Want To Hear About The Witness Limited Gun

[Mousekiller]

I think the gun only comes with the safety on one side but the ambi-safety of the open gun should drop right in, the frame is the same for all calibres.

They list an ami-safety on the EAA web-site for about $70, not sure if they have the stainless one in stock or not, you may want to email them or contact Henning as he also stocks all the parts. Henning's a great guy and he can certainly answer any questions that you have about the guns and parts etc... Email him at me@henningshootsguns.com

A friend of mine has the Limited .40 and she has tiny hands and shoots the Tanfoglio far better than she did with her Para. The shape of the grip makes it a good fit for smaller hands.

Thanks that makes looking into it even more appealing..

Jeff.

[jkushner1]

Guys I am primarily a CZ guy. But have three Tanfo's - since I shoot production mainly I bought the eaa Tanfoglio Stock Elite. A gorgious gun. I dont think it will ever replace the SP-01/85 Combat love affair I have but I will mention a few things:

1. These guns are as good as any S_I out there, period.

2. Eric Grauffel is a great guy and ships parts to me all the time from France (to PA). He has a grease and oil called ARM II that has become my absolute favorite - so anything you see on the Tanfo Italy website can be sent to you by Eric.

3. There are not many master level Tanfoglio gunsmiths in the country (USA) I know of one - D.R. Middlebrooks - he has my Elite Stock right now and I hope to have it back soon with trigger/sear and overall action at as good as anyone in the states can obtain (D.R is the owner of Tactical Shooting Academy - google it).

TY

Jon

Edited October 1, 2006 by jkushner1

[Resjudicata]

Well, I just got an email from EAA saying that there are no Limited models on the shipment coming in. They advised me to put an order in with my dealer because EAA ships according to the date of the order.

No thanks. I'm not leaving a grand with anybody for an indefinite period hoping to get something that may not come.

I'm emailing Angus about parts for a CZ TS instead.

Chris

[BritinUSA]

I did not pay my dealer when I ordered the gun. I paid for it when the gun arrived.

[dmd45]

Well, I just got an email from EAA saying that there are no Limited models on the shipment coming in. They advised me to put an order in with my dealer because EAA ships according to the date of the order.

No thanks. I'm not leaving a grand with anybody for an indefinite period hoping to get something that may not come.

I'm emailing Angus about parts for a CZ TS instead.

Chris

Did they happen to mention what was coming in there shipment.I was considering maybe a Gold Team in 9mm.

[EricW]

Well, I just got an email from EAA saying that there are no Limited models on the shipment coming in. They advised me to put an order in with my dealer because EAA ships according to the date of the order.

No thanks. I'm not leaving a grand with anybody for an indefinite period hoping to get something that may not come.

I'm emailing Angus about parts for a CZ TS instead.

Chris

That's just so irritating. I was told exactly the opposite: not to order until they had guns in stock.

[Resjudicata]

Well, I just got an email from EAA saying that there are no Limited models on the shipment coming in. They advised me to put an order in with my dealer because EAA ships according to the date of the order.

No thanks. I'm not leaving a grand with anybody for an indefinite period hoping to get something that may not come.

I'm emailing Angus about parts for a CZ TS instead.

Chris

Did they happen to mention what was coming in there shipment.I was considering maybe a Gold Team in 9mm.

No, they didn't mention what would be in the order. Though, for all I know they have Gold Teams in stock.

Chris

Well, I just got an email from EAA saying that there are no Limited models on the shipment coming in. They advised me to put an order in with my dealer because EAA ships according to the date of the order.

No thanks. I'm not leaving a grand with anybody for an indefinite period hoping to get something that may not come.

I'm emailing Angus about parts for a CZ TS instead.

Chris

That's just so irritating. I was told exactly the opposite: not to order until they had guns in stock.

I'm just not sure what to say. I can't say I'm surprised. I kept hearing about how bad the communication was with EAA on all the gun boards but when I was getting quick responses on what was happening I thought maybe things were better now. I guess I'm wrong.

Maybe we could get a petition together to get STI or SVI to buy the import rights on Tanfoglio guns. That way maybe they could become available.

I wish it was possible to find out exactly why there is such a problem for them to get these imported. It can't be the gun laws. CZ imports the exact same gun everyday. My bet is either Tanfoglio won't send them because they sellout in Europe or EAA is not liquid enough to buy a bunch at a time. Either way it is frustrating.

Chris

[EricW]

My bet is either Tanfoglio won't send them because they sellout in Europe or EAA is not liquid enough to buy a bunch at a time. Either way it is frustrating.

Chris

No matter what the reason is, the utter inability to get clear, consistent answers to very reasonable questions is the only justification I need to never do business with them. I won't even go into the margin analysis.

Oh, and Tanfoglio emailed me back and told me it was EAA or nothing.

[eric nielsen]

Chris

If you read 10 opinions of a company that go one way, and 2 opinions that go the other way, you pretty much want to go with the 10.

