EAA Witness Steel 10mm

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Dimis

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anyone have any experience with one of these?
accuracy?
ammo pickyness?
durability?
worth the price? (i believe under $600)
compaired to other 10mm models?

im not talking about one of the limited models or the high dollar race guns just the standard steel model

im interested in getting a 10mm but i dont really want the Glock 20 and the delta is hard to find around here
 
Just from hear say... customer service is horrendous. The frames crack from full house 10mm loads. I don't like to talk bad about firearm makers but this is from the members here. By the morning time you will have replies I do know of one member here who recently posted his troubles with his witness.
 
I have an Elite Match. It is one of my favorite guns. I shoot it in a number of competitions like IDPA and USPSA.

I also have a Delta Elite. I consider the Colt a better gun, but the Tanfoglio handles recoil better (allowing for faster followup shots) and is very accurate. I've never had any issues with my EAA after more than 100 pistol matches. I have worn out a couple mag followers. I also replaced my mag floorplates with machined aluminum ones because they handle the stress better and make loading easier.

I've heard many complaints, but they do not jive with my personal experience.

My only first-hand experience with customer service was in buying an upgrade part. I received it in three days. That said, in a phone discussion with a tech there it seemed they do not have much in the way of repair parts on hand.

An acquaintance of mine had trouble getting a replacement part and called Tanfoglio in Italy and got it the next week. FWIW.
 
I have an EAA Witness Match .40 and I absolutely love it. My personal belief is those frame cracks might have something to do with those full house loads being over full house.
 
FMJ i just found out that glock makes a SF model 20 so it is a thought

but back to the EAA the reason im concidering it is because its a STEEL gun

maybe im paranoid or delusional about this but (and dont stone me for saying it please) but a polymer gun shooting that hot of a round kind of well.. frightens me

both the recoil and the possability of breakage
i know glock makes a good product and im sure there are tens of thousands of 10mm glocks in use today but on this one i honestly want metal

the only 10s i have seen in my area are a severly overpriced delta (over $1000 used cause the dealer is a nut job) i can order anything new i want from my FFL dealer who has very good prices but not too many new manufacture 10s are available in my price range (under $1000 preferably around $600)

tracking down used is always a run around here so the smith 10s are out and the new bren ten seems like it will never be released so that limits me to the glock (already stated i dont really want polymer) the delta (a little high on my price range and limited to 9 shots) and the EAA

anyone have another suggestion maybe besides EAA?
remember i have trouble tracking down used guns and GB.com is out as of right now because i dont have a credit debit card to start an account with them/purchase online
 
I have 2 different witness 10 MM, one is about 10 years old, never a hic cup from either one, devours any thing I feed them. THey don't shoot as well as my Clark Customized Delta's but they are just a fraction of the price.
 
maybe im paranoid or delusional about this but (and dont stone me for saying it please) but a polymer gun shooting that hot of a round kind of well.. frightens me
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glock polymer is more durable than steel. the frame flex also dampens the recoil very well.

the 1911 design was actually patented in 1897, back when the highest pressure handgun round was the .45acp.
 
My 10mm steel Witness has withstood DoubleTap's max loads for a few years now. I think some of those cracked frames may belong to people who didn't install the right springs for the hot stuff.

10mm is not a forgiving cartridge for people who neglect important details.
 
Save your cash on the Witness - step back from the counter. :scrutiny:

Instead, shop around for a lightly-used S&W 10XX-series pistol.

Any one of the S&W guns will hold up to the pounding of genuine high-performance 10mm loads a full 100-years longer than Tanfoglio's CZ clone. Plus the 10XX-gun's magazines are a problem-free part of the deal.

S&W's customer service on problem guns is reportedly decent; Tanfoglio uses their importer, EAA, as their "customer service" surrogate here in the U.S., and EAA's long-time reputation for said service is universally horrific. :rolleyes:

:cool:
 
I came >< this close to buying the 6" hunter model. Bad reputation and familiarity with the Glock 20 changed my mind.
I like the design.
 
