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) . Allow me to explain. Last month I activated a Netflix instant subscription, and among other shows I discovered the awesomeness of the original 1980's Miami Vice. In the first season Don Johnson carries the then state-of-the-art Bren Ten 10mm. Sadly the company that made them went bust, and two attempts to bring those guns back to the market have crashed and burned. Since the idea of the 10mm combined with the CZ pistol design was the brain child of the late Jeff Cooper, the Bren Ten carries a good heritage beyond its TV stardom. Regrettably I was born 3 years after the Bren went off the scene, but I daresay the good Colonel's legacy lives on in the Tanfoglio Witness, as imported by EAA of Florida. This example is a blued, steel framed edition with fixed combat sights that shoot to point of aim. The target above was shot from 40 feet away, offhand using Hornady 10mm factory ammo. This pistol even ran Cor Bon 1200 FPS ammo with the stock recoil spring , no failures or issues. The big steel frame soaks up the recoil like a sponge, and the trigger is exquisite for a pistol of this price.
I'd recommend snatching one of these up at the $600 price point, which fortunately is not what these cost. I walked out the door of my FFL with one of these for $450. The combination of Italian beauty, 10mm power, market leading reliability, an excellent trigger, and CZ ergonomics in a package under $500 is a "drop what you're doing and BUY IT" deal IMO. I lucked out in another respect-this pistol fits Beretta 92FS holsters quite well, including the Galco Miami Classic series. As I type this now it sits nestled under my left arm,cocked and locked in a fashionable way Sonny Crockett would all but approve.
That reminds me, this pistol can be carried in any way the user sees fit. Much like the deceased Bren Ten, the Tanfoglio can be carried Condition 1, or with the hammer down on a loaded chamber with the safety on or off. Note that this requires that the hammer be manually lowered on a live round, a practice only the user can evaluate the safety of -and also assume responsibility for.
In terms of carry, one major advantage I'd credit 10mm pistols like this one is the ability to shoot 1000 FPS rounds without detracting from the shooting experience. After running 800 rounds through a .40 S&W handgun I got fed up with the snappy recoil. Shooting .40 felt like calling a bank 1-800# -"Please Wait For Your Sight Picture. Your Shot is Very Important to Us! We apologize for your snappy recoil induced delay. Thank you for Choosing .40 Short and Weak!"
No such troubles with real 10mm. Such rounds which would induce carpal nervous tremors in .40S&W pistols all but burp out of my 10mm, and full power loads don't have nearly the recoil the internet fanboys would have us believe.
Drawbacks: One, you might have to educate your FFL on these guns. No police agency in the US uses them, and as such few dealers know these spectacular guns exist. While this serves the ancillary benefit of keeping the price of admission low, it doesn't help when you call your dealer to order one and the guy says "Tan-what?" in response. Or worse, they stop short at calling you a fool for buying a CZ "clone". Note that calling this pistol a clone is akin to calling a Corvette a clone of a Ferrari.
Drawback #2 should be no stranger among Taurus owners: the mainstream gun industry despises quality firearms which undercuts Glock's prices, and the same haterade spewed towards Taurus owners applies to this gun as well. Don't be surprised if more then a few nitwits ding you for daring to not partake of the Glock cult.
As Ferris Bueler once said regarding a different Italian machine, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one of these up. Being that the price is so low, that shouldn't be TOO difficult -so don't wait. If you buy a blocky G20 over this pistol, IMO you're freaking nuts.
