Archived Posts » 60,595,333
CZ Vs. Tanfoglio
7/31/2011 5:44:42 PM
I'm in the market for a good single action only target / IPSC .40 and have narrowed my search down to two handguns. I'm looking at the CZ Tactical Sport and the Tanfoglio (EAA) Witness Elite Limited.
I already have a Witness steel frame 9mm / .22 and its a real good shooter, but it's the base no frills model that obviously wasn't anywhere near the investment of one of these two.
Any thoughts on the two? Any glaring differences between the two designs / quality? As I said, I own a witness and can attest to the quality and workmanship, but I've never even seen a CZ in person and while the rep is great, I don't see too many reviews on the higher end pistols like the Tactical Sport. I'd like to keep costs around $1000.
I already have a Witness steel frame 9mm / .22 and its a real good shooter, but it's the base no frills model that obviously wasn't anywhere near the investment of one of these two.
Any thoughts on the two? Any glaring differences between the two designs / quality? As I said, I own a witness and can attest to the quality and workmanship, but I've never even seen a CZ in person and while the rep is great, I don't see too many reviews on the higher end pistols like the Tactical Sport. I'd like to keep costs around $1000.
7/31/2011 6:13:38 PM
I owned a CZ IPSC model in 40, it is a superb gun and has a very crisp light trigger. A little too light as I would sometimes double tap on accident! I have had past experience with Tanfoglia and it was not good. I had a 45 and a 10mm neither would function properly. I sold the CZ only because I was getting out of .40 and the grip was large for my hands.
8/1/2011 7:49:56 AM
Both are great guns and neither will hold you back. The CZ is a little more expensive, comes with 3 magazines, but accessories are cheaper and and dealing with CZ is going to be probably easier than EAA. The CZ will be more likely to be outstanding out of the box. The downside to the CZ? The grip may be too large for your taste..some people grind off the checkering, rear sight is not adjustable, trigger is plastic, and magwell is plastic. I actually shoot a Tanfo Limited .40 because I had a Tanfo Match and owned lots of mags for it. The Tanfo is generally cheaper, but accessories are more expensive. The gun comes with only one mag, too. However, it comes with a LPA rear sight, a fiber optic front, aluminum magwell, and different recoil springs. THey can also be finicky with ammo, and if you reload, an EGW undersize die or a push through sizer will be necessary. THere are some new design MecGar mags out now, so some of those problems will disappear. I've had very few problems with feeding in mine....
8/1/2011 10:12:36 AM
i have shot both, alot
get the cz skip the tangfolio.
the reason being, parts, parts, parts. cz has tangfolio beat by a mile. and cheaper too.
personally i like the grip angle better on the cz.
i did not like the placement of the slide release on the tangfolio.
the cz beats it. i can drop the slide with one hand on the cz and i can not do that on the tangfolio.
get the cz skip the tangfolio.
the reason being, parts, parts, parts. cz has tangfolio beat by a mile. and cheaper too.
personally i like the grip angle better on the cz.
i did not like the placement of the slide release on the tangfolio.
the cz beats it. i can drop the slide with one hand on the cz and i can not do that on the tangfolio.
8/1/2011 5:51:48 PM
Actually in this case, the CZ is cheaper than the Tanfoglio. My current Witness had to be sent back to EAA and they were great to deal with, but I have heard quite a few horror stories about their CS, but I can't say that I agree. I think the CZ is about $900 and the Tanfoglio is about $1100. The Tanfo has a few options that the CZ doesn't have; like state above it has an aluminum mag well, adjustable sights, threaded scope mount holes and a fiber front. On the down side though, like stated, the Witness is real hard to get parts for.
Man, this is hard....
Man, this is hard....
8/5/2011 4:00:01 PM
Originally Posted By P08:
I owned a CZ IPSC model in 40, it is a superb gun and has a very crisp light trigger. A little too light as I would sometimes double tap on accident! I have had past experience with Tanfoglia and it was not good. I had a 45 and a 10mm neither would function properly. I sold the CZ only because I was getting out of .40 and the grip was large for my hands.
I owned a CZ IPSC model in 40, it is a superb gun and has a very crisp light trigger. A little too light as I would sometimes double tap on accident! I have had past experience with Tanfoglia and it was not good. I had a 45 and a 10mm neither would function properly. I sold the CZ only because I was getting out of .40 and the grip was large for my hands.
I can't comment on the Tanfoglio.
But I owned 2 of the CZ .40 Tactical SPorts (TS)/ Standard IPSC models (they are virtually the same gun). I like the 1st one so much I bought a 2nd.
