EAA Witness Semiautos

[papajohn]

I notice that the Witness line of pistols from EAA never seem to get much attention on the various bulletin boards, and I'm curious as to why not. As a pretty direct copy of the Czech CZ-75 design, revered as one of the best since John Browning, they have also been copied by Springfield Armory, or at least marketed by them, as the P-9. I fell in love with the way it fit my hand right away, but the gun I first held was a 9mm, and it was another six years before I found one in a bigger caliber, and I bought it on the spot. That was twelve years ago, and after putting over 25,000 rounds thru it, I still have no complaints. It has gobbled up everything I've ever fed it without a problem, including ammo with OAL's that varied from way too short to barely fits in the mag. Are they all this reliable, or did I just get lucky? I have never seen them reviewed badly, but never hear much about them anywhere, good OR bad. They are still offered in numerous configurations, so obviously, they're still popular somewhere. Anybody else love this unsung bargain?

BTW, I'm planning on having mine "melted" and refinished, it shows no signs of wearing out!

PJ

[punchie]

The Witness line of CZ clones by EAA is a much under-rated pistol IMHO. I don't think that the Tanfoglio line offers the consistant quality or the customer support of the CZ line but they are quite competively priced. Jericho, Baby Eagle, Sphinx and many, many more are also clones of the CZ75 design, which is probably the Second most copied design in the world for a semi-auto pistol.

I don't think you got lucky with your pistol. Good reliability, reasonable accuracy and general toughness are hallmarks of the EAA line. Many of the higher line (Silver team, Gold team) have proven their reliability in IPSC matches for years now.

[gossman]

I took an NRA Instructor's pistol class in February and they had a EEA Witness in 9mm. I shot it in the range ( 50 rounds ) and I am now a believer. The firearm functioned flawlessly and was accurate. I asked the Trainer about it, he said that he has never had a problem and would suggest them to anyone. :2guns:

[guncats]

witnesses are good guns, well, until you compare them to the real CZ's. ;)

Shot a witness 40cal before, good accuracy but not as good as my Glock35 (5.3"bbl, 40 cal race gun, so I don't blame the witness). fired Single action. Then got a chance to shoot a Cz75b 40 cal, it beat my G35. group at 12yd is about 20% tighter than the G35 group. Again, single action.

So it is safe to say the Cz outshoot the EAA. Both are reliable. Now if you can't find a Cz dealer in your area then a EAA can be a good deal, but if you can find Cz's around...... get a CZ, only $50 more, and you get a much better gun. :D

[txpete]

I have got a zillion rd's put thru my pre-B orginal cz 75 and it just like a timex watch takes a licking and keeps on ticking.if I remember right it was 275.00 at the rod & gun club in germany.it is a non-import evil empire pistol that I am sure my grandson some day will have.
spend the extra 50.00 on the CZ you won't be disappointed.
pete

[txfyrguy]

Never owned a EAA, But you'll never get me to part with my CZ!!

[Ritter]

Yeah, I own a Witness Full size 10mm in Wonder Finish...
Man talk about reliable and accurate!
It is my main CCW now, and I just love it.
It did however require quite a bit of work by me to get that way...
I firstly, bought 22# recoil , firing pin and hammer springs for it and a 10% power magazine spring as they come from the Factory grossly under sprung???
I removed the 22# hammer spring and opted to reinstall the 16# hammer spring to relieve some of the DA trigger pull, with the 22# in it was 12.5 #'s
I performed a trigger job on the SA part myself following the excellent instructions on the savvysurvivor site. My SA trigger is now at 4 lbs.
I ran a couple hundred rounds through, with minimal problems until I tried SWC's in it and the brass would hang on the edge of the chamber and ruin itself, So I then took a dremel and chamfered the chamber just a slight bit then took some polishing compound and a felt polisher to the feed ramp and chamber face, until they looked like a mirror.
Now it reliably feeds 175gr SWC'S and up all day long, I shoot 180gr. XTP's also but they are just not as accurate due to the plating. I will soon recieve my Meister Hard cast RNFP bullets in 200gr and 180 gr. I will be loading them in front of 10gr. Blue dot powder. BTW I finally ran some speed drills with it and managed a 5" grouping at 15 yards my last try! So I believe these pistols can be VERY accurate and enjoyable.
I paid $350 at my Local gunstore and dropped another $50 for a shoulder holster (Uncle Mikes horizontal) and Hogue wrap around finger grooved grips (made for the small frame) They were tough to stretch and fit but look great on it. Small 1/32 gap at front of grips on frame...not a big deal to me.
There does seem to be a greater chance of getting a lemon with this line of pistols but, well worth the risk if you get a good one.

[Nighthawk]

I like the EAA Witness pistols, I dont own any but I have had the oppurtunity to shoot a few. I would like a .38 super or 10MM but not the polymer framed Models.

[uzitiger]

I have an IMI Baby Eagle which is another CZ copy which works flawlessly. I heard that Tangfolio makes some parts for the Baby Eagle. The magazines are interchangeable between the three pistols for the caliber. The CZ-100 will NOT interchange as I tried them in my .40 Baby Eagle. Italians make good handguns.

[texasrick]

Love the Witness. Mine is a 10mm used primarly for hunting (would love to have a Delta Elite but Witness at $300 -vs- Delta at $1000 made up my mind).

Accurate, reliable and best of all the ability to carry it "cocked and locked" (double actions are for lawyers and those who won't take the time to trai with a single action style pistol).

This gun should be much more popular but everyone seems to be caught up in the "I've got more rounds than you do" craze and have been brainwashed into thinking guns should be made of plastic (call it polymer or whatever, but it's still plastic).

What's wrong with blued steel and walnut (or maybe stag or ivory)? If God had wanted guns made of plastic, he'd have told John Browning to make them that way.