Author Topic: EAA/Witness ??? (Read 1260 times)

halfbreed · « **on:** February 05, 2005, 05:24:59 AM »

Does anybody have any experience with these semi autos? Good, bad, or ugly? I am thinking about the .45acp full size, steel frame.
Any personal experiences with this one will be greatly appreciated.I understand it is a CZ clone, they are well proven, and all the magazines articles have nothing but good to say for them. But I really do take the magazines like a grain of salt.
Thanks Halfbreed

mr.frosty · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2005, 06:20:46 AM »

I dont know much about them but I like them I found one in 10mm
and just waiting to my pennies counted so i cna get it.

strider72 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2005, 01:36:39 PM »

Had two 9mm and a .40...were good pistols. Still got one...my favorite pistol.

Gun Runner · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2005, 02:15:31 PM »

With the standard 45 you can get conversion kits for 22lr, 38super, 9mm,
and 40 cal. Beats buying all the guns, for about 1/2 price for each cal. conversion.

Gun Runner

halfbreed · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2005, 04:03:01 PM »

Thanks guys I really appreciate your input here. I have lost confidance in my S&W revolver, it is at S&W now for repairs. the second trip to the smiths in about 4 years, I don't think this is good for a ccdw weapon.
Halfbreed

mr.frosty · « **Reply #5 on:** February 05, 2005, 05:10:38 PM »

I do plan on a 10 mm in the witness just to be different and I like the
wonder finish they got did look at a 40 and really like the way it felt and handled too!

halfbreed · « **Reply #6 on:** February 05, 2005, 05:16:32 PM »

there are not many shops around here to handle less than mainstream firearms, I am trying to figure out which one I want a 10mm or a 45acp, I like the idea of a 15 round mag spewing 10mm
Halfbreed

Japle · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2005, 01:25:12 PM »

Have a full-size .38 Super and a Compact, ported steel .45. I had a 9mm, but with the Super and 16 round mags........

All have/had the "Wonder" finish. I wouldn't get a Witness without it.

These are excellent guns. Great design, perfect functioning. I carry one or the other often.

John
Cape Canaveral

papajohn428 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 13, 2005, 02:21:24 PM »

Halfbreed, you don't hear much about the Witness series, and I don't know why not. I got mine in 1991, in 40 cal with the black phosphate finish. 23,000 rounds later, the only thing different about the gun is that it's a little smoother than when I got it, and the finish on the front of the grip is gone. The gun doesn't bobble, hiccup, sneeze or stutter. I've loaded ammo from 135 to 200 grains, from mild to wild, and the gun just doesn't care. It feeds everything I stick in it, extracts and ejects just fine, usually tossing the empties in a nice pile next to me. If I load it up past "prudent" levels, it just throws them a little farther. I've fired more than 700 rounds between cleanings before it started to gum up. Maybe I just got lucky, but this gun has spoiled me so bad I think I "need" another one. I'm thinking about having it refinished and a meltdown done, which would probably cost more than I paid for the gun 14 years ago. As far as the gun knows, it's still brand new! Either I got a rare one, or this design is just inherently solid. I love it!

Papajohn the Imprudent Pistol Punisher

halfbreed · « **Reply #9 on:** February 13, 2005, 02:34:01 PM »

EVERYBODY, THANKS. I would like to handle one before I buy off of one of the auction sites. I have handled a cz-.45acp, it felt real good in the hands. Since it is a clone of the cz, I suppose it would be real close to handling the EAA. I am trying to figure out which one I really want the 10mm or the 45acp. They are both great cartridges. The only thing I can see, is the 10 has a few more cartridges in the mag. As usual, you guys have been a great help.
Halfbreed

mr.frosty · « **Reply #10 on:** February 13, 2005, 06:01:04 PM »

Quote from: halfbreed

there are not many shops around here to handle less than mainstream firearms, I am trying to figure out which one I want a 10mm or a 45acp, I like the idea of a 15 round mag spewing 10mm
Halfbreed

me too half breed i just like the 10 just for the little more velocity and
energy and i can deer hunt with it as well as personal protection

papajohn428 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 14, 2005, 05:26:55 AM »

The 45ACP/10mm choice is a tough one. The 45 is everywhere, easy to load for, accurate, big, and relatively easy to shoot. The Ten is a bellowing monster in full-charge loadings, is hard on guns, expensive to buy, loud, hard-kicking, and has more energy at 200 yards than the 45 ACP has AT THE MUZZLE! :shock:

I want one!

Papajohn

halfbreed · « **Reply #12 on:** February 14, 2005, 09:39:19 AM »

PapaJohn, that is an interesting take on the 10mm, I have always read where it is basically a .357 mag, in a semi auto package. But if it is so hard on the pistol I might have to take another look at the differant cals.
Thanks Halfbreed

Mr. frosty, that is pretty much the same thing I was thinking.

