European American Armory is importing a new line of double-stack 1911s (2011s) in three different calibers and at least two different barrel lengths – and we have one for testing.
EAA's new Witness 2311 series is made with a top half produced by Turkey's Girsan, a company that has been in the 1911 business for years, while the aluminum alloy/polymer frame is made here in the U.S. by Cosaint Arms of East Flat Rock, North Carolina. It uses Staccato 2011/Springfield Prodigy-style mags.
EAA is currently marketing the series in 9mm (17+1 round capacity), .45 ACP (11+1 round capacity), and 10mm Auto (15+1 round capacity), and in 4.25-inch Commander and 5-inch Government configuration with both a 6-inch Longslide Hunter and 3.5-inch barreled Officer coming down the pipe.
The folks at EAA sent Guns.com a Girsan Witness 2311 Commander-length model chambered in 9mm for testing and evaluation.
With a 4.25-inch barrel, it has an 8-inch overall length.
EAA lists it at 1.6 pounds in weight, but it hit our postal scale at 1 pound, 15 ounces, unloaded with an empty magazine inserted.
Compared to a Colt Government MK IV 80 Series M1911A1, you see the gently shorter overall Commander length of the Girsan Witness 2311.
Disassembly is like any 1911, taking an unloaded and cleared handgun then rotating the barrel bushing to allow removal of the spring and plug, lining up the cutout for the slide stop release, which can be pushed out, freeing the slide and barrel from the pistol.
Note the full-length guide rod and standard rather than Collet-style bushing on a cone barrel. EAA didn't spare the lube on this one. Side note: this stuff smells...curious.
The Witness 2311 ships with a single aftermarket 17+1 round 2011-style mag made by Checkmate. We'd love it if it came with three mags, but as they run like $60 each, we get why there is just one.
The ergonomics of the gun are logical and familiar. When it comes to texture, the grip has 360 degrees of it, including checkered "panels," a deeply stippled front strap, and checkers on the rear.
Meanwhile, the extended beavertail and rounded combat-style hammer ease the fear of developing a hammer-bite situation. Note the flat mainspring housing.
The extended competition-style flared mag well, which seems to be removable via knocking out a pin, is a nice touch, with the "toe" helping in terms of grip ergonomics.
The front slide is serrated, and the frame has a full Picatinny M1913 accessory rail.
Note the lowered and flared ejection port.
Surface controls include an extended ambi slide lock/frame-mounted safety, an extended slide catch, and a textured magazine release.
EAA shipped the Witness 2311 with a 22mm Derry-branded DE1320 micro red dot, which EAA bills as their Fast Acquisition Red Dot, or FAR Dot. It has a 4 MOA red dot (or 6 MOA green dot) as well as two integrated fiber-optic rear sights. It uses a single bottom-located CR2032 that allows up to 2,000 hours of battery life. Should the user want to go with something else, the Witness 2311 has a Holosun K/RMSc footprint, which gives lots of options.
Speaking of sights, we took off the FAR Dot and installed the Novak white dot-style rear to see how it looks. On the downside, since the rear sight is on the MRD plate – Girsan does the same thing on its optics-ready Hi-Power clones – this means there is no such thing as a co-witness.
When it comes to the trigger, the Witness 2311 has a skeletonized 1911 70 Series style trigger that pushes straight back about .2 inches to break at an average of 7 pounds (!) across 10 pulls. While many prefer a sweet spot of 1911s/2011s in the 3.5-to-5-pound range, making the 7 pounds a bit heavy by comparison, it has a good break at least in initial testing.
That trigger in action:
Decked out with a SureFire X300, 18 rounds of Federal 147-grain Gold Medal Match loaded, and the FAR dot installed, the Witness 2311 hit the scales at 43.9 ounces.
On the subject of cost, the MSRP on the EAA Girsan Witness 2311 series is $999, with the ask at retailers likely lower. This puts it about four hundo south of the steel-framed Springfield Armory Prodigy which is seen as the "value" 2011 option. On the other hand, the Philippine-made RIA Tac Ultra HC double stack 2011-ish pistols – available in .45, 9mm, 22TCM9R, and 10mm – come in a little cheaper.
As for how the Witness 2311 shoots, its reliability, and durability, stay tuned for the results of our range sessions.
