr removal... I have to use ball ammo, but it is a decent gun.
 
First handgun I bought was a Witness compact polymer 9mm, carried it daily for 3 or 4 years before I sold it. Great little gun, mags were a little spendy but the gun never missed a beat. No malfunctions of any kind no matter what ammo was used, pretty damn accurate too. That little Witness is the one gun that I regret selling more than any other, if I had it to do over again I'd never get rid of it.
 
I had a Witness Elite match in .40 and it was a great shooter. I only wish I had bought it in 9MM for cheaper range time.
 
Things to look for:

1) Lousy quality control....some are perfect out of the box some jams all the time and not that accurate....myself I got a lemon (10 mm Auto) and I had to get rid of it.

2) Horrible Customer Service from EAA...if you buy one, do it with the mindset of buying an used gun....you are pretty much on your own. The only company I know that charges for shipping the gun back, often without resolving the problem.

3) Their 10 mm Auto, especially since they changed the slide top style from squared to rounded, cannot be considered a real 10 mm Auto because is safe to shoot only with the watered down "FBI Loads" which mimic the ballistics of the .40 S&W with extra cost and difficulty in finding ammo.
EAA is very anal about not using Corbon, Double Tap, Buffalo Bore and all other real 10 mm loads and they write a nonsensical blanket statement on their manual : "Do not use any high pressure, high velocity, +P ammo"...they do not define what High pressure, High velocity" really means..the 10 mm Auto is, by definition, a high pressure high velocity round...ass covering at its best.
There are a lot of reports (I saw one case personally) of cracked slides with full house 10 mm loads on Witnesses, especially the new ones, even using stiffer recoil springs.

4) Their standard models, the only ones really priced aggressively, lack lots of features such as ambi-dx safety and no decocker.


The pistols are very attractive and their base models are inexpensive but there is a reason for it..I would pass...I had to get rid om my Witness 10 mm in desperation. My range buddy got his finally working right and he accept the weak loads limitation.

Good Luck!!!
 
I appreciate the info. I am leaning towards the 9mm, but am considering the 45 acp... just haven't decided yet... The other thing is, if I go 45 acp, I would rather get a 1911, and that opens up a whole new can or worms...

Too many guns, not enough money!
 
There are many fine choices other than EAA without breaking the bank

A RIA 1911 45 ACP if you like that model...cost less than a Witness, solid as a tank.

If you are into polymer guns, Glock are excellent...legendary reliability, their G20 is a TRUE 10 mm Auto (you can feed it anything) an a favourite backup for hunters..you can install a 6" barrel on it.
And Glock are priced right..just a tad more tha a basic Witness.

If you are considering the Witness Elite or Match, in that price range I would go SIG...no comparison...quality, Customer Service, etc...

On the low price range you could give a try to the Bersa Thunders full size (9 mm or .40 S&W) the best deal for the money for a true combat pistol, hands down.

Excellent Customer Service, maximum reliability, lots of features a basic EAA Witness cannot remotely match (ambi-dx safety, ambi-dx decocker, round in the chamber indicator, reverisible mag release button, accessory rail).
All in a very nice package and unbeatable price, lower the a Witness.

Too bad, for the 45 lovers, that their only offering in that caliber is a compact one.
 
saturno v,
Sorry you had bad luck with your 10mm, but you are dead wrong about the Witness Match pistols, they are one of the best buys today,very accurate and reliable. I shoot IDPA and I use my Witness pistols exclusivly, also I shoot at a police range twice a month and am consistanly in the top 10. You will not find a auto in the this price range that has better fit and finish.
Floydster
 
floydster

I only had the basic Witness Wonder finish 10 mm with the new rounded top slide style.

Maybe the Match is more reliable and accurate...and they still have the old squared top slide which may be tougher...

However is not cheap anymore compared to the basic Witness...around $650-700 here...you can get a SIG in that price range.
The competitive price point on the Witness is for the basic model....a hit or miss proposition with lousy Customer Support....I'll take a Bersa...

For your own sake, I hope not but, with your Match, if you need Customer Service....God help you!!!

I'm still open to Tanfoglio..if they get their act together and use a serious company for service here in US rather than EAA I may reconsider in the future...and if they can give me a full house capable 10 mm Auto in DA/SA.

Just no at the moment....
 
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Between a Witness full size 9 mm and a Bersa Thunder 9 full size, IMHO is no contest.

With the Bersa you get:

1) Excellent Customer Service and lifetime warranty

2) Lower price (around $350)

3) +P rated and service pistol rated

4) Ambidx safety, ambidx decocker, reverisble magazine release button, round in the chamber indicator, accessory rail

5) Significantly lighter and smaller despite having basically the same barrel lenght (4,3" for the Bersa, 4,5" for the Witness)

6) Way more reliable, in my experiences and others. More accurate on average too.
 
