Tanfoglio Witness 1911 Problems

[Lappo]

I was recently shooting my witness when the hammer got stuck in between the cocked and uncocked positions. I re-cocked the hammer, only thinking that it would have just been a one off, but over the past few days, this same problem has been happening more and more. Also, just to top that, my Co2 capsules are leaking everywhere when pierced into the mag, thus me only shooting about one magazine through a single Co2 cartridge. I think it may just be the magazine that is broken because the BB's do not appear to cycle through the magazine aswell, making me look kind of weird because I am not hitting the target for the simple reason of nothing is ACTUALLY coming out.

Any help would be a life saver!

Thanks in advance!

Jack

[Aardys]

time to buy a new one then

[Baha-Man]

Sorry guys, but these things really are a pile of junk.

As a warning to anyone thinking of buying one, see here:

http://airgunbuyer.com/webnews.asp?ID=757

I used to have the real thing back in the 1980's and still shoot regularly when I go to Arizona so I was interested to have a look at the Tangfolio. After a few moments I handed it back with a laugh. Save your money guys.

By the way, I'm a new boy - joined for the firearm section but do have an air rifle for back garden practice (HW80). Hope there aren't any initiation rituals on here...

[PaulR]

The leaking mag can be easily fixed - as you screw in the capsule it can begin the unscrew the valve as it undoes clockwise!

To fix this take the capsule out and look at the brass bit of the valve- there are two slots use these with a screwdriver to turn anti-clockwise until it is tight.

The other problem I can't help you with - I now have two unusable 1911s both fire once and then jam, turn upside and two BBs will fall out. Same thing happens next shot. I have stripped both and even tried interchanging parts - no joy. I now have two static models.

[Aardys]

.

By the way, I'm a new boy - joined for the firearm section but do have an air rifle for back garden practice (HW80). Hope there aren't any initiation rituals on here...

bend over

[gingernut]

With respect chaps if your pistols are new and break take them back to the shop.
If they are second hand you have no idea what has been done to them so tough luck.

I have 3 of these pistols and friends have another 3 and we have had no real problems with them.

[bobby1]

I bought one to see what the fuss was , it worked well and was reasonably well made for 79 quid ,
but if a bb came free from the mag it would find it's way into the mechanism and cause jams , also the bb were quite hard to spot without a full strip down ,
not realy my thing though ,

[blooregard]

Sorry guys, but these things really are a pile of junk.

As a warning to anyone thinking of buying one, see here:

http://airgunbuyer.com/webnews.asp?ID=757

Old news dude. These problems only seem to affect the newer batches, the originals are very good for a £70 pistol. If your expecting them to them to be hand machined from steel then your bound to be disappointed, but if you want a cheap and well made replica you can shoot then they are still the best available for the price.

As I am sure others will say as well, mine has now had thousands of BBs through it and it still shoots as well as when I bought it.

Hopefully they return to their original quality, and magazines become freely available.

[Binker]

The rules for mine, and I stress 'Mine', seem to be;

Don't use anything other than shiny steel BBs
Don't pause shooting - it doesn't like to be uncocked, it releases BBs
Don't use the thumb safety - tendency to fire when safety is released
Don't leave gas in the gun over night.
Don't use cold CO2 bulbs
Don't load to capacity - try 15 or so. The mag spring has a habit of forcing the BBs through into the mechanism. If there is a BB or two stray in there mine usually drop out after a shake. Just remember, no more than two shakes.

other than that - loads of fun to be had for all.

[Jim McArthur]

I have no personal experience shooting them, but they are popular with the Umarex Boys Club members.

If it's your magazine needing replacement, be prepared for a long wait! I've tried to order them for UBC members back in December. They're STILL not in stock.

Jim

[markH]

With regard to leaky CO2 bulbs I find that putting a piece of PTFE (plumbers) tape over the top will often cure it. This is a general tip, I don't have a Tanfoglio. I had one of their 9mms back in the day..... not impressed.

[Lappo]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I fully stripped the gun and greased it with PellGunOil (rainy here in Bournemouth so couldnt make it out to get proper grease). Seems to cock well now. Havent tested the Co2 ideas yet, once again due to rain. Will definitely try your helpful ideas ASAP. Bloody weather...

Thanks again!

Jack

[blooregard]

My witness has been struck down with the problem where it fires 6 shots, then refuses to cycle properly then dumps its gas down the barrel.

I stripped it down and found nothing, so delved a little deeper and removed the blowback piston assembley, I stripped this apart as my brain was telling me it looked a little dry (as all problematic mechanisms do when you just want them to work) and out the piston fell a BB.

The piston consists of 3 parts, the piston, the cylinder and the insert for the gas tube (and a spring for closing the piston after the shot). The BB was not evident until both it and the insert fell out of the piston when I stripped it. I'm not sure where in the piston it was but it was definately in there.

Hope this helps anyone else who has seen this problem.

[Binker]

My witness has been struck down with the problem where it fires 6 shots, then refuses to cycle properly then dumps its gas down the barrel.

I stripped it down and found nothing, so delved a little deeper and removed the blowback piston assembley, I stripped this apart as my brain was telling me it looked a little dry (as all problematic mechanisms do when you just want them to work) and out the piston fell a BB.

The piston consists of 3 parts, the piston, the cylinder and the insert for the gas tube (and a spring for closing the piston after the shot). The BB was not evident until both it and the insert fell out of the piston when I stripped it. I'm not sure where in the piston it was but it was definately in there.

Hope this helps anyone else who has seen this problem.

This is a new one on me, thanks for highlighting.

[Aardys]

BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THE TAN WIT IS ..
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cost of the co2& bb's that i get through (pushing the 20k now)
i do wonder what component will give out first , i did have the safty catch issue but i fixed that by pushing it up hard and grinding a small indent where the spring loaded catch pushes against , works fine unless you squeeze trigger several time with safe on, then relese .
its all about keeping the safty lever up tight to the frame .
i been exlusivly usine ballistol on the co2 carts every 3rd one in fact , gun does run a bit oily , so you have to enjoy cleaning .
ballistol says it has antifreeze properties , so guess its true .
oh yeh , and the biggest factor for reliability i think is ,,,, dont load more than 10 shots..