Tag Archives: double stack

Reviewing the best Budget Staccato Clones

Posted on by Leave a comment

European American Armory, in collaboration with Turkey’s Girsan, has been importing a new series of double-stack 1911s, dubbed the Witness 2311 line, for the past couple of years. Originally just offered in polymer-framed variants, which we’ve reviewed, EAA for 2025 shifted gears and began to market a pair of guns with alloy frames.

EAA Girsan Witness 2311 S Match and Match X
I give you, the EAA Girsan Witness 2311 Match Standard and Match X, both 9mm double-stack 1911s with metal frames and polymer grip modules that run from 2011-pattern magazines. Both run a Tungsten Cerakote on the frame. (All photos: Chris Eger)
EAA Girsan Witness 2311 S Match and Match X
Both are full-length single-action guns with skeletonized tuned triggers, extended beavertail, and commander-style hammers.
EAA Girsan Witness 2311 S Match and Match X
Further, they have oversized ambidextrous manual safety levers– needed on a single-action semi-auto– as well as a double-stack composite grip frame with a full-length accessory rail and dust cover under a Government-length slide. 
EAA Girsan Witness 2311 S Match and Match X
It’s in the slide/barrels format that these two guns are the most different, with the Match X showing off a big compensator “donut” while the Match S runs that big bull barrel. 

We had both of these interesting pistols on hand, so the obvious thing to do in a review was to bundle them together.

Quick Summary: The optics-ready Girsan-made EAA Witness 2311 Match series 9mm pistols are feature-rich and proved reliable and accurate in testing, offering a low-cost solution to anyone looking to get into the double-stack 1911/2011 game and wants a gun that will work as advertised.

Full 1,900-word review over in my column at Guns.com. 

Staccato, only smaller…

Posted on by Leave a comment

Staccato, formerly STI, has been making steady in-roads with police tactical teams in recent years– having been adopted or approved by more than 250 law enforcement agencies including the elite U.S. Marshall Service’s Special Operations Group. At the same time, the company has been marketing its compact “C” series guns which have turned into a hit with consumers.

Speaking of which, the new Staccato CS is single-action like the M1911 but is in a double-stack format like the company’s 2011 line. Moreover, it runs a 3.5-inch bull barrel, making it even akin to a Colt Officer’s model– but carries with it a flush-fitting 16+1 round capacity in 9mm.

“Weighing under 23 ounces with a 3.5-inch bull barrel, this ‘little sibling’ is smaller than other members of the Staccato pistol family and made for concealed carry,” contends Staccato. (Photos: Staccato)

More in my column at Guns.com.