Im looking at some of the 10mm witness guns. Anyone have any insight on them? Im a huge single action auto fan (love my 1911's) and also becoming a 10mm fan. I have 2 springfield 1911's so i want to try something else besides SA or a colt. This brings me to the EAA guns. How do they hold up, how do they shoot and how to they feel? Just an overall run down. It will be mainly a range gun and rarely carried.
EAA witness quality?
- Thread starter rxspeed88
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MachIVshooter
Member
I have a Limited and a Compact in 10mm, my sister has the Match (also 10mm). They've all been great.
intercooler
member
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Match and a Hunter. Love em!
I have the basic, steel, full size .45 and I swear by it. never fails to go BANG and was even stolen and recovered a year later. still no problems. It's got the old style, square slide and the wonder finish. Single action/Double action. safety engages whether it's cocked, half cocked or uncocked. more accurate than I ever will be.
I've got a Match 10mm that I love. However, with a couple thousand rounds through it, the adjustment screw on the rear sight has started slipping, and I think the extractor has gone bad. I've got a replacment extractor on the way, and have loctite-d the sight screw. Overall, I've been very pleased. Ditto to wbwanzer's comment about the great OOB trigger, which further improves with gunsmithing attention.
Princi
Member
Most that I've shot have creepy gritty triggers with the exception of the Elite series. Note that the Hunter version is not part of the Elite series. I have one and it has the creepy trigger.
I would highly recommend any of the Elite series, and personally I have 3 of them: Match, Limited, and Gold Team (purchased in that order). The Gold Team was a long wait, and I'd about given up hope when it showed up.
I would highly recommend any of the Elite series, and personally I have 3 of them: Match, Limited, and Gold Team (purchased in that order). The Gold Team was a long wait, and I'd about given up hope when it showed up.
M2 Carbine
member
I owned two. One was OK. The other was dangerous.
Customer service sucks.
I gave away the good gun because I wanted nothing more to do with that company.
Customer service sucks.
I gave away the good gun because I wanted nothing more to do with that company.
Bozwell
Member
I'm a big CZ fan, so I've been interested in the Witness line for quite a while. One thing that has kept me from trying these guns out though is what I hear about the EAA customer service. Long story short, I've heard great things about the guns themselves but I have not heard good things about their customer service.
According to the guys over on the Witness forums, customer service is improving. I think they all ask for Christy or Chrissy when they call. haven't had to call yet and hope I never have to, but I love the gun. It's , by far, the most comfortable shooting pistol I've even owned.
Strykervet
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I'm big into tens, and I've been considering an EAA in that calibre, but I'd probably go for a higher end one. I think you can change calibres in that platform, so if that is true and it is tough enough for the 10mm, I bet it is overbuilt for the other calibres --not a bad thing at all for a range pistol. The ones I've felt seemed pretty nice for the price. I haven't felt an Elite yet, and if I get one it will have to have a great trigger. It'll also have to be pretty beefy for the 10mm.
I also have a G20, a G29, and a Smith 1006 in 10mm. Those are all great, I consider them to be the best of the current production 10mm's. Best thing is they are all decently priced and built well. The 1006 is a tank, capable of handling serious loads. The G20 is a high cap beast. The G29 is a great carry piece.
The Witness? I bet it would be a great range pistol IF it has a great trigger. Otherwise, I'd go with one of the other three. The 1911 10mm's will probably have the best triggers, but they also have the thinnest chamber walls too, the G20 and G29 in the middle, and the 1006 the thickest. Not sure where the EAA falls in here. But chamber wall thickness is important with the heavy loads.
I also have a G20, a G29, and a Smith 1006 in 10mm. Those are all great, I consider them to be the best of the current production 10mm's. Best thing is they are all decently priced and built well. The 1006 is a tank, capable of handling serious loads. The G20 is a high cap beast. The G29 is a great carry piece.
The Witness? I bet it would be a great range pistol IF it has a great trigger. Otherwise, I'd go with one of the other three. The 1911 10mm's will probably have the best triggers, but they also have the thinnest chamber walls too, the G20 and G29 in the middle, and the 1006 the thickest. Not sure where the EAA falls in here. But chamber wall thickness is important with the heavy loads.
jfh
Member.
I've owned a couple they've always been accurate and reliable I have got rid of the DA/SA ones I had because of the DA trigger reach. The only one I have left is like elite match 38 super that appears to have been custom done. It's all black has a bomar style rear and very good SA trigger and is amazingly accurate.
The high-end guns seem to be excellent and don't have many problems. The standard Witness pistols are usually fine, but they do tend to have issues.
