EAA Witness Polymer Reviews

by **keyman** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:31 pm

Well, ep, I put some hollow points through the gun today, along with some regular ammo. I was a little disappointed in that it didn't feed too good and a couple of times the bullet didn't hit the barrel and ended up looking straight up.

I've heard of the "break in" thing, so I'm hoping that is the problem. I talked to the range owner, and he said the fact that was the last gun I fired, it very well could have been fatigue on my part. (Old Gray Stud ain't what he used to be.) Does that sound reasonable to you ? Thanks for any help you can offer.

by **epwrangler** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:54 pm

I got all the gray I can handle too. It is not easy to get old you know. It takes a lot of grit to get there. Keep shooting and enjoy it the best you can. I have been playing with a Taurus with straight 8 sights. I am on a learning curve with them.

by **keyman** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:01 pm

Well, I went again, today, and I'm very sorry to report that I didn't have a good day w/the gun. It was awful the way it wouldn't feed or eject. It happened on too many occasions to suit me.

The friend that was with me thought it might be the magazine acting up. I don't know, but there was definitely a problem feeding and ejecting.

I'll take it to the dealer next week to see if he will offer any help. He was no help at all when I told him about it shooting low and left.

The range owner told me the other day that it needed a break in period, but how do you get 3 to four hundred bullets through a gun with it acting that way ? ?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

by **keyman** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:35 pm

I really do have other things to do besides go to the range, but since I joined their program, I've been going about twice a week.

Yesterday I put 20 Independence, 20 Winchester, and 30 Blazer Brass rounds through the gun. All of this because the gunstore told me that I should buy my ammo from them rather than Wal Mart, due to a quality control situation. He went so far as to tell me that the Winchester that he sells is better than Wal Mart.

OK, I sort of bit on his bs story and bought a box of Independence from him. I fired 20 of them and had a problem with one in every five that I fired. I shot 20 rounds of Winchester with no problems at all. Then I fired 30 of the Blazer Brass with only one problem, and that was in the last magazine that I fired.

So, do I have a problem or not ? ? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated . . . thanks.

by **lrgcal4fun** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:51 pm

H i Keyman,

Let me offer some help, first by stating with the obvious so you can feel better about starting out right. I'll then get more technical.

1, Make sure the gun is cleaned throughly, especially the bore, feed ramp and breach face. And, not over oiled.

2, Wile you have the gun field striped, take a close look at the extractor and make sure that nothing is funny about it. It's not loose, etc. Place an empty case against the breach and see how it is engaged by the extractor. You want to be sure that the extractor has a good hold on it.

3, Look over the feed ramp and make sure it has a smooth polished surface. Nicks and scratches will make for troubled feeding.

4, Pick up the lower frame and look at the ejector. Is it loose, bent or deformed in any way you can see? That could cause ejection problems.

5, Lastly, gather all your mags and put 1 live round is each. Stand them up on the table in front of you and compare each to the other. You are looking to see if any of them hold the round at a different angle or position than the rest. Any noticeable difference could cause feeding problems.

Also number your mags. The next time you are at the range you can watch to see if you have more problems with one of them than the others.

by **keyman** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:39 pm

Hi, Irgcal . . . thanks for the splendid response. I can do all that you suggested, except the mag thing. I have only one mag, that being the factory one. I have been to the gun show here in Mesquite on two different occasions, and everyone there that handle mags say that they have never seen one for my gun. I talked to the gun store where I bought it, and they said to order one would cost about $50. I have heard of web sites that may have them, but I haven't seen them.

It is possible that I could have over-oiled the gun. Now I put a little oil on a Q-Tip and rub it over the rails and other things. For the barrel, I put oil on a rag and run it there, and bring it back through. I have never noticed the barrel being over oiled. It always looks nice and shiney.

The feed ramp seems to be OK. It doesn't have any scratches on it. I always rub it w/clean cloths after I have run the oil rag through it. I'm not real knowledgeable on all the other parts, but what I think to be the ejector appears to be OK.

I hate to sound dumb on these things, but I haven't been shooting all that long, and I appreciate this "crash course." I will continue to read the manual and try to become more familiar w/the different parts. Many thanks for your help.

by **epwrangler** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:29 am

I am wondering about limp wisting the gun. If you do not hold it firmly enough then the gun will not function correctly as it expects a certain amount of resistance. Get someone else to shoot it and see if they have the same problem.

by **lrgcal4fun** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:19 pm

keyman,

I'm happy to be of some help. There are no dumb questions, we all have to start learning this stuff from scratch.

epwrangler has a good point. Even a very experienced shooter can "limp wrist" an auto loader. I did it last Friday when I tried you my new LCP.

Your oiling practice sound good to me. A gun only needs enough lube to put a shine on the surface.

by **keyman** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:49 pm

Thanks, Irgcal and ep. Your information is well taken. The limp wrist could very well be the problem. I'm a pretty big man w/large hands and make a special effort to hold the gun firmly, but I do notice that the flub ups usually happen near the last round in the magazine, so maybe I'm relaxing the grip after 2 or 3 rounds.

Since the gun came w/only one mag, I ordered two more yesterday. That may help in our efforts to find out what's causing my problems. The mags were one for $40 . . . two for $50. Now, what kind of deal is that ? ? Thanks again.

by **keyman** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:38 am

Well, I wish to thank all the guys that tried to help me during the time I had the Witness P Compact.

After buying two more magazines and working with them the best I knew how, I just couldn't get the gun to fire w/out a flub up every fifth to eighth round. That just turned me off to the gun, and I decided to rid myself of it.

They have a gun show in my town every month, and there was one this past weekend. If all of you are familiar with gun dealers, they are a tough bunch to deal with. They will offer you peanuts for a gun that you paid $500.00 for a month ago. The trick is to find an individual who has a small number of guns to sell or trade. I found one that had a Ruger Mark III Competition stainless pistol. No haggling whatsoever, and we traded "heads up," as he put it. According to the price for each gun, I lost money, but I was elated to get rid of the gun for a whale of a lot more than "peanuts." However, after I had traded, I went to two of the large dealers and compared their price to what the guy wanted for the gun that I got and one dealer wanted $425 for his and the other wanted $439. Looking at it that way, I think I came out of it smelling like a rose ! !

The Witness was a fine gun, and I really wanted to make it my carry gun, but it just wasn't in the cards for me.

Thanks to all who answered my postings, and I'm very grateful to you for it. I have promised tigwelder that I will post a response to my going to the range tomorrow. If it shoots anywhere near the other guns that I have, I will be very pleased. Happy shooting to all of you ! ! !