Forest T · « **Reply #13 on:** February 14, 2005, 09:54:33 AM »

ok guys now you have went and done it you are going to make my wife mad at me now I want one in a 45acp cause I reload that cal.

Forest T

papajohn428 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 14, 2005, 02:36:32 PM »

I mentioned it's hard on the guns, but I need to clarify that a bit. It's hard on guns that were adapted to shoot it, like the Colt Delta Elite, a converted 45. In a gun that was engineered for the 10 from the beginning, it's not a problem. From what I've read, the Witness in 10mm is a good strong design, properly engineered to handle the pressure and the slide velocity that comes with shooting magnum-pressure rounds in a semi-auto. If you're a handloader, you can load the Ten from 40SW levels to true magnum-class rounds. The 10mm is considered by some to be a dead issue, but I think it's a fascinating cartridge. I like it in revolvers, admire it in auto pistols, and would absolutely LOVE one in a semi-auto rifle. Can you picture a gas-operated rifle with a tube mag in 10mm? The ultimate pig/deer blaster, with a good handgun in the same caliber as a backup. What fun!

Papajohn

November · « **Reply #15 on:** February 15, 2005, 02:06:55 PM »

In the beginning, my full-size Witness 10mm needed a little tweaking here and there, but now it's as reliable as my Rugers (that's reliable). They come from the factory very undersprung (14 pound spring). I switched to a 22 pound spring for the 10mm and all is well. You can convert the 10mm to 45acp on the full-size guns. I bought a 45 conversion kit when Brownell's was blowing them out a while back for around $125 I think. They don't carry Witness parts anymore, though. I use an 18 pound spring for the .45 slide/barrel combo. I recently got a .40 conversion barrel for it also and it runs just fine with the original factory (14#) spring, slide and magazines. It's fun to unload a 15 rounder of 10mm especially when I'm shooting the nuclear loads from www.doubletapammo.com . Good luck with yours.

Locoweed · « **Reply #16 on:** February 17, 2005, 04:51:18 PM »

I bought a 10mm Witness about a month ago and am sorry to report that I'm having trouble with chronic jamming. Usually at least two jams per mag. The nose of the bullet is hanging up at about 11:00. Tried two more brand new magazines -- didn't resolve the problem. Took it back to the store and the owner, a gunsmith, tweaked around with it a bit including fine tuning the magazine lips. Nothing helped and the last time I talked with him he was talking of sending back to the factory. Two employees in the store also have the 10mm models and swear by them -- never a problem. So... we'll just wait and see. As far as the cartridge being wild and wooly I can't say that it is. I expected lots of thunder and lightning but it was about like shooting hot .38 Spl. Kind of a pussycat, I think (althought I shoot a lot of big stuff and may be inured to the recoil). Mine threw brass about 30 feet to the right and I had another shooter ducking the empties.

halfbreed · « **Reply #17 on:** February 17, 2005, 07:18:31 PM »

Locoweed, thanks for the report, sorry to hear you are having problems. You might want to go to a real sorry thread. Smith and Wesson, then take a look at " dissapointed in my 629" that is what I am going through.
Could by chance your particular bullet nose profile be causing your problem. I shot a friends colt .38 super that had terrible problems with round nose bullets, but shot truncated cone profile great. I am sure your smith has already gone through that though.
Halfbreed

sawfish · « **Reply #18 on:** February 18, 2005, 11:51:02 AM »

I have had a Wonder Finish 9mm Witness for some years. It has performed well with no problems. I would say that the Witness is my second favorite 9mm, right next to my old Belgian Browning Hi-Power. As to the jamming mentioned in a previous post, IMHO every SA pistol should have the feed ramp polished. This eliminates the majority of the feeding problems encountered with less than optimum bullet designs.

johk01 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 19, 2005, 03:53:56 PM »

Between my son & I, we have 4 of them. A full size 45ACP, a full size 10mm, a full size 40 SW, & a compact 40 SW. Not as accurate as a $800-$1000 1911, but plenty accurate & reliable for informal plinking & clay pidgeon busting from 25 to 100 yards. I load the 10mm with a little more than 10 grains of Blue Dot with a 180grain Hornady XTP for right at 1200fps over my chronograph. We like them.

Arizona Jake · « **Reply #20 on:** February 23, 2005, 01:02:51 PM »

I bought one in .45 ACP over 10 years ago, when Springfield Armory was marketing these pistols as their P9 model. Over the years the pistol has served me well. It tends to shoot just a tad low, but not enough to make a difference when it matters.

Overall, It is a reliable design. The only jams I have experienced have been with reloads using lead bullets or with cases that had grown too long.

This puppy stays in my truck, while my SIG P220 sleeps by my bedside.