Esp. with EAA. They need to do a lot of positive things before they get back to a score of zero.

[Steve Moneypenny]

call me crazy. but i have a lot of hope in a company trying to do good things. I love my gun and am glad i went that way i bought it for a third what i could have an equal limited gun by caspian or STI for.

Us shooters aren't the patient type, nothing ever happens fast enough for us.

[Resjudicata]

call me crazy. but i have a lot of hope in a company trying to do good things. I love my gun and am glad i went that way i bought it for a third what i could have an equal limited gun by caspian or STI for.

Us shooters aren't the patient type, nothing ever happens fast enough for us.

I'm definitely guilty of that.

Too bad they don't have a competition person on staff. It seems that there is a problem and either they don't know it or don't know how to fix it.

Steve, do you have any contacts with them to find out what the issue is? And to find out whether they are actually going to get some Limited guns in or not?

Ya know. I guess it's also possible to just start out with an Elite Match for a while. A cheaper way to find out for sure that this grip size and trigger type are what I definitely want.

Chris

[Stuck in C]

I have a Witness Elite Match in .38 Super and it is a really nice gun. The single action trigger is not very good, however. Especially compared to the one in my CZ IPSC Standard. There aren't many gunsmiths out there with Witness/Tangfolio experience. My 1911 gunsmith is itching to try working on the trigger-but I'm a little hesitant. EAA has been helpful and friendly, but they seem to have a problem with having guns in stock. For a while they imported a Russian Baikal .22 target pistol that was the equivalent of German guns costing 4 times as much. They quit importing them apparently because the Russians wanted them to commit buying too many-yet they could probably sell all they could get. They sold out of the first ones in a few months. Maybe they are just very conservative about the number of guns they have in inventory?

[Resjudicata]

I have a Witness Elite Match in .38 Super and it is a really nice gun. The single action trigger is not very good, however. Especially compared to the one in my CZ IPSC Standard. There aren't many gunsmiths out there with Witness/Tangfolio experience. My 1911 gunsmith is itching to try working on the trigger-but I'm a little hesitant. EAA has been helpful and friendly, but they seem to have a problem with having guns in stock. For a while they imported a Russian Baikal .22 target pistol that was the equivalent of German guns costing 4 times as much. They quit importing them apparently because the Russians wanted them to commit buying too many-yet they could probably sell all they could get. They sold out of the first ones in a few months. Maybe they are just very conservative about the number of guns they have in inventory?

Thanks for the CZ comparison. I don't think I know anyone else who has been able to compare both side by side like that. I know my CZ 75 trigger with Angus hammer is really great. It has a lighter break than my 1911s but more overall travel.

Your info on the 22 target pistol leads me to believe that maybe they are just under capitalized which would explain the trouble with getting the more expensive stuff that might not sell as quick.

Chris

[askomiko]

If a gunsmith has experience with CZ:s, he can also work with Tanfoglio. And the trigger job isn't terribly difficult to do by yourself either. The limited custom is a nice gun.

[Richie]

I just picked up my Witness Elite Match today in .40. The gun feels very good in the hand, very similar to the SP01 I had (go figure I know ) Anyways, the single action isn't to bad for a factory piece that costs around 475'ish, and the fit of the entire piece is very good. The sights are very nice, this is the first one my local shop has received, and I had them pre-order it 1.5 months ago for me. When it did arrive, they called me first thing and comented on how nice of a value this piece truly is! I wanted to try this cheaper route out and compare it back to back with the feel and fit of my STI to finally decide once and forall which one I will end up shooting next year. If the Tanfoglio wins out, i'm going to be ordering the Limited model as well for USPSA matches, and use the Match model for IDPA. Either way the Match would be a GREAT ESP gun for anyone to use.

-Richie

[Joe D]

It sounds like EAA is a lot like Charles Daly and BULs. Both seem to have no clue as to what their customers want.

[ysued]

Well,

My first IPSC gun ever was an EAA Witness "GOLD TEAM" in 38 Super that I bought directly from EAA back in 1994. I bought one of their Powder Coated Red Scope Mounts and Slapped a Tasco PDP-3 Scope on it, that was it!! I was shooting open Class USPSA. Like today, EAA was the only game in town. The gun ran pretty good for me, but it worked the best with the 130 Gr Round Nose Winchester 38 Super Bullets than with any other bullet out there, I just don't know why. The Gold Team, as it was called back ther felt pretty good oan my hands, the ergonomics were fantastic!! My gun was 100% factory Stock, the only thing I did was to remove the Super Sight and modify a Bomar Dovetail Slide Racker.

I sold my gun to my friend Mike's mother, yes, his mother!! She shot the gun at the 94 Nationals!! The Slide did Crack on her just prior to the Match, she was in major stress, but EAA did manage to fix the gun for her for Nationals.

The funny thing was that Brownells used to stock Coplete Lowers & Uppers. Once I got the Large Complete Lower and Upper for under $500!!! And this was the Upper with the Super Sight, but the Lower was the Souble/Single Action one, not the Single Action only one, but that could be easily changed.