I have heard the CS from EAA does really suck, but I have not needed it for my three Match pistols I have, knock on wood. I have a 9mm , 38 super and a .45 ACP, they all run excellent. The 38 Super I have well over 10,000 rounds down range and not neary a problem.
The Match pistols have excellent triggers and Match barrels, you will not find a more accurate pistol for the money in my opinion.
I also have CZ's in 9mm and .40 cal and they cannot compare to the Witness Match in the accuracy dept.
Just my input and what I know.
Floydster a.k.a. Smokeyloads
 
I have two used Witness's: an older, full-size "tuned" 9mm/.40 I bought used and a newer style full-size .45.

The 9mm/.40 has a flat SA trigger and optional comped barrel for the .40s&w; it's my favorite pistol in regards of ergos, accuracy, double-taps, and looks. I bought it used and have since had to replace the sear/sear housing and the safety cam & spring (which EAA sent me for free).

Later I bought the .45 but do not enjoy shooting it for two reasons. First, the DA trigger stinks compared to the flat SA trigger, so it will eventually be replaced with an SA trigger. Secondly, the .45 also suffers from a safety spring failure, which means after every shot or so the recoil flicks the safety on:banghead::cuss:. However, since the .45 is the newer style frame I cannot simply replace the cam & spring, I must spend $40 for a new safety instead:mad: If Tanfoglio could have fixed that problem it would be the perfect pistol IMHO.
 
If I was to get an EAA Witness, I would be looking for a 9mm, I think I couldn't pass up a 1911 if I was to look at the 45... so thanks for the comments, I'll do some more looking and research and we'll see what happens. Need to get wifey on board with another gun purchase :)
 
I've owned 3 Witnesses, all steel frame with the Wonder finish. As long as they work, they're a great gun for the money. When they break, you've got problems.

EAA has the worst customer service in the industry. Their "gunsmith" is a arrogant jerk who'll treat you like a fool and tell you there's nothing wrong. "Test fired OK" is his response to nearly all customers.

I sent my .45 Witness in (they wouldn't let me drop it off, even though I live 20 minutes away) because it kept locking the slide back on a loaded mag. The "gunsmith" said it worked fine. Then they insisted on shipping it back to me Overnight, charging me $18. I told them to ship it UPS standard to save me some money, (as I said, I live 20 minutes away), but they told me they only shipped Overnight.

The gun still malfunctions.

Lots of examples of this kind of crap on:

http://czechpistols82792.yuku.com/forum/view/id/27
 
I have a fullsized Witness .45 in Wonder Finish, and except for the mags not staying it very well for the first couple of times I shoved them in, it's been perfect as a gun could be.
It has about 1600 rounds through it, and the only misfires have been due to bad ammo. A friend has a "semi compact" one in 45, and it seems to be as good as mine, it eats anything he puts in it. He has just bought a new fullsized one in 9mm, and so far, with just putting about 100 rounds through it, it seems to be great too.
 
Saturno V,

I had a full size Bersa .40 and for the money, it was a great gun. Never shot it much because the SA trigger was heavy and creepy. It took me nearly a week working off and on, to accomplish a good SA trigger pull on this pistol. These pistols don't lend themselves well to trigger work. I sold it to my daughter's boyfriend.

Bersa's are also difficult to detail strip, but like I said, they represent a great pistol for not a lot of money.
 
Like very much my Witness 10mm wonder finish. Wish the trigger was a little better. Suspect it is what keeps my groups in the 3"-4" size at 20 yards. Friend also has this model, very happy with it. Both have the 'square' slide.

LOVE my Elite Match (you should pay about $550 delivered for one right now) in 10mm. Fabulous gun for the money. Considering a second one since my wife steals it any time we are at the range together.

Before I buy a second Match, I am going to put an overtravel screw in my regular witness trigger, polish the hammer, and put in a lighter mainspring. Once I get the trigger up to the standard of my Match, I hope it will shoot as well too.
 
Well, I've a full sized 45 all steel w/out the wonderfinish that I purchased new about 10-12 years ago $450 new. Maybe one stovepipe in the first 100 rds. I've never had to deal with EAA's customer service so dunno about that. It shoots really well, it's broken in, I've no complaints. It has about 1000 rounds thru it now and it's still going strong. I put Hogue wraparounds on it. I'm at work but I can post a pic of it later. The wife likes it more & can shoot it better than her new PPS.

It shoots better than I can make it.

From what it sounds like though YMMV.
 
Thanks for all the posts... I really like they way they look... sounds like many people have had some good experiences with them. I guess I'll just have to weigh the potential for a run in with the CS dept against all the good I have hear about this gun. I wish there was a place around me that had them so I could look and touch one. I would hate to order one and find out it's not comfy in the mits. Still debating on this vs a CC pocketable gun.

Thanks again guys (and gals)!
 
Pass on the Witness and look into a Witness Elite Match. A totally different animal, accurate, reliable, and one of the best out of the box triggers on any handgun.
 
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