Two Handguns in the Shop Yesterday

[il.bill]

Pictures of a couple of pistols I had come through the shop for customers yesterday. Both were very nicely packaged and seemed to be well made. Each has its niche, I suppose.



First one is a Tanfoglio / EAA Witness Hunter 10mm 14+1 shot pistol with a six inch barrel and the frame drilled and tapped for a scope mount. It is surprisingly well balanced and has a very nice trigger out of the box. I ordered it for a customer in his mid 70s who traded a Rock Island Armory double stack 1911 A2 chambered in both .22 TCM and 9x19mm in on it. He was grinning ear to ear when he picked up the EAA Witness Hunter for the first time. He likes his handguns "big".

The second pistol is a transfer for another customer (he actually bought two of these on GunBroker). It is a Trailblazer Firearms Lifecard single shot .22LR handgun that folds up to about the size of a credit card. Apparently it was seven years in development and just came into the market this August. If nothing else, I can say that it is quite an interesting handgun.



Here they are, ready to load -



And, pictured ready to shoot!




I just wanted to share these two pistols - they made for a striking comparison yesterday. Being an FFL is interesting at times, both regarding the people you meet and the firearms you see. It would be really nice if you could actually make some real money at it, but I guess you can't have everything.

 

[MedWheeler]

I saw that second one for the first time yesterday. An on-duty deputy was there, also, and was pretty surprised by it. I don't remember what it's price was. The guy showing it to us said it had just come in, one of those "you-gotta-see-what-just-came-in-here" guns.

I remember commenting that its concept reminded me of the Liberator, albeit in half the caliber..

 

[AZAndy]

That folding one is WAY COOL. Not sure what it's good for, but I'm a sucker for gimmicks.

 

[il.bill]

He paid $440 for one of the LifeCard pistols (+ transfer, of course). The second one was likely priced about the same. I was curious & did a quick GunBroker search - someone paid $500 for one of those .22LR pistols!

It actually feels quite well made, but I think I will stay with my Kel-Tec P-32 for now.

 

[Tallball]

I LOVE my Tanfoglio Witnesses!

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

.22plinkster just put out a video on the folding card one.

 

[If1HitU]

Thanks for sharing the video Saddlebag Preacher.

 

[MedWheeler]

il.bill writes:

It actually feels quite well made, but I think I will stay with my Kel-Tec P-32 for now.

For a tiny, difficult-to-aim, slow-to-fire handgun in .22LR, you can get "quite well made" for half the price of the LifeCard in the NAA Mini revolver line, and not have to unfold it or reload it after your first shot (or second, third, or fourth.) I can't imagine many (any) scenarios in which I could carry the LifeCard undetected but could not carry the NAA Mini I have in .22LR.

But, yeah, my P32 is as small as I go. Maybe the LifeCard would make a good signaling device..?

 

[kBob]

Sort of reminded me of the Stevens Knock-about with the way it works. Cute idea. Can't see carrying that for self defense. Rather have a Knock-about for playing with.

Wonder how the lifecard performs with shotloads though, both CCI pill type and crimped shot.

-kBob

 

[bannockburn]

Love the look of the Tanfoglio Witness Hunter 10mm. but being a double stack magazine design, I'm sure it would be a little too big for my smaller size hand. The LifeCard makes for a "cute" novelty item to show to the guys when they ask: "So have you seen anything new lately?". For really deep concealed carry I will stick with my KelTec P3AT.

 

[22250Rem]

Interesting...... Thanks for posting. It's definitely a "novelty item" IMHO but I guess it could be a back up and for the price it just doesn't seem justifiable but that's my personal opinion and I'm sure there are those who will see it differently. For something really small in 22LR I'd go with the NAA Mini that MedWheeler mentioned.

 

[Jim K]

The only reason for the "Lifecard" gun is to carry a gun that doesn't look like a gun. Whether the reason is valid or not depends on the law and the intent of the carrier. But IMHO, that kind of nonsense is more likely to get a person into trouble than out of it. By the time you get that thing into action, the BG will have emptied his Glock into your precious hide and departed for an undisclosed location.

Jim

 

[PabloJ]

Thank you Bill for providing feedback on the folding .22lr handgun. I confess that is something I would never consider even after consuming decent amount of alcohol.

 

[il.bill]

The customer came by yesterday to fill out the Form 4473 on the LIFECARD .22LR Pistols transfer. It turns out he is buying one for himself and one as a birthday gift for his father, who tends to get a kick out of 'different' firearms. The second one had a plastic 'dry fire' plug in the chamber so I got to try the SA trigger pull and it was actually very nice. I had to smile at one of his comments as he handled the little handgun: (paraphrased) "Maybe if I was able to see one in person before the purchase, I probably would not have bought it over the internet at that price." There is a bit of two-handed manipulation required to pull the pistol from your pocket and get it ready to fire, so the practicality is questionable for rapid deployment from concealed carry, but it is, nonetheless, kind of cute.
I got a couple of e-mails from distributors just this week showing the dealer cost around $350 plus S/H. That would bring a customer's OTD price to $440-$450 with a 12.5% markup and the sales tax, so I told him he paid the 'normal' price on his two - it is only a question of whether the niche gun is worth that cost, but I suspect it will make his dad smile.

The mid-70s EAA Witness Hunter 10mm Pistol customer likes his new handgun A LOT, even though he has not fired it yet! He has been back a couple of times checking out various scope mounts and optics on the internet - once he makes up his mind what he wants and we get things ordered, I will try to add some pictures of the completed rig. That Witness Hunter sale has become something of a sponge soaking up quite a bit of my time, but I just grin and enjoy his enthusiasm. It helps that his traded-in Rock Island Armory double stack 1911 A2 chambered in both .22 TCM and 9x19mm is a whole lot of fun to shoot, particularly in the .22 TCM chambering!

Having issues with my cell phone again - here is an appropriate photo I found on the internet -

 

[strambo]

Cool video on the folding .22. I couldn't fathom getting that over something like the NAA Pug that is a 5 shot .22 magnum with very good sights for $100 less.