Now back to "TODAY" When I went STI, I never looked back, but still remember the tanfoglio guns fondly.

I would be curious about their new Breed of Guns!! They do look nice, but I don't shoot Open or Limited anymore, and I still have 2 Custom STI Eagles with a "Short Wide" dust Cover and Standard Slide on my safe, ready for me if I ever decide to go back to limited ever again.

But.... The Open gun does look interesting

I just wished that the Barrel didn't have so many holes

I've never liked Ported barrels!!

Why is it that the 38 super model takes 3 less rounds than the 9mm??

HUH??

Edited November 5, 2006 by ysued

[R.Elliott]

I received my new Limited Custom last week and have since put about 1500 rounds through it. I LOVE it! This is a great handling and great shooting gun. The real plus is that it will shoot the local brand of plated bullets as accurrately as JHP's because of the polygonal rifling. None of my other guns would ever shoot them into less than say, 12" at ten meters because the sharp corners on the button rifling tends to tear the plating off. I shot ten rounds into one ragged hole with them this afternoon at twenty meters. It comes with a cleaning kit, 3 recoils springs in light, medium and heavy weights, a f.o. AND a standard black front sight that dovetail in from the front and set screw in place. The triggers are a snap to work on, and this one didn't even need any sear work right out of the box.

A great gun for the money.

[Resjudicata]

I received my new Limited Custom last week and have since put about 1500 rounds through it. I LOVE it! This is a great handling and great shooting gun. The real plus is that it will shoot the local brand of plated bullets as accurrately as JHP's because of the polygonal rifling. None of my other guns would ever shoot them into less than say, 12" at ten meters because the sharp corners on the button rifling tends to tear the plating off. I shot ten rounds into one ragged hole with them this afternoon at twenty meters. It comes with a cleaning kit, 3 recoils springs in light, medium and heavy weights, a f.o. AND a standard black front sight that dovetail in from the front and set screw in place. The triggers are a snap to work on, and this one didn't even need any sear work right out of the box.

A great gun for the money.

You got a .40 cal? From where, how long did it take and did you put your money down and wait or just ask for it and pay when it got there. Inquiring minds want to know.

I think the concensus is that the gun and nice but impossible to get.

Chris

[BritinUSA]

I think Henning mentioned that they had another deliver recently, not sure if they got any limited guns or not but it might be worth a call to EAA.

[Mo Hepworth]

I think he got his from the Canadian Dealer for tangfolio, Freedom Ventures out of Halifax, NS.

[R.Elliott]

You got a .40 cal? From where, how long did it take and did you put your money down and wait or just ask for it and pay when it got there. Inquiring minds want to know.

I think the concensus is that the gun and nice but impossible to get.

Chris

I live in Canada so I made the purchase (paid up front) through a local representative acting for our national destributor in Halifax. Once our Government was FINALLY convinced to issue the paperwork on the gun, they shipped it to me via overnight courier at my request. I'm not sure if he has any guns in stock as of today, but I'm told they are expecting another shipment before Christmas.

Yes it's the .40 cal version. FWIW: I'm shooting 180 gr. copper plated bullets ($50.00/M) factoring at about 180 pf., and with this load the gun is insanely fast. A standard Bill Drill yesterday ran 1.56 seconds. Splits were 0.93, 0.14, 0.13, 0.12, 0.13, and 0.11! I couldn't believe it.

At about 2000 rounds as of yesterday I would consider the gun pretty much broken in now, and with the very minor polishing I did on the trigger components, it is now breaking at 2.25 lbs, but feels like it's less than 2 lbs. This subjective feel is of course because of the leverage advantage inherent in the pivoting trigger, but it still gives a very positive reset pressure for prepping at speed.

I've shot all manner of 1911 and 2011 pattern guns over about 22 years, and I have to say that this gun has given me the most bang for the buck so far and the best ergonomics. Long term durability? I don't know yet. It's a big solid (42 oz) steel frame and Eric Grauffel says he gets 100's of thousands of rounds out of a frame these days, so I'm betting it'll last pretty well.

So far I'm loving it. If anything horrific happens I'll pass it along.

[Resjudicata]

Unfortunately I don't think I can order a gun from a Canada distributor to be sent to my US FFL.

Too bad. Although, the more practice I get in with my new (to me) STI Edge I'm less and less worried about getting the EAA Limited.

However, it's still good to keep updated in case I decide to change.

Chris

[R.Elliott]

Unfortunately I don't think I can order a gun from a Canada distributor to be sent to my US FFL.

Too bad. Although, the more practice I get in with my new (to me) STI Edge I'm less and less worried about getting the EAA Limited.

However, it's still good to keep updated in case I decide to change.

Chris

I'm not totally sure that is the case. I know some of the guys up here have sold guns privately in the U.S., and I thought that all had to go through an FFL. Not sure though; you might want to just call someone in the know to find out.