REVIEW: Tanfoglio Witness 1911 (Blowback) Air Pistol
This year-over-year top-selling, officially licensed Tanfoglio Witness 1911 is everything you'll ever want in a .177cal airgun pistol. The amazingly realistic Tanfoglio 1911 C02 blowback 4.5mm air pistol will remind you of the feel, function and heft of the firearm it copies. The Tanfoglio Witness 1911 semi-automatic blowback air pistol uses 12-gram C02 cartridges. The Witness 1911 comes with an 18rd magazine. It has fixed front and rear sights and comes with the Blowback system. The single action trigger shoots steel BB ammo. The Tanfoglio Witness 1911 air pistol is all metal and can be field-striped like the real 1911. For the ultra-realism, there are YouTube videos showing how to replace the plastic grips with real Colt 1911 wood grips.
Tanfoglio is an Italian firearms manufacturer founded in the early 1900's and located in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy. The Witness line of firearms are well respected amongst competitive firearm enthusiasts and has achieved great success in the competition 2014 Production World Shoot Championships.
The Tanfoglio 1911 air pistol puts the classic look and feel of the real Colt 1911 in your hands backed up by the accuracy and firepower of a .177 CO2 air pistol.
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Most helpful customer reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
Photos enclosed, Great Heavy Pistol. sorry about clarity, i used an LG Phone
By ROMAN
Bordallo Outdoor Products are the best and they ship fast in a properly packaged protected box. the 1911 Tanfoglio is more challenging and is recomended for guys like me with knowledge of all brand pistols, this item is heavy, all metal for ages 18 & up. the Co2 IS EASY TO LOAD ALONGESIDE THE BBs which is not so easy to load Unless you have strong fingers to hold back the spring in place, *People complained about Misfire or Jammed BBs, I think because they use regular BBs, NO. you must use swiss arms BBs or all STEEL BBs, in order to get better shots. I will Re-Post in 1 month to let you know how its holding up, if my theory is Correct, then this is a fun pistol to practice with. or target practice on Zombie targets.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
As a Vietnam Veteran this gun is spot on. ...
By Samual
As a Vietnam Veteran this gun is spot on. Only warning I could give anybody is that it looks real and even feels real so be careful because anybody else will think it is real. Oh did I mention that it is accurate for a BB gun and the blowback feels real. Also it was cheaper than the other ones and plus Prime had it in 3 days.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
If you want a BB Gun that feels and funtions like a real 1911, well this is it.
By Cyber
Wow, this thing really does feel and function like the real deal!
Last round hold open, functioning safety, grip safety, mag release, it's all 100% authentic 1911!
Magazines are pricey, BUT the bonus is if/when the rings dry out, you need to find a way to repair the pistol (or replace it) you just swap out the magazine. This is a big plus in the long run.
History behind the firearm that inspired the Tanfoglio Witness 1911 Air Pistol
The Colt M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986. It was first used in later stages of the Philippine-American War, and was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The pistol's formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the M1911A1, adopted in 1924. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911-A1 in the Vietnam War era.
The U.S. procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols in military contracts during its service life. The M1911 was replaced by the 9mm Beretta M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in October 1986, but due to its popularity among users, it has not been completely phased out. Modernized derivative variants of the M1911 are still in use by some units of the U.S. Army Special Forces, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
John Browning's Design
Designed by John Browning, the M1911 was developed from earlier Colt 1900 designs firing rounds such as .38 ACP. The design beat out many other contenders during the government's selection period, during the late 1890s and early 1900s, up to the pistol's adoption. The M1911 officially replaced a range of revolvers and pistols across branches of the U.S. armed forces, though a number of other designs have seen use in certain niches. In addition to the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), models chambered for .38 Super, 9mm Parabellum, 7.65mm Parabellum, 9mm Steyr, .400 Corbon, and other cartridges were offered.
Browning's basic M1911 design has seen very little change throughout its production life. The basic principle of the pistol is recoil operation. As the expanding combustion gases force the bullet down the barrel, they give reverse momentum to the slide and barrel which are locked together during this portion of the firing cycle. After the bullet has left the barrel, the slide and barrel continue rearward a short distance.
At this point, a link pivots the rear of the barrel down, out of locking recesses in the slide, and the barrel is stopped by making contact with the lower barrel lugs against the frame's vertical impact surface. As the slide continues rearward, a claw extractor pulls the spent casing from the firing chamber and an ejector strikes the rear of the case, pivoting it out and away from the pistol. The slide stops and is then propelled forward by a spring to strip a fresh cartridge from the magazine and feed it into the firing chamber. At the forward end of its travel, the slide locks into the barrel and is ready to fire again.
There are no fasteners of any type in the 1911 design, excepting the grip screws. The main components of the 1911 are held in place by the force of the recoil spring. The pistol can be "field stripped" by partially retracting the slide, removing the slide stop, and subsequently removing the barrel bushing. Full disassembly (and subsequent reassembly) of the pistol to its component parts can be accomplished using several manually removed components as tools to complete the disassembly.
The military mandated a grip safety and a manual safety. A grip safety, sear disconnect, slide stop, half cock position, and manual safety (located on the left rear of the frame) are on all standard M1911A1s. Several companies have developed a firing pin block safety. Colt's 80 series uses a trigger operated one and several other manufacturers, including Kimber and Smith & Wesson, use a Swartz firing-pin safety, which is operated by the grip safety. Language cautioning against pulling the trigger with the second finger was included in the initial M1911 manual, and later manuals up to the 1940s.
The M1911 is popular with civilian shooters in competitive events such as USPSA, IDPA, International Practical Shooting Confederation, and Bullseye shooting. Compact variants are popular civilian concealed carry weapons, because of the design's relatively slim width and the stopping power of the .45 ACP cartridge.
Despite being challenged by newer and lighter weight pistol designs in .45 caliber, such as the Glock 21, the SIG Sauer P220, the Springfield XD and the Heckler & Koch USP, the M1911 shows no signs of decreasing popularity and continues to be widely present in various competitive matches such as those of USPSA, IDPA, IPSC, and Bullseye.