EAA's customer service is terrible, and on that I speak from direct experience. If you do need any parts of service for the Witness, prepare for a significant hassle. They flatly suck, and I'll never own another EAA imported firearm again no matter how terrific the gun may seem in the store.

Word at the local gunsmith is that the older Witness 10mm slides were beefier than the newer ones, and that the newer models seem to have issues more frequently (perhaps as a result). I have seen ads for several gunsmiths that build up 10mm competition guns based upon the Witness; you might want to do an internet search and see if you can get any longevity info from them.

The Glock 20 and the S&W 1006 are generally reported to be the most durable of the 10mm semiautos. The Glock 20 is the softest shooting of the 10mm pistols, at least in my experience. I tend towards 1911-based 10mm pistols, simply because I'm that way.
 
rbernie said:
EAA's customer service is terrible, and on that I speak from direct experience.
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Seconded, with bitterness.

I got a nice Witness 10mm because I was lucky, and I bought it because I was ignorant of the problems common to the model.

Mine happens to work. If you can afford to buy pistol after pistol until it works for you, a new Witness might be a good deal. (Of course, in that case you can afford something else.) But don't expect EAA to do anything but test your blood pressure.
 
agtman, what's your personal experience with EAA handguns?
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Several Witness 10mms I handled and shot; none I've bought, though one of them was being offered "used, excellent condition" when I test-fired it. The others were owned by fellow 10mm acquaintances.

I've personally witnessed (no pun meant ;) ) three of those guns have magazine problems, which included not feeding reliably as well as two mags, in different two Witnesses, that didn't fit the magazine well without pounding them up in there. Then they wouldn't eject.

When not having magazine-related infarctions, the Witnesses I shot were acceptably accurate and I've always liked CZ ergonomics - which is why I was blissfully awaiting Vltor's revival of the Fortis/Bren Ten pistol (just so I wouldn't have to devolve to a Witness if I wanted a CZ-style 10mm in my collection :rolleyes: ).

I have extensive experience with S&W's 3rd Generation 10XX-series, to include my own 1006 & 1076 models, and have handled and shot 1086s and 1026s.

NONE of those guns ever had a magazine issue, including those that were still using the 1st Gen mags with the yellow followers (the later, upgraded ones were white).

Also, I've never heard of even one "frame-cracking" report regarding S&W 10XX-series guns. Not so with the 10mm Witness line, there've been multiple reports of such - here's a link to one of several floating around the boards (with images):

http://www.ar15armory.com/forums/10mm-Witness-Wonderfinish-t81791.html

By the way, one of those 10mm acquaintances had to deal with EAA on his pistol and his "customer-service" experience was as reported by the above posters ...

Hope this satisfies your curiosity ... :)

EDITED to add this recent link on Witness magazine problems: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=547195

:cool:
 
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customer service is horrendous. The frames crack from full house 10mm loads
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I wish people would actually have experience with a product before bashing them.

The problem with the 10mm "Frames Cracking" is actually the new style SLIDE that cracks, not the frame. And even that is rare for the # of them out there. As for their CS department. Sure, their not great... but they aren't the worst either.

The biggest problem with the EAA 10mm Witness is the Magazines. there isn't an stronger spring available like the Wolff Power Mag springs for the 45 witness which is a godsend for that gun.

I have 1 10mm Witness... had 3... i'll keep this one since its been flawless although it took i think 5 mags to find 2 keepers.

I wouldn't spend that $$$ on one though. You can get them in the used market for 300-450.

Accuracy is good, recoil is very manageable and overall their not bad. There is better but in 10mm your choices get pretty slim

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would be nice if people understood the difference between a FRAME and a SLIDE
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I do, :scrutiny: ... that's why I wrapped it in "quotes," Chief ... ;)

Yes, the more recent reports are about slides, but in the past (meaning several years back) there were some reports of a frame or two as well.

If I can find those old links, I'll post them here for you, ... so both the Tanfoglio fans of "frame"-cracking guns and "slide"-cracking guns will be equally represented. 'Kay?

Glad your 10mm Witness and its magazines work. Looks great in that photo ... :cool:
 
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