EAA Witness P match pro

[Redhemi]

Hi, I'm looking at one of these for sale in my area and was wondering about parts availability  and how it shoots and any problems it might have. I do have a few metal EAAs and really enjoy them. I don't have any polymer Tanfoglios and have not shot any either. Thanks for any info.

[kenbo776]

Hello..I bought one last year...really not to impressed . It looks and feels good but I kinda expected a better trigger for price. Definitely not as nice as my other Tans. It just didn't float my boat. So traded it in and used money to help pay for my CZ75 TS 2 Orange. Not to compare the two, but love the TS and glad I did it. Still love my other Tans, hope to increase my collection if possible.

[Redhemi]

On 2/14/2023 at 11:45 AM, kenbo776 said:

Hello..I bought one last year...really not to impressed . It looks and feels good but I kinda expected a better trigger for price. Definitely not as nice as my other Tans. It just didn't float my boat. So traded it in and used money to help pay for my CZ75 TS 2 Orange. Not to compare the two, but love the TS and glad I did it. Still love my other Tans, hope to increase my collection if possible.

Thanks for your input. I did end up buying the gun because it felt good n my hand and I knew I could always change the trigger out. The only thing I need to find out now is if there are any parts specific like pins or such to this model so I can get a few extras to have on hand.

[Rugbyrat]

31 minutes ago, Redhemi said:

Thanks for your input. I did end up buying the gun because it felt good n my hand and I knew I could always change the trigger out. The only thing I need to find out now is if there are any parts specific like pins or such to this model so I can get a few extras to have on hand.

I own one and I was still able to get spare pins, etc. directly from EAA. Give them a try.  Also, if you are looking for a holster, good luck. I did manage to get one from J & L Gunsmithing. He had a small run of holsters done when he was shooting a Match P.

[Rugbyrat]

Tanfoglio Witness P Match Pro pin kit

 

https://patriotdefense.com/tanfoglio-pin-kit-04kit00001/

[Redhemi]

12 hours ago, Rugbyrat said:

Tanfoglio Witness P Match Pro pin kit

 

https://patriotdefense.com/tanfoglio-pin-kit-04kit00001/

So the Poly guns have all the same pins with none specifically just for them?

[Rugbyrat]

8 hours ago, Redhemi said:

So the Poly guns have all the same pins with none specifically just for them?

 That I do not know. But I purchased this pin kit for my polymer and all of the pins I have used fit with no issues.

[Redhemi]

20 hours ago, Rugbyrat said:

 That I do not know. But I purchased this pin kit for my polymer and all of the pins I have used fit with no issues.

Well that's good. I guess I'll get that when I order a new trigger. I can't stand that hook thing it has for a trigger.

[Redhemi]

Well I picked up the Witness a couple of weeks ago (did transfer at range I go to) and oiled it up and shot it basically straight out of the box. Being my first Tanfo poly I didn't know what to expect but was not happy with the performance. Shooting the first couple of mags it seemed like the slide would hang up or was dragging a little. I hand cycled it and found a couple of spots that felt like the slide was going over speed bumps and when the slide was almost fully to the rear would slightly stick. I ran another five mags through it and it got a little better but not enough to my satisfaction. When I got home from the range I cleaned and put away the other guns I took and took the Tanfo to my work bench.

 

I spent the next four hours (time flys when your into something) cleaning, changing a few parts and springs and polishing various parts. After taking out the trigger and hammer group I disassembled each one. The trigger group I changed the trigger, put in a lighter return spring and polished the trigger bar in a couple of spots. Before I reassembled the trigger group I took the housing and put it on the slide with it standing up and let it drop. Well about 3/4 of the way down it came to a dead stop and I had to persuade it to go all the way down/forward with more than slight pressure. This I'm guessing was the drag I was feeling. After some elbow grease, lapping compound and time I got it to slide nice and smoothly up and down the slide. Thankfully the hammer housing had no problems. Next was the firing group. I changed the hammer spring (15lb), lighter sear spring and polished the sear and FP block lifter and also changed it over to single action.

 

On the slide I polished the FP block and the rails (they were a little rough). I also changed the front to a fiber optic because my old eyes just couldn't see the black sight it had on the front. I took it to the range last Saturday and with the exception of one mag it didn't like it performed very well and now I'm happy with it and it's a keeper. I bought this one because it just looked bada$$ and wanted a poly Tanfo to go with my other Tanfos and now that it's running smoothly I am a happy camper. Here's a before and after pic.

