Tanfoglio VRS Ruger?

[KaceCoyote]

I'm after my first pistol here so I'm eager for any input ya'll can offer me.

Tanfoglio Witness .45 vrs Ruger P90TH .45

I'm on a rather limited budget, I dont wanna pay much more than 300 something out the door. My main concern is reliability here which is why the Ruger gets my praise. I havent heard anything of the Tanfoglio but its cheap. Anyone have any other suggests I'm open. I've fired a Mark2 Ruger and done the .22 thing before so please dont give me that static.

 

[461]

Ruger!

 

[goste]

Witness.

 

[KaceCoyote]

Could ya'll tell my -WHY- one way or the other?

 

[Fire1]

People who own Tanfoglio guns generally like them. I have three and they are all great guns. The Ruger is also well known as a stout pistol, but it feels like holding a brick compared to a Tanfoglio, at least to me.

 

[tankertom]

This is now a 10 year old experience but the Witness .45 I owned was an utter POS. Felt good in the hand but jammed perpetually and threw brass straight at my eyes. Melted little divots in my glasses. Sent it back to EAA and came back with the same problems plus a loose front sight.

Arrgh!

Ruger would be my call in this matchup.

tt

 

[Josey]

I don't favour either. The Ruger is a brick, a heavy brick. Mine was chunky, clunky and just plain uncomfortable to carry. It was a jamomatic also. The EAAs I have tried are good clones of CZs. Why not save a little while longer and buy the genuine CZ? CZ-75 is an awesome pistol.

 

[nvrquit]

Tan Witness-Feel; Ruger-Service

Choice is a toss-up in some ways.

The Tanfoglio Witness(please, oh please, don't call it an 'EAA' Witness) has the cozy feel of the CZ design(which many, if not most, people like). Unfortunately, the importer/servicing agent for Tan's in the USA is EAA. Brrr, I get a cold chill just thinking about that(or a hot flash, not sure). The Tan also offers the ability to convert with top-end kits.

The Ruger P-series doesn't have the feel of the Witness in the hand, but I've never experienced the type of unprofessional, non-customer service from Ruger that I experienced with EAA. Additionally, none of my Ruger's failed to function straight from NIB. The only blemish was a several years old MKII Ruger target that had developed feed and extraction issues. Communicated with Ruger; send it back they said. Returned with new barrel installed and no cost, not even return shipping(ya listening EAA). No problems since and only that single trip back to Ruger. Both my KP94 & KP91 digested absolutlely everything(ammo wise) that they were fed. Later I managed to pick up a KP944 top end and used that on the KP94 lower; again, no problems with any ammo type. All examples exhibited fair to good accuracy 4 1/2" to 3" at 25 yards.

If the Tan Witness ever gets a new USA importer/servicing agent, I'll give it a better consideration for future purchases. As it stands now, from my experiences with EAA, I know the I'll be own my own for 'reliable and professional' service should it ever be required. the Ruger P-series may not have the 'feel/fit' of the Tan, but every one I've ever used has worked new, straight from the box, no problems. Through Hogue rubber grips on the Ruger, some tritium night sites and grab a few original capacity mags and you'll have a reliable combat ready handgun. The rest is finding ammo the P series likes, a handload that replicates it and then lots of practice.

Good luck!

 

[KaceCoyote]

Why not save up for a CZ? Because I'm moving into my own house I -really- dont want to trust my life to a lever action. I absolutely -adore- my marlin but its far from the right tool for the job. If Ya'll dont like either, then -please- tell me what ya suggest in the same price range.

 

[Poul D'eau]

My 45/22 witness is my most accurate handgun I own. Having shot a friends P-90 and my own CZ-97b. I would recomend the Witness over the other two. The CZ-97 has a long grip-could be very uncomfortable for some people, and the P-90 just doesn't feel right to me, not bad, just not for me

The capability of the Witness to switch to other calibers (10mm, 38 super, 357sig, 40 smith & wesson) with a new slide, barrel and magazine-not to mention a longslide versions. Give you the chance to have a new caliber for about $230 without having to get used to a new grip. This capability has given the Witness the nickname of the "Italian Combat Lego"

Here is a list of the options for the witness.
Options

Here is a good web site with background information on the Witness .

And finally here is a fourm for CZ clones of which most discussions are on the Italian Combat Lego

Good luck and let us know on what you decide.

 

[azrael]

A lever action marlin what??? Many men have been killed by a leveraction...Dont believe me?? ask the RUSSIANSSSSSSS..no I cant remember the battle but it was when the Russians had the single shot mausers and the Turks had Winchesters...Unless your Marlin is a .22 I would feel adequetly armed with it...but thats just me..

for a bit more you can get a CZ-75<~~great gun...

I have never owned a Witness so I cant comment on them

Rugers are good guns...they just feel like your holding a brick in your hand(autos not revolvers) ...at least to me

 

[KaceCoyote]

The hallways in this place are -very- narrow and It would be -extremely- difficult to change directions with a gun in my hand with my Marlin. As for a CZ, ok well what exactly are they going for out the door? I dont wanna spend a whole lot, I'm of the firm belief that any sidearm with an experienced operator can be deadly. So I need buffer room for a good deal of ammunition and magazines and yadda yadda.

 

[pauli]

the question is, how long would it take you to save the money to cover the cost difference for a proper cz?

 

[Preacherman]

Take a look at the Ruger P97. It's lighter than the P90, has a more ergonomic polymer frame, is just as tough and accurate, and doesn't cost more - at least, not round here.

