41 AE
I just bought a full sized "NIB" Tangfolio (FIE import) blued slide, brushed stainless lower with 5" barrel in 41 AE - with no mag.
Stop laughing. [:(!]
Anyway, this gun has been sitting at a gun store for about 5 years and the price on it was $400.00. I was kind of looking, wondered aloud why the hell I'd buy it - and when the owner said "Hell I'd sell it for $200.00" I figured what the heck. Now I guess I need to learn about the thing. Anyone own one and can give any info or answers?
Basically, I think it's an EAA Witness with a 41 cal barrel and 9mm extractor set up - the 41 AE shoots a 41 caliber (.410) but the tail end of the case is set up to work on a 9mm gun.
So item one is getting magazines and if I can't get originals - am I correct figuring that EAA Witness or CZ full sized 40 S & W mags will work?
I have access to a fair amount of 41 AE ammo, but really don't want to burn it up. Since the slide is set up for 9mm and Tangfolio makes 9mm barrels for the EAA - any chance these would fit? How about 38 Super?
A switch barrel semi auto for $200.00 plus the cost of another barrel would be a pretty good deal.
Any help from current owners would be great.
Stop laughing. [:(!]
Anyway, this gun has been sitting at a gun store for about 5 years and the price on it was $400.00. I was kind of looking, wondered aloud why the hell I'd buy it - and when the owner said "Hell I'd sell it for $200.00" I figured what the heck. Now I guess I need to learn about the thing. Anyone own one and can give any info or answers?
Basically, I think it's an EAA Witness with a 41 cal barrel and 9mm extractor set up - the 41 AE shoots a 41 caliber (.410) but the tail end of the case is set up to work on a 9mm gun.
So item one is getting magazines and if I can't get originals - am I correct figuring that EAA Witness or CZ full sized 40 S & W mags will work?
I have access to a fair amount of 41 AE ammo, but really don't want to burn it up. Since the slide is set up for 9mm and Tangfolio makes 9mm barrels for the EAA - any chance these would fit? How about 38 Super?
A switch barrel semi auto for $200.00 plus the cost of another barrel would be a pretty good deal.
Any help from current owners would be great.
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The EAA Witness is made by Tanfolio. I would think you would have no problems buying a Witness barrel and magazine.
I seem to recall these guns being interchangeable back in the day. I ordered magazines for my 10mm Witness directly from EAA a few years ago. Best bet would be to contact them.0 -
Nice buy.
I wish I could come up with a couple hundred rounds of .41AE to go with my Uzi. I know it can be found but most is $$$.0 -
It would bet that it is NOT the new Witness (CZ97b clone) but rather the older TA-90 style pistol (CZ75 clone, possibly with slide mounted decocker).
If I am correct, then Springfield P9 mags, TA-90 mags, and Jerico 941 mags would work. Think I have one somewhere out in my garage.
Don't think any of these were available in 40 since it wasn't invented yet (which is why the 41 AE was still viable).
Dunno if a CZ75 barrel would work...0 -
Problem with this gun is that its built on the older (small) Witness frame.
(Edit, as mentioned above, this is the clone of the CZ-75, not 97).
EAA discontinued the small frame Witness series a few years ago, and they no longer stock parts or accessories for them. So conversion units (which are entire uppers) have dried up and are scarce compared to the current (large frame) Witness guns.
The good news is that this gun is probably convertable to 9mm, 40SW, and even .22LR **IF** you can find the appropriate conversion.
Obviously, your gun is OK with .41AE. A .40SW magazine MIGHT work for .41AE. . .don't know that for sure.
BUT its a low cost experiment. . .a .40SW mag ought to be readily available. I'm pretty sure a CZ-75 .40SW mag will work in the small frame EAA Witness guns (though not the other way around). .40SW mags from the other small frame EAA guns will probably work.
Also, I think the ONLY thing you need to do to get your gun to run 9mm luger is to swap barrels. I'm pretty sure a 9mm CZ-75 barrel will NOT work, but you may be able to locate a 9mm luger EAA Witness barrel somewhere that could work.
Edit: Remembering here, these Tanfoglio clone guns underwent a small evolution since the original TZ-75 (which had significant parts interchangeability with the CZ-75). Later guns won't interchange part with CZ-75s. Its not clear to me to what extent the Tanfoglio clones will swap parts with EACH other, but I suspect a lot of parts will interchange.
9mm luger EAA Witness mags are readily available, and as mentioned, mags from several other CZ-75 clones will likely work too.
.38 super, .45 ACP, and 10mm. . .no. . .this gun won't take those conversions.0 -
I owned one of these about 20 years ago it WAS a switch barrel (9mm 41AE) and if memory serves I just switched only the barrel not the complete upper and of course the magazines.
If my buddy Bob Olsen was still alive I would ask him about it, he IS the one that designed the 41 AE and the 50 AE (the 50AE has the same case head size as the 44 mag. same concept) and the 9mm AE and others while he worked at Action Arms back in the 80's. He and Evan Whildin set up the contract with Tangfolio, but both men are gone now.
Bob told me that when he presented the new 41AE at the shot show the Smith&Wesson people were very interested in it and 7 years latter the 40 S&W showed up at the shot show, and the rest is history.0 -
This one does have the side mounted safety, not a decocker. I have a CZ97B and this frame is smaller, I'm thinking of going with a 38 Super as my "2nd barrel".
I don't have the thing with me, but I'm thinking the 40 S & W won't work as a straight barrel switch - case head too big, yes? I figure it could be made to work but why bother.
EAA shows barrels in inventory, don't know for sure if those work.
Edit: Regarding the 38 Super, EAA site shows the barrel and a conversion unit. This barrel & unit doesn't fit on the smaller frame - large frame only?0 -
quote:Originally posted by dfletcher
This one does have the side mounted safety, not a decocker. I have a CZ97B and this frame is smaller, I'm thinking of going with a 38 Super as my "2nd barrel".
I don't have the thing with me, but I'm thinking the 40 S & W won't work as a straight barrel switch - case head too big, yes? I figure it could be made to work but why bother.
EAA shows barrels in inventory, don't know for sure if those work.
No, you can't simply swap in a new barrel for the .40SW. The case head for the .40SW is too wide to fit into a 9mm slide. (Think about it. . .if you could just swap this way, there would be no point to .40SW guns. . .).
The whole point of the .41AE is that the cartridge uses a rebated rim that is the same diameter of the 9mm luger rim so that you can use the same slide for both.
So with 9mm luger and .41AE, you can convert from one to the other just by swapping barrels and mags.
To go from .41AE (or 9mm luger) to .40SW you'll have to switch barrel, slide and mags.
Also, again, the small frame Tanfoglio made guns will not convert to .38 super.0 -
I have a TZ IPSC and all the conversion that will work. 9mm/41ae/9x21 will use same slide. If one knows what they are doing these mag lips can be tweaked and will work changeably. No I don't know, but have seen it. 40s/w uses different slide. .22 uses different slide. And these are the only conversions. All EAA conversions which do work. The Baby Eagle should also be added to the list as the same gun or close enough. Often extractors have to be tweaked and use a CZ slide stop. As the frame is really 9mm frame the 41ae beats the heck out of it so Tanfoglio came out with a heavy duty parts kit. Please let me have the first one find. [:D] 0
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