New CZ-style owner here (new to forum.) I bought a Witness P Match Pro based on hoping for a few things:
1. Light(er) (supposedly 30.4 oz, according to EAA's specs.) Not true. 38 Super P Match Pro with empty mag is 34.1 oz, and 3.7 oz matter to me.
2. Halfway decent trigger. Meh. I'm used to 1911's or a very nifty APEX tactical aftermarket trigger/sear for M&P Shield; both platforms offer very short trigger pulls and very short trigger resets, and the Witness trigger is notchy in SA and reset is...l-o-n-g. I'm going to need to play the "fix-the-trigger" game.
3. "high cap" for 38 Super-sized cartridges. You bet. As far as I know, the next step up from this $600 17-rd pistol is something more like an STI 2011 costing three or four times more.
4. I hoped to run 9x23 Win out of it, even if I had to get a 9x19 barrel reamed. This one surprised me (full explanation follows.)
As you all know, the 9x23 is the straight-walled auto pistol cartridge delivering 357 mag ballistics.
There seems some controversy regarding the Witness' capability of handling the 55,000 psi 9x23, and I do note that the walls of the chamber are far thinner than a 1911 chambered in either 9x23 or 38 Super. But I'm letting that one go for now.
The weird part is this: The chamber of the Tangfolio 38 Super is larger than either a Colt 38 Super (vintage 1970's) or a Springfield Armory factory-stock 9x23 Win. Fired cartridges coming out of the latter two measure .390 on the case body ahead of the case head. Fired cartridges coming out of the Witness measure .393 or .394, so that unsized (fired) cases from the other two guns drop into the Witness with room to spare. I do worry that case life will suffer from more working of the brass due to that sloppy chamber on the Witness.
I figure if the Witness can run full power 10mm (where Power Factors can be 220 or more), surely it can handle 9x23 where Power Factors max out around 200 (a 147gr JHP in the mid-1300's fps is no slouch, right?)
I ordered a 16lb Wolff recoil spring for the P Match Pro and figure if I can get the SA trigger to be at least passable, I'll be happy. Loaded with 10 rounds in the mag it's the same weight as an all-steel 1911 empty. A nice balance between power, weight and easy shooting.
Any observations from those who know far more about this platform? Thanks!