 

[KaceCoyote]

Considering I'm out've a job and now a full time photography student? Quite abit I'd venture. I have X amount of dollars and thats -all- I get. I should have enough of an allowance to cover a few range trips a month or so but nothing enough for me to want to save it up. It'd take years..I move into said house at the end of this semester. I get my paycheck next week.

 

[Nick96]

Go with the Ruger. Not as pretty and slick looking as the Tanfoglio - but a much more consistent performer. I speak from experience here. Tan's are good guns - and are good, accurate performers at the range. But I've found them to be lacking in reliability as a defensive gun. So if you're looking for something to save your hide - at a reasonable price - the Ruger's are better for consistant reliability and durability. For a fun & accurate range/game gun - the Tanfoglio's are are good choice. Both are priced about the same around here.

 

[Marcus]

Considering that this is going to be your only defensive handgun reliability is priority #1 IMO. That said the Ruger is the clear choice between the two. A *good* Witness is fine but there are a lot of not so good ones being sold and you won`t know which one you have until it`s too late. In other words they`re good to play with if you have other guns you can depend on already. Expanding on your choices a bit check out the P-97. It`s much more ergonomic than the P-90. Accurate,reliable and lighter than the P-90 and better looking too IMO. I traded mine away some time ago but sometimes wish I hadn`t. If you really like the feel of the Witness,do yourself a favor and check out the real CZs. You can pick up a CZ-75B Military still for around $350. It`s a truly world class gun that gives nothing away to ANY other service auto. Since $$$ is an issue the cheaper 9mm ammo will let you practice more with it and easily offset the slight increase in price. Marcus

 

[KaceCoyote]

I should be able to swing CZ-75 then, the local shop has them going for 425. I'll peek around. Out've curiosity how accurate, how ergonomic, any complaints, how're the sights, how big is the norm cap for the magazine?

 

[Longbow]

Ruger all the way. The only thing good the Tanfoglio has over the Ruger is its feel. You can always overcome that through practice/familiarization. Reliability, good service, finish...Ruger wins hands down.

 

[Josey]

Check www.jgsales.com They have the CZ 75B from $389. These come with 10 round mags.

 

[DougB]

I recently purchased a Tanfoglio/EAA Witness .45 (full-sized, all steel). I was a little hesitant due to the poor customer service reports I've read, but I decided to take the risk and hope I don't need service. The handgun seems well made - I'm happy with it. I've only put about 20 rounds of Winchester 230 Gr FMJ through it, but no problems so far. It is heavy (I wish we could get the Witnesss polymer-framed versions here in CA, but they aren't approved). What really pushed me toward the Witness was my desire for a 10mm (which, in CA, I can only get as a conversion kit to go on the .45 - the 10mm Witness isn't approved).

If you want something lighter and more compact, I'd look at the Ruger P97. None of the Ruger centerfire semi-autos have much appeal to me (though I'm sure they are good guns), but if I were going to get any of them, it would be the P97.

Doug

 

[PCRCCW]

Between the too you have suggested, for absolutely must shoot evertime dependability.....the Ruger is the way to go.

If you can swing the CZ.......thats the way to go......

Shoot well.

 

[stans]

Gee, a real toss up.

As for warranty service, should you need it, Ruger wins, hands down!

Comfort, Witness wins.

Reliability, the Ruger is more likely to be reliable out of the box, most Witness pistols need the feed ramps to be polished and slightly modified to be reliable.

Accuracy, toss up.

The large frame Witness does give you the option of multi caliber use with top ends and magazines in 38 Super, 40 S&W-10mm, 22 long rifle, 45 ACP.

The Witness is not without its problems, but I think there are more good ones than bad ones, same with the Ruger.

The Witness also gives you the option of carrying the gun cocked and the safety on, the Ruger is a double action first shot, single action for follow up shots. The Witness does not have a hammer dropping safety. This is a factor for some people.

 

[caz223]

For a good gun on the cheap, get a CZ75b 9mm.
They are about $400.
The real cost of the gun isn't the gun itself, but the ammo.
Is there a wal-mart near you?
The most I would spend on 9mm is $6.00 a box of 50.
.45 acp will be more money, like $11.00 a box, and that raises the cost of ownership quite a bit.
But you'll be a better shooter if you get the extra practice that a 9mm allows you to get, because you can buy more ammo, and maybe a little more food, too.
Anyway, if you are looking for a good .45, I'd go with the ruger, better warranty service-should you need it.

 

[Grunt]

I've shot the Ruger P-90 before so I got a Witness instead. The Ruger feels like you're holding onto a brick and I just didn't find it all that comfortable not to mention the DA trigger wasn't all that great. Now the .45 Witness I have on the other hand has the same great feel and balance of my CZ-75. I also like the option of all my shots being SA as well. Aniother advantage to the CZ design is that being carried cocked adn locked in combination with the large DA trigger guard is that you can get a heavily gloved finger into the trigger without any problems. Try that with a Ruger or any other typical SA/DA handgun! As far as accuracy, mine has been very good and to date has been 100% reliable no matter what I've fed through it. If there was anything I would like to see changed on the Witness it would be having the ambidextrious safety lever a standard feature (I installed mine with the factory part later on) and rather than having the front sight milled into the frame, would like to see it as a seperate piece with a dovetail in the slide for easier sight changes. Other than that, it's an excellent piece.