Canadian Airgun Forum

I just got this gun from MrMarvin and I cannot say enough good things about it. It is by far and away the Cadillac of 1911 style air pistols if not the best blow-back BB pistol available today. As the owner of just about every such pistol including the GSG-92 and the Sig P226 XFive, I am not making that statement without a great deal of hands on experience. For starters, the value is incredible - for the full price of $169 you are getting an outstanding pistol. The gun is full metal (except for the grips), if is hefty and is a near perfect match for the actual 1911 firearm (which I have fired many times). It features a beautiful "charcoal" finish with authentic Tanfoglio laser-etched markings, a true 1911 style trigger, a functional backstrap safety as well as a functional slide stop safety, a slide lock that locks the slide back at it's full extension (unlike some blowbacks that only lock part way back) and it is single action only (true to the actual 1911). It features a full size drop out magazine that holds both the CO2 powerlet as well as the BBs. It's accuracy is very good for a smooth bore BB pistol and the blow-back action gives a very satisfying snap. As a bonus, it appears (although I have not attempted it yet) that it can be field stripped in the same way that the actual 1911 is taken down. Overall, I'd give this pistol a perfect 10 out of 10. This is a "must own" for fans of blow back replica style pistols as well as those of us who are fans of the 1911 platform in particular.

Thanks for the review, very nice pistol indeed!
Let us know how it field strips.

It does indeed come apart You just move the slide up to the take down notch, push out the slide lock, slide the barrel off, push the takedown button at the front of the slide, pop the retainer off and you can remove the recoil spring and barrel as well (although they are removed from inside rather than frorm the muzzle as in the real thing.

Cool, thanks for the info.

Nice Review. On your recommendation, I just ordered one. You had better not be Shilling for these Sellers.

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That would never happen here...
Great review!

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Air and springs and CO, too

LOL! You will definitely be impressed with this gun when you get it. The trigger pull is wonderful! The one and only drawback - which is common among blowback pistols - is that you only get about 80 shots per CO2 powerlet.

I was just at Airgun Source today to pick up a fitting and Travis let me handle one of these baby's...and I was definitely impressed! He just got them in today. Anyways I can vouch for how nice a pistol it is, has a nice weight, feel, and a light crisp trigger. On my wish list for sure....

http://airgunsource.com/store/index.php ... t=PL-35803

So encouraged by your reviews I just ordered the Tanfoglio Witness 1911 blowback from the AirgunSource.com for $159.95, cheaper than the ReplicaAirguns, plus one spare magazine. This is the 40th airgun in my collection. I do hope I wouldn't be disappointed. This hobby is getting addictive. I don't even want to think what my wife is gonna say about this new acquisition...

Really?
80 shots sounds a tad optimistic - but if so - it is probably the most CO2 efficient blow-back action that I know of.

I had four re-loads and up until the last one, the action cycled perfectly. On that last magazine, I got to the end and then dry fired a few before the gas pressure was too low and the remainder was released by the valve. It all depends on how rapidly you fire although some are worse than others. The Magnum Research Desert Eagle drains a CO2 powerlet in about 30 shots. My CZ-75 is good for about 70-80 and so is this one. Firing rapidly with rapid reloads reduces the shot count quite a bit. Surprisingly, the mini UZI on full auto will get a minimum of 50 shots (2 mags worth) per CO2

Just a few differences between the "real deal" and this pistol is you must disengage the slide stop manually upon inserting the magazine with the slide locked open. With a PB 1911 the pistol can be put into battery by pulling back on the slide and letting go. Also, the pistol has a hefty feel to it but is definitely bottom heavy compared to the real thing. Nit picking over...I do give this pistol high praise! I strongly suggest getting at least one spare mag as the shot count benefits greatly from rest periods. Firing at a quick pace and reloading the same magazine gave about 40 shots before malfunctions. Firing somewhat methodically using multiple magazines yielded over 60 shots per cartridge. Hot weather, longer rest periods for mags and/or bullseye style shooting might approach 4 bb fill ups per cartridge (18 shots per fill) which I consider pretty efficient use of CO2 for a single action blowback...

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Definetly gonna agree with you on this one. i like it so much im ordering a second one just so i can have one to look pretty:P

Mine does. As long as its held level, gravity will pull the release down when you pull the slide back. If you hold it at an angle, it may not do it. You sorta have to jiggle it a bit, but it will come down. I imagine a bit of cleaning in that area will let the release drop easier when tension isn't on it.

One small correction to my post above....you can fully disassemble this pistol in almost exactly the same way you would disassemble the real 1911 - removing the barrel out through the muzzle and not from inside the slide as I mentioned above. You can take the slide off, the recoil spring guide out, the recoil spring, the recoil spring plug, the barrel retainer, the barrel spring and the barrel itself out.