Talk me Into/ Out of a Witness

[DogBonz]

I am contemplating what my net purchase will be, as it will be the last buy that I make for a while, so in my research a came across a few Witness pistols that are starting to grow on me. Elite match and elite limited, one of which was a 10mm, which naturally intrigued me. I was wondering how well made these guns are. Is there any thing that I should know about them? What are the pro’s & con’s of these guns?
As always, I thank you for any assistance.

 

[Dave P]

10mm witness match - best gun for the price. Might have a couple of bugs to work out, but for $500, its worth it.

 

[Abby]

I have a witness 9mm that's wonderful. Rock solid, ergonomically pleasing, a joy to shoot. And, IMHO, one of the few true great "bargain guns" out there.

The ONLY downside to these pistols that I'm aware of is that the importer (EAA) has a reputation for abyssmal customer service. I wouldn't know anything about this, as my witness has shown absolutely no hint of any issue that would cause me to contact them.

Love it. Would buy another. In fact, thinking pretty hard about doing just that after Christmas.

 

[Flame Red]

My Brother-in-Law has the Witness 10mm. He loves it. Very accurate, fun to shoot. Good value for the $.

The only problem he has had with it was that the rear site was loose and kept moving around.

 

[atblis]

Witness Match

If you can get them for cheap, the're good.

I believe the Witness Matches can be had for about ~$400. Is the Elite Match a different pistol than I am thinking of?

You should be able to track down a regular 10mm Witness for pretty close to $300.

I'd definitely get a 10mm, especially if you handload.

Pros
They are generally quite accurate
The triggers are decent
Very affordable
CZ ergnomics
Handles the 10mm recoil very very well
large capacity

Cons
There tend to be more lemons than with the major manufacturers.
Fit and finish aren't always up to industry standards.
There not always that accurate.
EAA is the rudest, most condescending, worthless company I've encountered.
There aren't as many aftermarket accessories as for others...some though.

Basically, they can be wonderful pistols; accurate, reliable, smooth shooting.

However, than can also be inaccurate jammomatic pieces of crap.

Which one will you get?

I've personally had 4 of them.

One 10mm has been flawless. Accurate, good trigger, reliable. That one's still in the family.

One 38SA, was accurate, and very fun to shoot, but not particularly reliable.

Two 10mms, have been utter pieces of crap.

As you can tell it is a love hate thing with the Witnesses and me.

 

[DogBonz]

thanks

so, is their quality kinda spotty?

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

I always here all of this hype about how great 10mm's are and how fun they are to shoot and I have wanted one for some while now, but just haven't gotten around to it because of ammo $. Is there anywhere you can get 10mm for a decent price? If so, for how much?

 

[atblis]

Well

Yes their quality control is most definitely spotty at best.

Handloading makes it no more expensive than 40S&W.

I usually buy Georgia Arms ammunition. They have a cast lead plinking load that was $8.50 per box, but I think it is closer $10.00 per box now a days.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Check Your Ammo In The Mag

One of the guys at work has one (in .45 ACP).

Loves it.

But.

He got some high-end whiz-bang hollow points, and they simply would not feed properly from his magazine. Has no problem with ball ammo, and no problem with Hydra-Shok. The other stuff, however, snagged on the inside of the mag wall.

He loves his Witness. Easy handling, shoots well.

Just not with that ammo.

 

[Jim Watson]

Friend of mine got all enthused over Witness pistols a while back and bought two. But they stay home and he shoots Colt and Walther; when he is not rediscovering .22s.

 

[Walkalong]

I have a Witness Silver Team .45 I bought used and it is very NICE!

 

[Rev. DeadCorpse]

My only complaint with my Witness 10mm was how far it tossed the empty brass. Gotta reload, or it's an expensive habit to shoot it. Even a #22 recoil spring still tosses it a good 20'. It's my carry piece, so I try for as much trigger time on this one as possible.

It does get a little finicky with some reloads. Bought a Dillon case gage for it and that problem went away.

Haven't had any other problems. No wandering rear sight. No Cracked frame. No FTF/FTE problems since fixing my crimp setting.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

I've owned a Witness 9mm since the start of the old Assault Weapons Ban. Bought it just because it was a high cap handgun (18 rounds), and they were drying up fast. In all the years that I've had it, it has never jammed. Cannot say the same for the CZ version of the same gun that I also have, and purchased at the same time. CZ 75 looks better, and slimmer, but not as reliable. CZ has a better trigger, though.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

I owned a 9mm witness for several years. It is one of my top 3 handguns of all time.

 

[kennedy]

I have a witness silver team in .40 and love it

 

[doncameron]

I've got a witness in .45 acp and LOVE IT!
took alittle getting used to the wider grip.

 

[GARY1911A1]

Regarding how far the Witness throws it's brass some people have shorten the ejector to keep the brass on the same range they are on.

 

[robertbank]

My Tanfoglio "L" model has been without fault with over 4,000 rds through it. Not one FTF with all my handloads ans some factory. Accurate and fit and finish excellent. D/A trigger pull is heavier than I would like but S/A is as smoothas any of my 1911's.

Take Care

Bob

 

[logansdad]

Get one!

My compact 10mm Witness has worked like a top since I took it out of the box. The .38Super top-end conversion has done just as well. If you're into convertible guns, the Witness is the way to go. You can get 4-5 calibers on the same frame by changing top-ends and mags.

 

[boogalou]

I have a Elite Match in .45acp and love the SA trigger. Gun is very well fitted and accurate.

I also just picked up a Elite Stock in the same caliber but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. DA is kinda heavy compared to my CZ's but the SA pull is excellent.

For the price, I feel the Elite series is pretty tough to beat.

 

[smokin'n gun]

Have an EAA Witness compact .40 and must say, for the price, it's a fairly decent gun. All metal, shoots all the time, no problem with hydra shoks.
Not quite a biker babe, not quite the prom queen.

 

[michiganfan]

I had a 10mm. It started double tapping on its own. I had a 45 that never had a problem with.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I have a 10mm Compact. Ran great from day one with normal ammo, but I had to polish the feed ramp and slightly bevel the extractor to make it run with my nuclear handloads. It is my primary CCW and I would trade off many of my more expensive handguns before I ditched the Witness.