Gunner Quinn
To say that 2011-style pistols have caught on with the shooting sports community in the last year or two would be an understatement. These semi-automatics were developed by gunsmith Virgil Tripp and engineer Sandy Strayer who patented the design in 1994. The first models were produced by Strayer Tripp International (STI), which is the company now known as Staccato.
The 2011 is intended to blend the accuracy potential and crisp trigger of the venerable M1911 with the reduced recoil and ammunition capacity of popular 9 mm pistols. They accomplished this by splitting the >1911 frame into two parts, an “upper” metallic frame and a “lower” polymer grip module widened and modified for improved ergonomics and double-stack magazines. Using this frame as a starting point, they then added the best features of M1911 race guns with tack-driving accuracy results.
Much like some types of precision rifles and micro red-dot optics, the 2011s were originally intended for and adopted by folks participating in formal target shooting competition. And as best-of-class offerings, they sell for premium prices. When fully tricked out, today’s Staccato 2011s can cost upwards of $3,000. But as demand for expensive platforms increases, other manufactures inevitably step up to offer less expensive options.
For 2025, European American Armory (EAA) has teamed up with the Turkish gun maker Girsan to import two new competition-style 9 mm pistols. Although they share the same design cues and feature sets as other 2011s, the Match (plain muzzle) and Match X (compensated) models are noticeably more affordable with suggested retail prices of $989 and $1,069, respectively. This evaluation takes a closer look at the Witness2311S Match version of the series.
Despite its modern race gun features, at its heart, the Match employs the same desirable linked barrel, recoil-operated action and single-action trigger originally designed by John Moses Browning for the M1911A1. And like other 2011s, its profile and control configuration is unmistakably influenced by its M1911 heritage. As a member of EAA’s 2025 Girsan X series, it sports a signature two-tone finish consisting of a Tungsten Cerakote applied to the barrel and frame along with a matte black slide, grip module, trigger and appointments.
The round-top slide sports forward-canted front and rear cocking serrations and a beveled ejection port. A dovetailed white-dot front sight is paired with the fully adjustable, serrated, square-notch rear sight assembly. In fact, the rear sight serves double duty as the filler plate for the slide’s optics cut. Loosening two small screws allows the rear sight to be lifted out to expose the slot sized for RMS/RMSc footprint red-dots that can be mounted directly into slide without the need for an optics plate or adapter.
The 5″ bull barrel is belled at the muzzle to fit the slide without a barrel bushing. It’s supported by a full-length steel guide rod, a reverse recoil spring plug and a single round-wire recoil spring. This recoil assembly requires the use of a small takedown tool (or a bent paper clip) to be inserted into a port in the guide rod when disassembling the pistol for routine cleaning. This takedown tool, along with a hex wrench sized for the rear sight’s mounting screws, is provided with the gun.
The steel frame features a full-length dustcover with an integral eight -slot Picatinny accessory rail. The left-side slide stop is typical M1911 fare, while the thumb safety is an ambidextrous upgrade with textured extensions to either side of the slide. The commander-style serrated hammer rests above an extended beavertail grip safety with memory bump.
The polymer grip module’s integral trigger guard has a squared-off profile with a checkered magazine release button located just behind it on the left side of the module. Noticeably wider than single-stack M1911 grips, the gripping surfaces are mostly covered with molded-in diamond-pattern and straight-line checkering, which provides plenty of purchase without being overly abrasiveness to bare hands. Even the straight polymer mainspring housing is fully covered in checkering. The base of the grip is fitted with a removable polymer magazine well extension to aid quick reloads.
The vented aluminum trigger is smooth faced with no external adjustments. The trigger pull is listed as having a maximum weight of 4 lbs., 8 ozs. Right out of the box, the trigger was smooth with a bit of takeup before breaking cleanly at 4 lbs., 11 ozs. After the shooting range session, I measured the trigger pull with a Wheeler digital trigger gauge once more to find it had dropped to 4 lbs., 5 ozs., bringing it in line with factory specifications.
As with other Girsan offerings, this pistol arrives with a useful set of accessories. Two Checkmate brand stainless steel magazines are provided, including a flush-fit 17-round and an extended 20-round magazine. They feature polished tubes, high-tensile steel springs and polymer base plates. The storage case is of the durable, lockable travel variety with a water-resistant gasket in the lid and a pressure relief valve. Inside the foam padding is split into two trays with the top having cutouts to protect the pistol and the two magazines. Additional accessories include a takedown tool for the guide rod, bronze bore brush, cable lock and an owner’s manual.
The pistol sent for this evaluation arrived in factory condition with the rear sight installed. However, some industrious soul at the plant added a new Solar Far-Dot red-dot optic to the shipment. Pricing and availability for this optic were not available at the time of this evaluation. But, I went ahead and installed it in place of the rear sight for the shooting range session. Although a rubber gasket is provided to protect the battery compartment, it is not intended to make the optic waterproof.
A 4-m.o.a. red dot is projected on to a 22 mm x 16 mm objective lens fitted into the aluminum housing. The top of the housing sports a solar panel that the manual says can extend the single CR2032 battery’s working life up to 50,000 hours, even with the dot constantly on. The brightness settings are adjusted automatically depending on ambient light levels. The rear of the housing features a square notch with orange light pipes set to either side to form a back-up rear iron sight.
At the shooting range, the Match pistol proved to be enjoyable to shoot on and off of the bench. It balanced nicely with the added forward weight of the solid slide and railed dustcover, contributing to modest levels of felt recoil. This gun fed, fired and ejected most all practice and premium-grade 9 mm loads, with standard and +P pressure levels, topped with bullets weighing between 115 to 150 grain. The shooting was conducted using a total of four Checkmate magazines. There were two failures to eject resulting in stovepiped cartridge cases within the first 30 rounds fired. After that, there were no pistol, magazine or ammunition related malfunctions.
Formal benchrest accuracy testing consisted of five, five-shot groups fired at a distance of 25 yards using three different types of ammunition. They included Federal Syntech, Fiocchi USA Training Dynamics and Sig Sauer M17 +P loads. A Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph was on hand to measure bullet velocities for the three, 10-shot strings. This pistol demonstrated its competition-level accuracy potential with a best five-shot group of 1.59″ fired using the Fiocchi load. The group averages were close to, or under 2.50” for all loads tested. Here are the results:
The 2011-style of semi-automatic 9 mm pistol is gaining in popularity for good reasons. This design lives up to the hype of providing a positive shooting experience for seasoned professionals and shooting sports hobbyists alike. The EAA Girsan Witness2311S Match provides a desirable set of features in a package that cost anywhere from one half to one third the price of similar models. This pistol shot well and operated reliably, making it solid option offered at a fair price.
EAA Corp. Witness2311S Match 9 mm Specification
Importer: European American Armory Corp. (EAA)
Manufacturer: Girsan, Turkey
Model: Witness2311S Match (#395029)
Action: recoil-operated, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol
Chambering: 9 mm Luger
Barrel: 5″ steel; six-groove rifling; 1:16″ RH twist
Slide: steel
Grip Frame: black polymer
Finish: two-tone, Tungsten/Black Cerakote
Sights: dovetailed white-dot front; fully adjustable square-notch rear; RMR optic cut
Magazine: 17-round detachable box
Overall Length: 8.75″
Height: 6.125″
Width: 1.28″ (grip)
Weight: 41 ozs. (with empty magazine)
Accessories: owner’s manual, water resistant foam-lined storage case, two magazines, bore brush, bore mop, patch handle, lock
MSRP: $989 (sans optic)
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