Thanks Rod. Before I posted here, I read your sticky, and knew I was in the right place for some "straight talk". What is an R.A.P? For my wife?s DAO Spurless Ruger SP101 .357, I ordered a "Small Wonder" fiber optic front sight from Marc Morganti at Gemini Customs, LLC. That fiber optic front sight and the Hogue Monogrip made all the difference in the world on that little Ruger. Best $50 I ever spent ($30 for sight + $20 for grip). Here is a picture of the "Small Wonder" that Gemini Customs offers:
For my Witness, I think a Millett rear is a good place to start. If that fixes my problem, then I can move on to fitting a fiber front sight. As much as I would like to keep the Witness "tactical" for carry use, it just doesn't see much of that now that I have the Glock 23. I swore I would never own a plastic gun, let alone a Glock because I disliked everything about them from the grip, to the striker, to the "safety" or lack thereof. I bought the Glock from my brother, with extras like a holster, night sights, and 350 rounds because it was a bargain. I started using it for carry after obtaining my CCW because it was the only gun I had with a holster. I have since found a holster for the Witness, and occasionally carry it, but it is heavy, and sticks me in the leg when I sit down. I really like the size of your Witness, and kick myself in the ass because I passed up a two-tone compact in .40 S&W years ago. I think that gun had a short barrel and a built-in compensator, yet retained the compact size. Never seen another one like it.
I initially had problems with my Witness EA9SS due to galling between the hammer and slide, preventing the slide from returning to battery. I called EAA and was told to shoot the gun 2000-3000 times, and it would go away. I told the gunsmith there that I expected the gun to function out of the box, and that I had already put a few hundred rounds through it, and that should have been enough for break-in. I am not a metal worker or gunsmith, but I can usually figure out and fix things myself if I research the problem and think about it. I looked into the causes of galling and found that it usually occurs when similar metals are in contact. I looked at other stainless guns and found that all of them had hammers made of something besides stainless steel. It seems as though Tanfoglio made the whole gun from stainless steel, even the sights, safety, and slide stop lever. My options were to replace the hammer with a non-stainless steel one or to find a way to decrease friction, and thus galling where the hammer contacted the slide. No amount or type of lubricant worked, so I decided to slightly bevel the edge of the hammer and the leading edge of the slide to distribute the force over a larger, smoother contact area. After removing a little metal, and polishing the contact points, the problem went away. The only other "real" gunsmithing I have done was to hand fit a match barrel with compensator that I bought that was intended for a Jericho. I picked it up from a liquidator in Shotgun News for $69. It was intentionally oversized and required fitting. A few days of hand sanding, and a lot of blue dye and I finally got it to fit. It was really scary for someone like me to take sandpaper or a Dremel to a firearm, but very satisfying when it worked out. I'm don't think Tangfoglio anticipated the galling, but it doesn't seem like they tested the finished product either. I have often wondered if this is the reason I have never seen another fully stainless Witness. The only mention of this variant I have seen was in a Gun Digest price guide.
