EEA Witness .45

[Sparks1957]

Hi all,

I've become very fond of my CZs in the past couple years, and they have even displaced my Sigs as my favorite pistols at the range.

I was thinking about getting a CZ 97 to complete my lineup (I have a P-01, 75B, and an 83) , but then I took a look at the EEA Witness made by Tangfolio.

What experience do any of you guys have with this gun? I don't seem to find a whole lot of negatives about it, most folks think they are a great bargain.

What do you all think of it?

Sparks

 

[Remington74]

I had one some years back. It was a heavy little rascal but mine functioned just fine, no problems with it at all.

It was accurate and never a ftf or fte. I bought it used with unknown round count and I probably put 1,000 rounds thru it while I had it.

I traded it off for something else but I would not mind having it back at all.

Some may have horror stories about their customer service, I never had need for it so I wouldn't know.

I'd buy another one tomorrow.

 

[Skans]

I have a Tanfoglio Stock 10mm. It's one of my favorite pistols to shoot - powerful, manageable and very accurate. Excellent trigger. Very nicely made. No malfunctions at all. My only experience with customer service was when I needed some extra magazines. I called them, a very knowledgeable person helped me understand which magazines I wanted for my gun. I ordered 3 @ $23/magazine and they arrived the very next day to my door. Excellent quality magazines, by the way, they are made of heavy steel, very highly polished and nicely blued. I'm sure those magazines have to cost more by now; I was surprised at the cost when I ordered them.

 

[WESHOOT2]

come: stay, or go

I've had my Witness 45 ACP since the late 90's; still have it

 

[USMCGrunt]

I too have a steel Witness .45 pistol. Heavy but reliable and accurate although really lacking in the aftermarket products arena. The only thing I did to mine was to add an ambidextrous safety but that's been it. Mine is one of the older blocky style slides and that's a good thing. There have been stories about cracking slides but that doesn't seem to be a problem with the older blocky slides. Not a bad gun and a pretty decent value for what you're getting.

 

[Dfariswheel]

I bought an early actual stainless steel EAA .45 in the early 90's when they offered stainless for a couple of years.
Only the slide and frame are actual stainless steel, everything else is blued carbon steel.

It just won't jam and is very accurate.
It's smaller and better fitting to most hands then the CZ-97B and quality is good, but not quite up to CZ standards.
Most owners consider the EAA to be a "best buy" for the price/quality.

 

[mmb713]

I've got a Witness Elite Match in 45, and one in 9mm too. Some have described the 45 Match as the pistol the CZ97 should have been. Both of my Matches are more accurate than me and the SA-only triggers are top notch. The prices on Davidson's have gone up on them recently. I guess the word is getting out. Impact Guns has a few left in stock at the old price here.

 

[Japle]

I’ve got a steel-frame .45 Witness. It’s a safe queen, because it randomly locks the slide back with rounds still in the mag.

NOTE:
Don’t bother to post advice on changing springs, parts, followers, etc. I’ve done it all. Nothing works.

When I got the gun, it was 100% reliable. After a few thousand rounds, it started acting up. The “gunsmith” (Paul) at EAA listened to my story for about 15 seconds, told me the problem was a result of me shooting hot handloads and my warranty was now void. I hadn’t mentioned ammo at all. I’ve since learned that Paul’s response is typical of EAA’s customer service.

I sold my 9mm and .38 Super Witnesses. They worked just fine, but if one of them broke, I didn’t want to have to deal with EAA again.

When these guns work, they’re terrific. A great value for the money. When they break, you’re at the mercy of EAA. Sometimes they come through for you and sometimes they’re horrible.

Good luck.

 

[chris in va]

No no no! I hated my Witness 45. Sharp edges everywhere, odd internal workings, absurdly high rear sight and for some reason mine wouldn't hit where aimed, even off bags. The severely hooked trigger is a real PITA.

I'm much happier with my genuine CZ 97b, especially as I converted it to SAO and installed a few other goodies. Cajun Gun Works is amazing to deal with if you want to customize a bit.

I will say one thing about the 97. While the grip is the same width as a 75, the DEPTH is more, so reach to the DA pull is iffy. It's the main reason why mine is SAO.

I forgot to mention I've had several CZ's the past ten years, so it's just natural for me to continue with the brand. They all have quirks that I'm familiar with and readily 'adjusted'.

 

[gyvel]

I have smallish hands, and the EAA Witness .45 is a better fit for me than the 97. The first time I handled a 97, I felt the grip was too bulky to suit my hands.

Also, while I love 1911s, I have found that the Witness is more comfortable to shoot than a 1911, and (to me, anyway) it seems to have less perceived recoil.

