[erich]

I just about choked when forum member Gil showed me the Tanfoglio/EAA polymer 9mm Witness he just got from CDNN for $249.

I'd seen the ads, and wondered about how they could sell a pistol evolved from a CZ for so little. Frankly, I thought quality must be low.

Man, was I wrong!

The gun was gorgeous. Gil hasn't fired it yet, but it came with a 13-rnd mag and a 16-rnd mag (I believe it was supposed to come with 2 13s - he got a bonus). Extra mags weren't much extra.

Here are a couple of shots showing the Witness next to my 1076 to give you some idea of scale.

As you can see, this "compact" Witness (3.6" bbl) isn't super-compact, but it's really pretty darn perfect in the hand.

Here's a shot of the business ends of the two guns (sorry it's blurry - didn't notice until I'd uploaded it). Bear in mind how remarkably trim the 1076 is - probably thinner than a 1911 with standard stocks. The Witness compares nicely. You should feel it in your hand!

I'd spent the day looking at Walthers before Gil came over. The Witness was better finished - inside and out - than any PPK that I saw that day. I took this photo thinking to show how the finish continued over to the inside, but I fear the photo doesn't do it justice. There were no machining marks. It was really amazing - reminded me of my Rohrbaugh . . . only considerably less costly!

DA trigger-pull is nice, but not spectacular. SA is dandy. Better than the USPs I've handled. Here's a shot of Gil holding his new baby, to give you perspective for the size of the piece and also its thickness (or rather, trim-ness).

Hopefully Gil will favor us with a range report when he gets to take the gun out . . . and maybe he'll let me come along to test-drive the Witness. Personally, I'm just about flabbergasted at the quality this piece evinces, particularly given the phenomenally low price.

 

[Chris Stephens]

Hi Erich,

Thanks for the fabulous report on Gil's new Witness.

It certainly looks promising and it will be exciting to get a range report to hear if it shoots as good as it looks! And all at such a low price!!!

Please keep us posted.

Chris

 

[Guest]

They are nice guns. some guys like the witness poly better than the full size or compact.

I actually dumped my 1076 and kept the Witness full-sized gun.

 

[erich]

I'm hoping Gil will post his shooting impressions with this little deal. We were at the range yesterday, and he shot it a fair amount and let me try it out. It worked with hollow-points and NATO rounds, and was just sickeningly reliable in Gil's hands. I believe Gil had some trouble with the spare mags he purchased for it.

I put about 35 rounds through the Witness, and found that if I didn't take a very authoritative grip, the slide would sometimes not go all the way forward for me (happened 3 times). If I held the gun properly, there were no problems at all. Gil never had this problem, so I suspect it was my wussy grip that was entirely to blame (I'd just fired 300 rounds from the new Kahr and had not eaten in about 17 hours, so I was getting fatigued).

I found that the SA pull was fairly crisp, reasonably light and very controllable. SA delivered combat-accurate fire (easy to blast rapid fire full-mag groups of 4" at 30-feet) with no effort at all, but the DA pull was pretty difficult, heavy and a little jerky, so the DA/SA transition was a relief. The gun transmitted so little recoil that it was very pleasant to shoot (I don't want to say, "like a .22," because that's what everyone always says, but it was a lot like a .22 ), and the well-designed gripframe felt perfect in my hand. Again, I found I could shoot this gun really fast - the trigger reset is not as short as a Glock's (but it's close), but the frame fits my hand so well that it's capable of being a little bullet hose. (Got the hairy eyeball from the range guys - I hadn't set out to shoot it fast, the gun just wanted me to do so. )

I hope Gil will give his impressions, since he shot the gun a lot more than I did. I watched him chew rapid close groups into a number of paper plates with boring reliability. Group, next plate - group, next plate - group.

This gun is a heck of a value. Beats the acclaimed Makarov for a home-defense gun in caliber and capacity. I'd recommend this gun with the caveat that the DA trigger is not representative of the best on the market.

 

[gil]

Thank you Erich for meeting me at the range Sorry we don't get to shoot more often.
I really liked the grip on the Witness The gun grouped
very well and functioned very good with the Mags that
came with it . The two extra mags I ordered did not work at all, I was told they were factory but, the housing did not have the triangle T and the follower was not orange like the orig. also the Mag spring was about one and a half inches shorter then the springs in the mags that came with the Witness. So they are going back tomorrow.
The Witness was able to eat everything I put in it.
Win. white box ball
Rem. green box JHP 115gr
NATO ball
silver tip JHP
Rainier 115 gr JHP home loads
Recoil was not bad at all, I was able to regain my sight
picture quickly. I thought the single action pull on the
witness was good maybe a little light, The double action
was long but smooth. If I can find some mags that work
I might keep this one.

Gil...

 

[erich]

Thanks, Gil - I'm glad that you were able to get out there.

You know, if CDNN gives you any static on taking the mags back, you might try throwing in a set of Wolff mag springs before you give up on those mags entirely.

http://www.gunsprings.com/1ndex.html

Maybe an extra-power (+1 lb) 18-lb recoil spring and some +5% mag springs?

On the other hand, if they'll take them back - great. I can't get over how well that gun works at that low a price.

How hard was it to clean up?

 

[gil]

Thanks for the info. Erich Something else Im finding
out is the mags for a poly frame gun wont fit the steel
frame guns so maybe they just sent me the wrong mags.
Clean up was not bad , There is a couple of pieces inside
the frame that confuse me so I did not get real crazy on the take down yet. The Kroil barrel cleaner really made
the barrel shine. I really like the machine work on the
top end of this gun. I paid alot more for my P3-AT and its
covered in deep machine marks.
Gil.....

 

[erich]

The machining was really impressive. I'm sorry to hear about the mags - I hope CDNN makes it right.

 

[gil]

OK
Sorry to keep you waiting finally got ahold of Cdnn they
will credit me for the mags but, I gotta eat the shipping,
So I guess thats ok with me.
Got in touch with EAA Evidently They are calling my PC a
New style Polymer gun. which takes the mags that are
1 1/4 from front to back. The old style Poly mags are 1 3/8s from front to back. So what it boils down to is My new style poly frame uses the same as the new style steel compact. ???
Also The people at ammoclip.com changed Their EAA mag. web page to include measurements to help with ordering. So I thought that was pretty cool.
I just wish they would have kept it simple If they call it
a CZ clone it should use CZ mags.
OH well just my 2 cents.

Gil...

 

[erich]

Interesting about the mag dimension change. Thanks for posting the data on the new and old magazines - that may help some folks out down the line.

I'm glad it's finally getting straightened out for you, but I'm sorry to hear that you're going to have to eat the shipping.

 

[Guest]

hey Gil...it's ur fat buddy in cali. ..like the peice, nice. is that the same one you showed me last time i was in albuqueque? next time im in town, i wanna hit the range. alright dude just saying howdy. stay safe. cool site here. thanks for the tip.

 

[gil]

Hey everyone
Have a update on the mags, Got ahold of EAA and gave them my Ser# , Mod and Cal. I ordered two Mags and
a Mag adapter for the 16 rd mag I bought with the gun
so I would have a comfortable finger groove.
Well to make a long story short the mags that came twenty days later after I was told it would be 5
were wrong EAA did not want to pay freight charges
to fix the problem Or even listen to any of my concerns. There customer service was Terrible.
So I sent the mags back traded the witness the same
day. Not likely to buy another Tanfoglio product as
long as EAA is providing service.

" title="" border="0"/>
I think I will get me a BHP.
Gil.....