I miss being back home. If I'd have spoked the title of this post aloud there'd have been at least 2 or 3 folks who would have stood up, raised their hand & said "Amen".
But the answer is yes. It took 4 damn months, but a resounding yes. & a very special thanks to the fine folks of 5280 Armory (especially Matt & Gina) who were very patient with me ("it's been three months. You sure you don't want something else? Anything else???") as we e-mailed EAA almost daily & threatened to turn them into internet verbs if we didn't see product soon. (& yes; if you're in the Denver, Co. area stop by their shop - they're decent folks & have decent wares catering but not limited to the mil-surp & black rifle market).
The Witness Elite Match. The Witness line of pistols is merely the name EAA gave to its imported Tangfolio T95 pistols. The Tangfolio T95 is a copy of the CZ-75 & the CZ-75 derives in part from the Sig 210 & Browning Hi-Power.
I haven't taken it to the range yet but I'll let you know how that goes.
The Witness Elite Match differs from the standard Witness in a few ways. The Elite Match is single action (with an over-travel adjustment screw). It has a slightly longer barrel (4.75" as opposed to 4.5"), adjustable sights & an extended mag release. It also costs about $150 more than the standard models.
I cleaned the gun thoroughly as you should with every new (or new to you) firearm & I've been dry firing the thing. The trigger is a two stage (which I prefer) & has a little bit of roughness in the second stage. I'm hoping that dry firing will take care of that before I get it to the range but if it's still there after a few hundred rounds I'll do something about it. It's a fairly light pull. I'd estimate under 4 pounds or so.
The general stats are 4.75" polygonal rifled barrel, steel frame coming in at 33 ounces unloaded, 1.4" wide, 5" high with an overall length of 8.1". It has a rear sight that's adjustable for windage & elevation & an interchangable front post. The mag release is extended & I believe the safety may be as well. I'd have to compare it to a standard Witness safety to be sure though. The magazine holds 15 rounds & it came with one mag. It also came with a neat little cleaning kit that stores in the cleaning rod handle & a nice lockable (by combination) case. It has a two tone finish & rubber grips.
Oh, & it's in 10mm.
I want to switch out the barrel for one with conventional rifling & I may do that soon, if I can find one at a decent price. I'd also like to replace the rubber grips with a nicely figured piece of wood but I'll wait till I see how it shoots before getting any firm ideas about it. At some point I will re-coat the metal to a nice matte black.
I'll let you know how it does on its first range trip which will hopefully be later this week. I wonder if I take someone along would that make them a witness to a Witness? ;D In the meantime here's some more reading for those of you unfamiliar with the Witness/Tangfolio pistols or anyone who just wants to get over that last attempted joke.
Tanfoglio Witness Series Pistols - By Alex Osinski
EAA Witness Pistols By Dick Metcalf
& for those unfamiliar with the 10mm
Posted by Publicola at August 29, 2006 04:57 AM | TrackBackPublicola:
Whaddya' plan to use for a holster?? I have an all-steel Witness "Regular" in 45 ACP and, for the price, nothing comes close. I love it. But nobody makes concealable Kydex (or leather) for it that I know of. I've been shown a few products but they're all for the CZ75. I haven't taken the plunge. Ideas??
BTW: Matt and Gina are indeed good folk. I've bought more than a few firearms from them, most recently a *very* nice K31. They appear(ed) at the CO g-shows with regularity and their prices are very competitive. I haven't been to their new brick-and-mortar yet but I plan to.
TCM
Posted by: The Cabinet Man at August 29, 2006 11:01 AMI've got a 9mm Witness. Very nice, well-built gun.
(I far prefer it over the Taurus PT-92 I traded it for; the Taurus was also well-built, but my hand never did fit those giant Berettas very well.)
I do envy the 10mm, though I'd prefer .45.
Posted by: Sigivald at August 29, 2006 01:06 PMWasn't that a song by Grand Funk Handload?
Posted by: jed at August 29, 2006 06:04 PMI have a Witness 10mm Hunter that I like a lot. I haven't had any problems, but I've heard if there are any, customer service from EAA is very bad.
Check out DoubleTap ammo. http://www.doubletapammo.com/
They load the 10mm to impressive velocities in a wide range of weights. Here's gelatin tests:
http://www.10mmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=1393
Man, I just moved to Philly from Denver in April. Did that shop just open? Do they have a showroom? I guess I would've had to sign over my paychecks to them, so maybe moving wasn't so bad.. I liked French's in Denver & Daves, but Arvada was lacking.
Is the stupid gun ban in Denver pushing shops out? I think Dave's is in denver(?)
Posted by: BadIdeaGuy at August 30, 2006 01:49 PMIt took Hot Shots in PA about a week and a half to find my 10mm Elite Match. It's very accurate and reliable. The only problem I had was the baseplates on the extra Witness magazines were too thick, making them difficult to seat properly. A few minutes with 150 grit sandpaper fixed that. You can get a holster from FIST; they have both leather and Kydex. I also second DoubleTap ammo.
Posted by: GLJ at September 2, 2006 11:13 AMVerrry nice. I have a Witness Stock. The sweetest trigger I own is on that pistol (it was worked on by a pro before I got it).
I can only imagine how sweet a single action only trigger would be.
Posted by: Chris at September 12, 2006 07:19 PM Id just like to add I have a standard
polymer 10mm witness... it shoots well
but I cant wait to get a match or even a
limited,Hunter...
Id like to add that it seems that doubletapammo.com is far more affordable
than bigbore's
and you guys should consider checking out
reedsammo.com they have 10mm,10mm magnum, and even .41 AE (those are $$$)
reedsammo.com seems one of the few others that sells full power 10 at a decent price.
Big bores is practically a $1.00 per round
Might as well be buying .50 AE