Either way, when anything from EAA goes bad, you're in trouble.
Google "EAA" and "customer service".
I've owned 3 Witnesses. The 9mm was fine. No problems. I sold it to buy another Witness in .38 Super. The Super was OK, but I eventually sold it, because I had such a horrible experience trying to get EAA to even talk to me about the trouble I had with the .45. I sold the Super because I was afraid to shoot it. I knew if it broke, I'd have to deal with EAA again and it would be easier to just throw the gun in the ocean.
The .45 sits in the safe. It's unreliable and EAA won't talk to me about getting it fixed.
On a scale of 1 to 10, their service is a negative 15.
Either way, when anything from EAA goes bad, you're in trouble.
Google "EAA" and "customer service".
I've owned 3 Witnesses. The 9mm was fine. No problems. I sold it to buy another Witness in .38 Super. The Super was OK, but I eventually sold it, because I had such a horrible experience trying to get EAA to even talk to me about the trouble I had with the .45. I sold the Super because I was afraid to shoot it. I knew if it broke, I'd have to deal with EAA again and it would be easier to just throw the gun in the ocean.
The .45 sits in the safe. It's unreliable and EAA won't talk to me about getting it fixed.
On a scale of 1 to 10, their service is a negative 15.
They are great guns. They have great triggers. Capable of better accuracy than most shooters. I have sigs, kimbers, colts, wilson combat, glock, fn, mararov, casull,etc. The witness autos are by far the best autos for the money out there. The machinery part of them is on par with much more expensive pistols.
MachIVshooter
Member
True of the standards, but the elites are hand fitted.
Witness chamber walls are slightly thinner than Glock. Going off memory, the witnesses come in at 0.098", the Glock at 0.107", the 1006 at 0.126". The 1911? My Kimber's chamber wall is 0.130". The rest of the gun certainly isn't as tough as the 1006, but I don't worry about the chamber.
That said, I've run A LOT of very heavy loads through the Witnesses (180 gr. over 10.8 grs. 800x, CCI 350 primers). They're pretty tough.
powwowell
Member
I don't have a 10mm. I've never had deal with EAA service.
I do have a 9mm, full size, all steel Witness. Bought it new and I've had it several years now. It's been a fantastic pistol, for the money. No problems.
I do have a 9mm, full size, all steel Witness. Bought it new and I've had it several years now. It's been a fantastic pistol, for the money. No problems.
hAkron
Member
Weren't there some problems with the slides cracking on the Tanfoglio/EAA 10mm or 45 guns at one point?
Ive got the all steel blued 9mm/22lr combo. I love it, never had any issues. Ive put several thousand rounds through the 22 slide, only a handfull of FTEs.
It fits my hand like a glove, and the SA trigger is awesome
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using tapatalk
It fits my hand like a glove, and the SA trigger is awesome
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using tapatalk
Ranger30-06
Member
Steel frames: Fantastic
Polymer framed ones: Biggest pieces of crap I've ever owned.
Make sure you get the orange follower magazines too; the black follower ones are 50/50.
The problem with the slides cracking was a short lived problem in the beginning of their production, but I don't hear about it anymore.
Japle: Try using orange follower mags. They are what I had to buy to get the gun to run well. Also, try running mid range velocity loads, and if you can find them, ammunition loaded with a flat point similar to the bullets used in .40 S&W rounds. Hope this helps.
Polymer framed ones: Biggest pieces of crap I've ever owned.
Make sure you get the orange follower magazines too; the black follower ones are 50/50.
The problem with the slides cracking was a short lived problem in the beginning of their production, but I don't hear about it anymore.
Japle: Try using orange follower mags. They are what I had to buy to get the gun to run well. Also, try running mid range velocity loads, and if you can find them, ammunition loaded with a flat point similar to the bullets used in .40 S&W rounds. Hope this helps.
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Thanks, but I've tried all that and much more. The most reliable load is a 255 gr plated flat point bullet at 570 fps. That's (surprise!) a very soft-shooting load, but accurate. It still isn't very reliable.
When I first bought it, this was a 100% reliable gun. I used it for IDPA and CC. I was one of Witness' biggest fans and recommended them to everyone. Then the .45 started acting up and I called EAA customer service.
I was told that:
1. It was my fault because I'd been shooting hot handloads. That's despite the fact that I never mentioned what loads I was shooting in the gun.
2. It was my fault because I was limp-wristing the gun. That's despite the fact that the “gunsmith” I was talking to had never seen me shoot and had no damn idea how I shot.
3. It was my fault and my warranty was void. That's when he hung up on me.
If you think I'm the only one who gets treated this way, Google "EAA" and "customer service".
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