 

[me26245]

EAA

I have several EAA Steel frame pistols. I've had them for several years and they have all been good guns.
My first 9mm would not shoot to point of aim. After calling EAA it was shipped back and returned with an adjustable sight top end.
My other 9mm's work as advertised with no issues.
Lastly the 10mm I own runs like a champ although the 15 round mags can be a little hard to get fully loaded.

 

[LockedBreech]

I've heard good things from most EAA owners, but I've also heard some fairly dismal customer service stories from people who had problems. Just be aware.

 

[Willie D]

I’ve got a steel-frame .45 Witness. It’s a safe queen, because it randomly locks the slide back with rounds still in the mag.

NOTE:
Don’t bother to post advice on changing springs, parts, followers, etc. I’ve done it all. Nothing works.

Did you ever replace or fiddle with the slide stop? I have a CZ 75 that occasionally does this but it became less frequent when I filed down part of the slide stop that I believe was being pushed up by incoming rounds. That said, I never did truly solve the problem either, which is frustrating.

There isn't much downward spring pressure on the slide stop so it doesn't take much to cause this problem.

 

[larryf1952]

I bought this Witness .45 in 1995. It has what was called EAA's "Wonderfinish" at the time. It's not my favorite .45, but I like the gun. It's comfortable in my hand, and it shoots well. I don't like the tall rear sight, but it's not a gun that I'd ever use for carry, so that doesn't bother me. I can't recall ever having a problem with it.

I've also heard sordid tales of EAA's customer service in years past, but I think that they have more recently acknowledged that they had a problem and have taken efforts to improve that. I've never dealt with them, so this is just something that I've heard and read about...I have no idea what the true situation might be.

 

[oldandslow]

sparks,

EAA is known for the prettiest female models in their ads and the worst customer service.

I bought two new Witness .45's in their Wonder finish. Both suffered frame and slide cracks at low round counts (2800-3200 rounds) with standard pressure ammo. I was told to return both (at my expense) for evaluation and to include a check to pay for the return postage. The good news is that they were returned really quickly. The bad news was that they refused to honor their "lifetime warranty" by saying the hard-chrome finish voided their warranty. So now I have about $1200 dollars in pistols and mags used as paperweights. No more EAA products for me ever again. If you google EAA and Customer service you will find a number of horror stories. Note this usually occurs in 10mm and .45 standard pistols and not their top-end guns. Good luck.

Merry Christmas- oldandslow

 

[Northrider]

I have the .45 with the extra slide and barrel for .22lr. So far no issues. It is easy to shoot, accurate, and did not break the bank. I'm happy with my purchase, especially since I have basically two guns for a reasonable amount of $$. It is heavier than one of my other .45s, but gets shot as much as my Colt Officers and my Ruger P90.
Just my $.02.

 

[hemiram]

My .45 Witness was great, I put several thousand rounds through it, before ammo prices went totally crazy, and it was pretty much perfect. I had to sell it and I still regret it. I have two Tanfoglio made "Mossad" guns, identical to the early Witness in 9mm, and they are very nice, and everyone who sees them are amused by the roll marks on them.

 

[Skans]

I bought two new Witness .45's in their Wonder finish. Both suffered frame and slide cracks at low round counts (2800-3200 rounds) with standard pressure ammo. I was told to return both (at my expense) for evaluation and to include a check to pay for the return postage. The good news is that they were returned really quickly. The bad news was that they refused to honor their "lifetime warranty" by saying the hard-chrome finish voided their warranty.

Oldandslow, I think you have posted this before and I have a couple of questions about this and EAA's denial of warranty service because it was hard chromed. My Stock 10mm has the "Wonder Finish" which just looks like hard chrome. My first question is why did you have the gun hard chromed (if you did) if it already had the wonder finish? My second question is whether you know what process was used to strip off the wonder finish so that it could be hard chromed?

 

[chris in va]

As a caveat to my earlier post, a 'higher' model of Witness 45 like the Match would probably alleviate many of the issues I had with the base Wonder finish model I had. I still wouldn't get one.

Interestingly the Witness 45's use the same mags as the CZ 97b, but have a different baseplate. They're interchangeable.

 

[mmb713]

Interestingly the Witness 45's use the same mags as the CZ 97b, but have a different baseplate. They're interchangeable.

Actually, the CZ 97B uses Witness mags. Tanfoglio came out with their 45 before CZ and when CZ made the 97B they designed it to use the Tanfoglio mags.

Another good option to consider is this pistol sold by Davidson's but not regularly cataloged by EAA. It's blued so you don't have to worry about the Wonder finish issues. It doesn't have the frame rail, it's less money than the regular Witness Steel, and it's sold by Davidson's and comes with their "no BS" warranty. If anything does go wrong with it you won't have to deal with EAA "customer service." You only have to deal with Davidson's and they have the BEST customer service in the industry.