bhhacker
Member
I have done some searching and I am stuck between a Witness Match .40 or .45 or a para ordinance high cap .40 or .45. Do any of you guys have any experience when it comes to these pistols? Your input would be most appreciative.
Hi Cap Para ordinance or EAA Witness match?
- Thread starter bhhacker
- Start date
- Status
wally
Member
In .45 it'd be a toss up, with my experience that the EAA .45 is reliable enough to carry, wouldn't really trust my Para or any double stack .45 based on the Para mag tubes. Para gives you 14 vs. 10 rounds and this is the root of the issues. If its only for range use or you are willing to choose your ammo carefully and keep your mags scrupulously clean inside with fresh springs, I'd go with the Para in .45ACP.
Although the EAA Elite Match is a great value in terms of reliability, out of the box trigger quality, accuracy, and price. Overall, in .45ACP for carry the Elite Match wins, but the extra rounds with the Para can be pretty compelling for a range toy.
In .40S&W I'd go with the EAA Witness Elite Match (~$500), but they can also be ammo sensitive because of the short rounds in the long mags. The Para P16 has the same issue, but EAA is now supplying mags with an internal spacer which helps a lot, but is not a 100% cure. I think the Witness Elite match are great guns for the money. $40+ for Para mags vs. $20-25 for EAA mags makes a big difference for me as I like to have 50-100 rounds loaded up when I head for the range. The Mec-Gar P14 & P16 mags are great for about $20 but you give up one round capacity and no baseplate "bumper" pad extension.
--wally.
Although the EAA Elite Match is a great value in terms of reliability, out of the box trigger quality, accuracy, and price. Overall, in .45ACP for carry the Elite Match wins, but the extra rounds with the Para can be pretty compelling for a range toy.
In .40S&W I'd go with the EAA Witness Elite Match (~$500), but they can also be ammo sensitive because of the short rounds in the long mags. The Para P16 has the same issue, but EAA is now supplying mags with an internal spacer which helps a lot, but is not a 100% cure. I think the Witness Elite match are great guns for the money. $40+ for Para mags vs. $20-25 for EAA mags makes a big difference for me as I like to have 50-100 rounds loaded up when I head for the range. The Mec-Gar P14 & P16 mags are great for about $20 but you give up one round capacity and no baseplate "bumper" pad extension.
--wally.
Grizzly Adams
Member
I have a Para P14-45, that I bought in '98, with 4 double stacked magazines and have never had a feed problem. It has always digested everything I've put through it, including handloads. In fact my son is carrying now as his secondary duty weapon!
wally
Member
14 or 10 round mags?
My P14 mags dating pre-94, LEO ban mags purchased post ban, and new 2007 production all show a good bit of dimensional inconsistency. None meet my reliability requirements for carry, fine for the range and mostly work as long as the springs are fresh, and I take them apart clean them after three or four uses. I find it doesn't take much dirt/fouling to cause the rounds to bind at the single to double stack transition and cause a feed failure. Nothing wrong with the gun if you happen to get good mags.
So far the ACT 14-round mags for the P-14 and Kimber BP have functioned 100% in my guns and are a lot cheaper than the Para brand. Still haven't shot them enough to be comfortable to reccomend them as a possible solution.
--wally.
bhhacker
Member
Yeah I'd definitely want it to be reliable for carry. The range and carry is what I planned it for. I used to own a Springfield 1911 GI but I ended up selling it because I wanted something that was SA but held a few more rounds without getting those extended mags that wont work with concealed carry 
ProstheticConscience
Member
My only issue with the P14-45 I carried was the LDA trigger. I found the moving hammer on a 1911 pattern gun very distracting. I'd advise you to shoot one and see if it bothers you first.
1911 guy
Member
I'd buy the EAA.
I've owned both, a 9mm Witness and a .45cal Barely Ordnance. I sold the Witness when I no longer needed a 9mm sidearm, sold the canadian crap because it only vaguely resembled a working firearm.
I've owned both, a 9mm Witness and a .45cal Barely Ordnance. I sold the Witness when I no longer needed a 9mm sidearm, sold the canadian crap because it only vaguely resembled a working firearm.
LoadedDrum
Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2004
- Messages
- 612
My P1445 LTD has be completely reliable with both the factory mags and the Mecgars. Now that Mecgar has 14rders for the p1445 (which also work in the Springfield hi-cap 1911), the price of good mags is pretty low ($18-21).
no matter which 1911 you pick its still a 1911 and comes with the same problems all 1911's come with. Unless built by a custom shop or already made reliable by a smith. Extractor tunning and feeding/reliability package ect. The Eaa will give you the pleasure of mag problems and finding reliable mags. So take your pick the trigger on the 1911 can be made to be really great the eaa can be double single both are great guns but you are more likely to find a 1911 mechanic near you than an eaa mechanic
wally
Member
I find all my single stack 1911s (none cost more than $900 new, lowest RIA at $290) are as reliable as any gun. Its the double stack .45s (Para P14, P13, P10, Springfield P12 clone, Armscor P14 clone, Kimber BP) that suffer issues with the rounds binding at the single to double stack transition in the mag often enough that I'd not recommend them for carry. Your threshold of doubt may be lower or higher than mine.
I've the EAA .45 in several variations and none have had feeding problems, but these are only 10 round mags and not really double stacked.
In .40S&W both the EAA and Para guns suffer from short rounds in a long magazine where the round underneath can move forward of the one on top and you can get a nosedive into the feed ramp if the rim and extraction groove "hook" while feeding. Some ammo seems immune to it, others do it frequently. But its a random enough issue that I'd not carry either of these. YMMV.
IMHO you will have a hard time finding a better trigger or more accurate gun out of the box for ~$500 than the the EAA Witness Elite Match, but only in .45ACP would I consider it for carry. My Elite Match 10mm has been 100% since I fixed the mags by squeezing in the feed lips (rounds were popping out leading to nose up jams) but I had to do this to every magazine, so I'd hesitate recommending this for carry too.
--wally.
I've the EAA .45 in several variations and none have had feeding problems, but these are only 10 round mags and not really double stacked.
In .40S&W both the EAA and Para guns suffer from short rounds in a long magazine where the round underneath can move forward of the one on top and you can get a nosedive into the feed ramp if the rim and extraction groove "hook" while feeding. Some ammo seems immune to it, others do it frequently. But its a random enough issue that I'd not carry either of these. YMMV.
IMHO you will have a hard time finding a better trigger or more accurate gun out of the box for ~$500 than the the EAA Witness Elite Match, but only in .45ACP would I consider it for carry. My Elite Match 10mm has been 100% since I fixed the mags by squeezing in the feed lips (rounds were popping out leading to nose up jams) but I had to do this to every magazine, so I'd hesitate recommending this for carry too.
--wally.
- Status
