iamkris
Member
Today I stopped by for an abbreviated indoor range test of my new Witness Tac-II 45. My "initial impressions" inspection report is shown here:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4161&highlight=witness
Today was mostly a reliability test, with only a little effort devoted to accuracy. Most shooting was performed at 7 and 15 yards. I put around 200 rounds though the Witness, with 230 gr Rainier FMJ and 230 Hornady XTP JHP bullet designs. Loads were as follows: FMJ -- Win 231, 5.7 and 5.9 gr, Unique 5.9, 6.3 gr all seated at 1.260 OAL; JHP Win 231 5.3 and 5.5 gr all seated at 1.200 OAL-- all with CCI LP Mag primers and mixed brass.
Started off with the FMJ at 5 rounds in the mag and slow fire to get my bearings. Moved up to full mags and controlled but rapid fire. Finished drills with mixed mags of FMJ and JHP. Here's the results:
RELIABILITY:
The Witness essentially injested everything I fed it, even the JHPs and the mixed mags. I had to failures feed with two FMJ rounds, both on the last round of the mag, both within the first 3 mag-fuls (I am racking this up to "growing pains"). The hangups were both "misses" of the chamber with the nose of the cartridge hanging up on the top of the chamber mouth. I'll watch for that in the future but not yet concerned.
CONTROLABILITY:
Recoil was about equal to my 1911 with these loads. Given that this is a short slide model, I'm fairly pleased. The 5.9 gr 231 loads had "sharp" recoil, the others were manageable. Unclear whether the ports had anything to do with this. There were some sparks that exited the ports during firing...nothing that bothered me. Sure did get dirty up there though.
ACCURACY:
Was relatively surprised and pleased with the accuracy, even though I wasn't wringing it out. Offhand 7 yard rapid fire groups at 2-3" is good for me. Pistol prints between 2 and 4" low and 1" left with all loads, whether offhand or benchrested. Saw another thread about this problem...will have to go see what I can do about it (taller back sight?)
SOME SURPRISES:
As I mentioned in the "initial impressions" thread, the trigger was ...ummm... marginal on this gun. Gritty takeup in SA, just heavy in DA. Well, about 300 dryfires on a snap cap took some of the grit out of the SA but it was still there with some pronounced stacking. After the 200 + rounds at the range today, the SA is ... almost glassy. Huh? Didn't expect that to smooth out so quick. That pleases me.
WHERE I'M AT AT THE END OF THE DAY:
I had a previous bad experience with a Witness-P and EAA customer service. I took a big leap of faith to buy another. Right now I'm pretty pleased. I think I'll go ahead and order a few extra mags and a Hume JIT holster. So far it looks like a keeper. Will report back when she has some more mileage on her.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4161&highlight=witness
Today was mostly a reliability test, with only a little effort devoted to accuracy. Most shooting was performed at 7 and 15 yards. I put around 200 rounds though the Witness, with 230 gr Rainier FMJ and 230 Hornady XTP JHP bullet designs. Loads were as follows: FMJ -- Win 231, 5.7 and 5.9 gr, Unique 5.9, 6.3 gr all seated at 1.260 OAL; JHP Win 231 5.3 and 5.5 gr all seated at 1.200 OAL-- all with CCI LP Mag primers and mixed brass.
Started off with the FMJ at 5 rounds in the mag and slow fire to get my bearings. Moved up to full mags and controlled but rapid fire. Finished drills with mixed mags of FMJ and JHP. Here's the results:
RELIABILITY:
The Witness essentially injested everything I fed it, even the JHPs and the mixed mags. I had to failures feed with two FMJ rounds, both on the last round of the mag, both within the first 3 mag-fuls (I am racking this up to "growing pains"). The hangups were both "misses" of the chamber with the nose of the cartridge hanging up on the top of the chamber mouth. I'll watch for that in the future but not yet concerned.
CONTROLABILITY:
Recoil was about equal to my 1911 with these loads. Given that this is a short slide model, I'm fairly pleased. The 5.9 gr 231 loads had "sharp" recoil, the others were manageable. Unclear whether the ports had anything to do with this. There were some sparks that exited the ports during firing...nothing that bothered me. Sure did get dirty up there though.
ACCURACY:
Was relatively surprised and pleased with the accuracy, even though I wasn't wringing it out. Offhand 7 yard rapid fire groups at 2-3" is good for me. Pistol prints between 2 and 4" low and 1" left with all loads, whether offhand or benchrested. Saw another thread about this problem...will have to go see what I can do about it (taller back sight?)
SOME SURPRISES:
As I mentioned in the "initial impressions" thread, the trigger was ...ummm... marginal on this gun. Gritty takeup in SA, just heavy in DA. Well, about 300 dryfires on a snap cap took some of the grit out of the SA but it was still there with some pronounced stacking. After the 200 + rounds at the range today, the SA is ... almost glassy. Huh? Didn't expect that to smooth out so quick. That pleases me.
WHERE I'M AT AT THE END OF THE DAY:
I had a previous bad experience with a Witness-P and EAA customer service. I took a big leap of faith to buy another. Right now I'm pretty pleased. I think I'll go ahead and order a few extra mags and a Hume JIT holster. So far it looks like a keeper. Will report back when she has some more mileage on her.
