Hi All , new here and have a couple of questions re: Witness Elite Mat

[Juicespeare1]

Evidently I have an account here on the Brian Enos forums I forgot about.

I must have posted at some point in one of the other forums.

Anyhow, I'm considering purchasing two Witness Elite Matches in .45acp. in the next few weeks.

I have two CZ-97B's, one in Ploycoat, one RSR special Nickel. I love the CZ's and have been interested in the EAA/Tanfoglio Witness line for a while.

I like the Elite Match pistols, although I've have never held or seen one in person. I did see a regular Witness in SS and was impressed by the size of the frame. It appears a bit smaller than the CZ-97B. I shoot the 97B's very well even though I don't have large hands.

I usually shoot single stack 1911's but have a couple of hicap 1911's and that's what got me into trying the 97B's in the first place. I had read a lot of complaints the frames on the 97B's were too large. I found them just fine to shoot, with no issues.

When I saw the standard SS full-size Witness in .45acp I was sure the grip was just slightly smaller. Anyhow, I liked how it feels, just as good as the 97B's to me.

Anyhow, here are my questions:

1.) Will my CZ-97B magazines work in the Witness Elite Match pistols? I'm thinking they should as the magazines I've purchased from Brownells state Witness on them and are made by Mec-Gar.

2.) Does the Witness Elite Match have a firing pin block (i.e. drop safety)?

3.) Where's the best place price-wise to get two Witness Elite Match's? Hopefully sequential serial numbers.

4.) Is EAA's customer service as bad as I've read it is?

BR

Juicespeare1

[sinnsyk]

1) I'm thinking no, but not sure.

2) yes

3) It's going to be almost impossible to get sequential nos. I got several from EAA and the nos are spread apart. I have 40's if you need.

4) No comment..

I'm always available for a phone chat at (720) 352 1080.

;-)

Henning

[Juicespeare1]

What are the "large" frame and "small" frames I see mentioned?

What are the EAA Witness Elite Match in .45acp frames?

[Coolduckboy]

All are in Large frame since '95 i believe.

[buddy_fuentes]

Their customer service can't be any worse than the manufacturer of the guns you already own. They open your e-mail and don't reply. You try again and again without a response. And mine was a simple question about a pistol I had just purchased.

Most guns you buy don't need customer support...but the ones that do!

Buddy

[UW Mitch]

EAA customer services was okay for me - they answered the phones and even an email - but then again, once I got my gun, I didn't have problems. BUT - Henning has been great with technical and product support, so I don't really care how good/bad EAA is, because I just go to H when I need something I've got some friends who are big CZ fans who are starting to get into the Witness also!

~Mitch

[J-Ho]

I've handled the CZ97, It does feel bigger than a Witness. I have a .40 but like everyone has said all new witnesses are built on large frames. Definitely call Henning. He can help you out with any parts you need. If you get new grips it will slim down the grip even more. Coincidently Henning just came out with some great looking grips. I've also tried to switch magazines. No good with Large frame Witness and Cz97. Small frame witness and Cz75 are interchangeable most of the time. If you find Baby Eagle .45 magazines, they will fit in the Witness large frame. Personally I would go with a 40 instead of a 45. The witness is only a 10 round 45. On the other hand you can fit 15 rounds in the stock 40 magazines. The magazines demensions are a lot better suited for 40. If you shoot IDPA and USPSA the Match is a good choice. You can get 21 round magazines, again from Henning. For the money I think the Witness Match is a great gun.

Just my $.025

J-Ho

[Juicespeare1]

Thanks for all the replies.

I'll stick with .45acp as that's what I like to shoot. I may get a 9mm upper conversion if I find I like the Witness Elite Match pistols.

I already have quite a few Witness/Mec-Gar magazines which work fine with my CZ97B's, so I'm really hoping the mags work fine with the Witness as that's how the mags are marked.

I'm not a big advocate of .40S&W and would go 9mm if I want a smaller caliber, hi capacity pistol. I stick with calibers which are readily available if the SHTF. Readily available NATO calibers and readily available surplus east block calibers.

.22LR

.380 (9mm court)

38 special

9mm (9x19)

45acp

308/7.62x51

7.62x39

5.56x45/.223

etc.

[Juicespeare1]

Not so sure about that. I've had good service from Kimber and Les Baer and excellent, excellent service from Springfield Armory.

In addition, I've had good service from Kel-Tec and Mech-Tech Systems, etc.

Really the only bad service I've had in the firearms business has been Colt. Because of this, I no longer do any business with Colt and don't buy any of their products.

Their customer service can't be any worse than the manufacturer of the guns you already own. They open your e-mail and don't reply. You try again and again without a response. And mine was a simple question about a pistol I had just purchased.

Most guns you buy don't need customer support...but the ones that do!

Buddy