Trigger arrives from the factory at about 2 lbs & crisp. Yep - TWO POUNDS. Checked both of mine with 2 trigger pull gauges plus a friend's gun & all 3 were like that. With use, they settle in about 1.75 lbs.
That is quite light. I shot a LOT of USPSA competition with them & that is an appropriat use - they are BUILT for that sport. Non-competition shooters might not be safe owning such a light trigger.
BTW, there is a ton of info on this model at
http://www.strictlyipsc.com/gear.htm
8/6/2011 11:06:07 AM
The Tanfos in .40 generally need some tweaking to be 100% reliable. The longer frame (front-to-back) doesn't help feeding the short .40S&W round. This is also a contributing factor as to why the large-frame 9mm Tanfos tend to not run as well as the .38S models. The newly redesigned magazines may help this, but I personally would prefer to have a setup that just works.
The frame on the TS (from the ST IPSC) was specifically designed to run the .40S&W. The only problem I have had with my TS itself (unrelated to, say, trying to get 21+1 instead of the absolutely-reliable 20+1) is an issue that I have found to be common to all of my very heavy-use CZs: the extractors seem to get dirtier much faster than other platforms. Not a big deal, just need to remember to clean it out more often than one might otherwise be accustomed to.
Given the recent mishap that has turned my Gold Team into a paperweight, I don't expect to ever buy a Tanfo again. I'll be sticking with the real deal, thanks.
The frame on the TS (from the ST IPSC) was specifically designed to run the .40S&W. The only problem I have had with my TS itself (unrelated to, say, trying to get 21+1 instead of the absolutely-reliable 20+1) is an issue that I have found to be common to all of my very heavy-use CZs: the extractors seem to get dirtier much faster than other platforms. Not a big deal, just need to remember to clean it out more often than one might otherwise be accustomed to.
Given the recent mishap that has turned my Gold Team into a paperweight, I don't expect to ever buy a Tanfo again. I'll be sticking with the real deal, thanks.
8/6/2011 7:02:31 PM
What happened to your gold team?
My .40 Tanfos have been quite reliable, except one time when I had my sizing die out of adjustment.
I've run thousands of rounds with zero trouble. I'm running 10mm magazines, though, but even then..they will feed standard length .
My .40 Tanfos have been quite reliable, except one time when I had my sizing die out of adjustment.
I've run thousands of rounds with zero trouble. I'm running 10mm magazines, though, but even then..they will feed standard length .
8/6/2011 9:18:53 PM
Originally Posted By pivoproseem:
What happened to your gold team?
What happened to your gold team?
The barrel is FUBAR. The "link" portion of the barrel (where the slide stop pin interfaces) has worn abnormally and can cause the gun to lock up completely, with erratic performance even if it doesn't lock up. Haven't entirely decided what to do with it. I'm considering sending photos to EAA and seeing if they might give me a discount on a new barrel, but I'd still have to pay for a smith to fit it - which on a Gold Team includes the cone and comp as well, so it ain't going to be cheap. I'm thinking of just selling it as a "parts gun" to somebody who either wants spares or wants to invest in a new barrel and all anyway (which would be a good route for those already wanting something other than the OMG-there-are-so-many-holes "V12" setup on current Gold Teams.)
Originally Posted By pivoproseem:
My .40 Tanfos have been quite reliable, except one time when I had my sizing die out of adjustment.
I've run thousands of rounds with zero trouble. I'm running 10mm magazines, though, but even then..they will feed standard length .
My .40 Tanfos have been quite reliable, except one time when I had my sizing die out of adjustment.
I've run thousands of rounds with zero trouble. I'm running 10mm magazines, though, but even then..they will feed standard length .
Perhaps I should have been a little more specific... are you running standard-length, unaltered factory magazines, or with extensions? (The latter as would be dictated by competitive use in USPSA)
Running longer 140mm (and 170mm) mags in the .40 and 9mm large-frame Tanfos takes some tweaking more often than not. A local shooter was never able to get any configuration other than factory to work worth a damn for his .40, and so gave up completely on using a Tanfo for Limited.
8/6/2011 10:50:07 PM
If you decide to sell it for parts let me know. I'd be interested in the fire control components and grips for my standard steel Witness.
I'm really starting to lean heavily towards the CZ. Is there anything else I should know about the Tactical Sport? Anyone got any pics of theirs, modded and stock?
Thanks for all the great posts guys. Keep em coming if you have more info and experience to share. I'd love to see some pics of the Tanfoglios as well.
I'm really starting to lean heavily towards the CZ. Is there anything else I should know about the Tactical Sport? Anyone got any pics of theirs, modded and stock?
Thanks for all the great posts guys. Keep em coming if you have more info and experience to share. I'd love to see some pics of the Tanfoglios as well.
