EAA Witness caliber change
I have a full sized steel frame EAA Witness in .45 caliber. I cannot say enough good about it as it is one of the best inexpensive guns that I have ever owned. My question is that I am seriously considering getting a 10mm conversion for it. My question is has anyone else had any luck with the EAA arms conversion kits that they sell on their online web site? Any info good or bad would be appreciated (even if a different caliber). Thank you.
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Tanfoglio makes the guns for European American Armory in Italy, and they also make caliber coversion kits (barrel, spring, magazine) for their different models. Check their website for interchangability from what to what else. With a fullsize STEEL Witness in 45ACP; you should be able to go to 10mm using the kit for a fullsize steel Witness. The only other swap for the .45 that I've seen is the one that goes to 22lr. 0 -
As long as you use the correct recoil spring, and magazine for the 10MM, you will have no problems. The 10MM, when using the ammo of which it was intended to be, operates at a LOT higher pressure than the 45ACP.
I also have heard nothing but good about the Witness series, even though I don't own one, and have never actually tried one. They are a copy of a proven CZ-75 design, which is world famous for reliability and accuracy.
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I like my Witness 10mm but the ammo prices will eat you up 0 -
EAA is the company that imports this gun into the USA. The gun itself is manufactured by Tanfoglio, which is a fairly established Italian arms maker.
The gun itself is based on the famous Czech CZ-75, though its undergone several changes since it was originally manufactured to the point where most parts won't interchange anymore, and the trigger safety is different (and actually better in the Tanfoglio).
The .45ACP Witness can be easily converted to:
10mm, .38 Super (which some say will ALSO handle the EXTREMELY high-pressure 9x23mm Winchester without any changes at all. . .you try this at your own risk), .40SW, 9mm luger, and .22LR. I believe there is (or was) also a factory conversion to 9x21mm IMI, though there probably isn't a good reason to look for one.
Also, if you really look hard, you might be able to find a custom barrel conversion to 357 SIG (which is, IMO, an overrated caliber), though I don't think Tanfoglio ever offered these.
To convert calibers, all you do is field-strip off the slide (including barrel and spring) and drop in the new caliber slide upper. Of course you also have to use the caliber-appropriate magazine, though they all fit the same frame.
Entire conversion can literally be done in under 10 seconds.
Note that the gun platform was designed from its inception to be caliber convertable and the gun itself is pretty darn strong. (I call mine "the Italian brick"). The conversions work just fine, and it really is a good way to get multiple "guns" out of one.
In terms of the 10mm CARTRIDGE, with REAL 10mm loads, the gun is quite powerful, approaching .41 magnum levels of power. The problem is that many of the factory loads are watered down to the point where they aren't much more powerful than .40SW. As mentioned, ammo is expensive, so unless you're pretty rich, you'll probably want to reload if you plan to shoot a lot of this.
In terms of the 10mm WITNESS, there is one thing worth mentioning. The recoil spring that comes with the gun from the factory is pretty light. As a result, in normal use the gun will shoot the empty cartridges like a rocket. . .literally 20-30 feet away from the gun, making finding them for reloading potentially problematic. If this is a problem, a heavier recoil spring may help here.0 -
I have witness 45acp compact. The trigger bow broke in half. I am presently trying to find the reciept to get EAA to fix it. I am not impressed with these pistols. 0 -
Do it! Sounds awesome! 0 -
I am a huge 10mm fan so I am biased in suggesting the conversion but these guns hold up well to the pounding of the powerful 10mm auto even with perpetual hot loads from Double Tap that I used to feed mine. All mine took was minor feedramp polishing early on to get it to feed 100%. 0
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