 

 

[matteekay]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:12 PM, Rugbyrat said:

I own one and I was still able to get spare pins, etc. directly from EAA. Give them a try.  Also, if you are looking for a holster, good luck. I did manage to get one from J & L Gunsmithing. He had a small run of holsters done when he was shooting a Match P.

 

I have the other P Match Pro (the SAO, before/after? EAA swapped names) that has the huge, Stock 2ish dust cover. I've found that Stock 1/3 holsters work if you loosen the retention screws. Both my Ghost Thunder and RHT hold the gun well and I can draw without issue.

 

I would probably replace the knobs/screws with longer ones and add a longer rubber spacer if this was my primary gun. Since it's my backup, I leave the holsters sized to my DLM with the knowledge that I can loosen the retention enough to work if I need to go to my P-Match.

[matteekay]

While we're discussing polymer Tanfo's - does anyone know if these use the same-sized thumb safety as the metal guns?

[Redhemi]

23 hours ago, matteekay said:

While we're discussing polymer Tanfo's - does anyone know if these use the same-sized thumb safety as the metal guns?

Your question made me curious. I took the P and compared it to my Stock 2. In the pic you can see that the P is a little thicker. The P measures 27.83 across the frame at the safety, the Stock 2 measures 25.35 at the same point of measure. So no is the answer to your question. And FYI the slide stop is also larger on the P, not only is it longer the groove for the spring is in a different spot. The P is on the right.

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Redhemi

[matteekay]

On 3/17/2023 at 12:16 PM, Redhemi said:

Your question made me curious. I took the P and compared it to my Stock 2. In the pic you can see that the P is a little thicker. The P measures 27.83 across the frame at the safety, the Stock 2 measures 25.35 at the same point of measure. So no is the answer to your question. And FYI the slide stop is also larger on the P, not only is it longer the groove for the spring is in a different spot. The P is on the right.

 

 

Interesting, thanks. I now own both of these guns too so I'm going to do some comparisons. I'm wondering if the distance from the left side of the safety to the groove for the sear spring is the same and they just made the safety's shank longer for the poly guns. I'm also thinking that I could add my own goove to a slide stop if I really wanted a thumbrest...

 

I remember lots of people saying the poly guns are hard to work on, but it seems like they're more or less the same other than some of the takedown pins. Am I missing something?

[Redhemi]

49 minutes ago, matteekay said:

 

Interesting, thanks. I now own both of these guns too so I'm going to do some comparisons. I'm wondering if the distance from the left side of the safety to the groove for the sear spring is the same and they just made the safety's shank longer for the poly guns. I'm also thinking that I could add my own goove to a slide stop if I really wanted a thumbrest...

 

I remember lots of people saying the poly guns are hard to work on, but it seems like they're more or less the same other than some of the takedown pins. Am I missing something?

Honestly I found it easier to work on when you can take each group out of the frame and do what you want without having to work on it with the bulky frame in the way.

[matteekay]

On 4/14/2023 at 12:30 PM, Redhemi said:

Honestly I found it easier to work on when you can take each group out of the frame and do what you want without having to work on it with the bulky frame in the way.

 

I had my DLM and its weird polymer brother in pieces yesterday and now I see what you mean. The sear/ejector pack and trigger each sit in a "housing" that's attached to the frame instead of being directly mated like they are on the metal guns. I looks like all internals are cross-compatible otherwise; they just have to be installed in the housing, and then the housing is installed in the gun.

 

Two exceptions, though.

 

The slide stop is unique on the plastic gun - it's longer, and the notch for the retention spring is further out. I think you could buy one and file the notch in the correct spot if you wanted a Nitrofin or Eemann.

 

The safety is also different, though I think the sear spring notch is in the same spot. The changes are the shank length (longer on the polymer) and the way it mates with the frame. The steel guns have a round hole with notches for the detent, while the plastic gun has a recessed area that matches a protrusion on the safety.

 

Metal frame safety on the left, polymer frame on the right:

 

 

 

And here's the difference in the frames:

 

 

 

I've been wondering if something like the Gold Team safety would fit the polymer guns; clearly, not out of the box. However, I think it would be pretty easy to make it work:

 

• Buy the extended ambi saftey like the DLM has
• File those two small notches into the frame (not reversible, but also not destructive; the stock safety could be reinstalled without an issue)
• Shorten the right side of the safety if it sticks out too far, toss the ambi selector

 

Is it worth it? Probably not, but I like stupid projects. Part of me wants to pick up the DA/SA polymer gun in 9mm and tune it up to be a cheater gun for IDPA (swap the trigger, big thumb safety, Henning front sight, Eemann thumbrest, heavy WML, swap on the magwell grip unit from the SAO gun, etc).

Edited April 16, 2023 by matteekay