FK BRNO PSD vs Tanfoglio Witness

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  • balttigger

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 15, 2008
    3,051
    Middle River, MD
    I am deciding where I am going to spend part of my tax return this year and I have narrowed it down to the above mentioned platforms. Would be a platform for heading into the woods, et.al.: Deer/Pig/Bear/Defense.

    The PSD comes in 10mm and 7.5FK while the Witness can be found in 10mm and I can get a 38Super and have it reamed out to shoot 9x25 Dillon.

    The PSD is SAO while the Witness can be found in SA/DA (preferred).
    PSD has a 5.3" barrel while the Witness can use a 6" barrel to be MD legal for deer.

    The PSD holds 16 rounds of 7.5 but only 10 of 10mm. The Witness holds 14 of either 10mm or 9x25. Both require only a barrel swap to change calibers.

    The PSD comes pre-cut for a red dot. The Witness would require being sent out for machining, plus the smith work requires to convert a 38Super to 9x25.

    Also, Tanfoglio is a bit of a hot mess right now on who is importing them and what model(s) are being imported vs finding an older EAA Witness model. (Looking at the Elite Match)

    So - would you roll the dice that the 7.5FK will eventually come out with reloading dies/aftermarket barrels and deal with SAO or spend the time & money to make the Witness what I want and have the ability to load my own?
     

    bigj480

    Member
    Dec 18, 2021
    1
    Have you made a choice yet? I can't speak to the difference between the guns as I don't have either one yet, but I have ordered the PSD. I really do think that the PSD would be preferable for larger animals because it penetrates almost unlike any other semi-auto pistol when chambered in 7.5 FK.

    Both 10mm and 9x25 ALMOST match 7.5 FK in terms of energy and speed with expensive boutique loads ($2+). I have seen some claims of hand loads for 9x25 which actually exceed 7.5, but we are talking bleeding edge and loading them yourself. THey still would not be as flat shooting and they would be dropping energy much faster because they are larger diameter bullets and tend to be lighter (65 gr IIRC). I prefer cocked and locked myself, so we differ there.

    I would carry the gun with 16 rounds of 7.5 ammo. I am hoping that they come out with a 10mm specific magazine that holds more rounts. I actually think it would be possible to adapt a witness magazine but I have not played with this idea yet. Their 9mm magazines simply have plastic spacers to make up for the dimensional difference, the same could be done for 10mm mags.

    The Witness sounds like a lot of trouble to get to the specs you desire, but it's doable. I do wonder if you have considered reaming the PSD 9mm barrel out to 9x25. That is, assuming that it has the same construction and exterior dimensions as their 10mm barrels but just thicker walls. I do think 7.5 dies will come out, but it may not be soon. I hope that a group buy eventually happens to convince someone to make them at a reasonable price. I will mainly shoot 10mm out of mine until that happens and I may just pay to have some dies made. That said, I have zero experience reloading and I would be very slow to work up to 10mm and above energy.

    It does seem that PSDs are a little more expensive now. Maybe they will come back down to the $1650 region but I just paid the $100 extra to get mine. All that said, If you really might face bear a large magnum revolver might make more sense, IDK. They are much different in capacity though.
     
    I have played with (not actually shot) Maryland's first FK BRNO while it sat in Masada Tactical's vault for 8 months while enduring MSP handgun roster purgatory. A 10mm Auto barrel is included in the package. If it is designed for the 7.5FK, it could surely handle the hottest of hot 10mm rounds.
    It is a damn fine specimen of a pistol.
    The EAA Tanfoglio Witness 10mm has a cult like following of 10mm enthusiasts, but I know nothing about caliber swaps for those pistols.
     

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