Girsan Witness2311 XXX Now Shipping, SC9 Starts at $599

Last updated October 2026 · By Nick Hall, tracks double-stack 1911 launches and prices for USA Gun Shop

Quick take: EAA says the Girsan Witness2311 XXX compact double-stack 1911s start shipping to its distributors in early October 2026. The SC9 XXX lists at $599 and the optic-ready CMX XXX at $899, both 9mm with 16+1 capacity and a 3.4-inch barrel. Academy Sports + Outdoors gets a CMX XXX package with four magazines.

• What it is: Two compact 9mm double-stack 1911s from Girsan and EAA, the SC9 XXX and the CMX XXX, built on a grip module EAA calls approximately 25 percent smaller than its existing one.
• Price: EAA lists the SC9 XXX at $599 MSRP in black and $659 in Dark Earth, and the CMX XXX at $899 MSRP.
• Where: EAA’s October 2, 2026 release says both pistols start shipping through its distributor network in early October, with a four-magazine CMX XXX package going to Academy Sports + Outdoors stores.
• Why it matters: A 16+1 double-stack 1911 with a 3.4-inch barrel and a $599 list price is a carry-size gun priced against polymer striker pistols.

Most “now shipping” notices are a formality. This one answers the question buyers have been asking since August, when EAA opened pre-orders and readers started asking under its own announcement where to find one. I read the release and both EAA product pages line by line. Here’s what is confirmed, what the two documents say differently, and what nobody has put a number on yet.

Table of Contents

What EAA Says Is Shipping in October

EAA put out a distribution release dated October 2, 2026. The line that matters: “Beginning in early October 2026, both the Witness2311 CMX XXX and SC9 XXX will start shipping through EAA’s distributors network.” EAA’s home page now runs a banner that reads “Compact Witness2311 XXX Series Now Shipping!”

That is a change of status, not a new gun. EAA first showed the series in an August 18, 2026 announcement, which said both models were “now available for pre-order through EAA distributors.” The same post promised a special CMX XXX package with additional magazines at Academy Sports + Outdoors stores “by October 2026 nationwide.”

The release calls the series “the smallest double-stack 1911 platform produced by EAA/Girsan to date.” Both pistols are 9mm, both hold 16+1, and both use a slim 16-round magazine that Check-Mate builds for this grip.

And the grip is the whole idea. The release says many compact double-stacks shorten the slide and barrel while keeping a full-size grip, and that the XXX Series “reduces the grip itself.” Anyone who has carried a pistol inside the waistband knows the grip is the part that prints.

SC9 XXX vs CMX XXX: What the $300 Buys

The two pistols share more than they split. EAA’s SC9 XXX page and its CMX XXX page list the same core numbers: 9mm, 16+1 capacity, a 3.4-inch bull barrel, 7 inches overall, and a grip module 1.25 inches wide. Both are single action with an ambidextrous thumb safety, low profile 3-dot sights and a 4-slot Picatinny rail.

Both pages give the weight as 1.25 lb with an empty magazine, which is 20 ounces. EAA’s own disclaimer says all weights and dimensions are averages. Neither page names a frame or grip module material, so I will not guess at one.

The SC9 XXX is the traditional one. It keeps the 1911 grip safety, wears a black Cerakote finish, and has a skeletonized trigger and rear slide serrations. Its page says nothing about an optic cut.

The CMX XXX is where the extra $300 goes. EAA lists an optic-ready slide with an RMSc footprint, a factory-tuned trigger with a 4.5 lb maximum pull, lightening cuts, front and rear serrations, and a two-tone black and tungsten Cerakote finish. It also drops the grip safety for an internal automatic firing pin block, and it ships with two magazines. If you plan to run a dot, start with our carry red dot picks and check the footprint.

Chase Duffey, Sales Director at EAA Corp, put the pitch this way: “It is the most compact double-stack 1911 we have ever produced while still retaining a full 16+1 round capacity.” Both pages add that the pistols are compatible with most Staccato CS-style holsters, and that EAA is not affiliated with Staccato.

Where the Release and the Product Pages Differ

They agree on the specs that overlap. The gaps are in what each one leaves out, and they matter if you are about to call a dealer.

Price first. The release gives one number for the guns, a “starting MSRP of $599” for the SC9 XXX, and no MSRP for the CMX XXX. The $899 figure comes from EAA’s CMX XXX product page and its August announcement.

The SC9 page lists two finishes: black at $599 under SKU 395064, and Dark Earth at $659 under SKU 395266. The release mentions only SKU 395064. So the Dark Earth gun is on EAA’s site, but the release that announces shipping does not name it.

Then the Academy package. The release says SKU 395162 “includes the CMX XXX pistol and four Check-Mate 16-round aluminum magazines.” The August post said only “additional magazines,” and a September 9 reply on EAA’s blog described a “special 3 magazine package.” Four is the newest number and the only one in a formal release, so four is the one I would hold a store to.

No price for that package appears in the release, and SKU 395162 is not on the CMX XXX product page. Even the name wobbles: the slide and the product page title read SC 9 XXX with a space, while the release and the page’s own description write SC9 XXX.

The Academy Package and the $27 Magazine

Spare magazines are where double-stack 1911s punish a budget. EAA went the other way on this one: the release and both product pages price the Check-Mate 16-round magazine at $27.

That makes the Academy math simple. The standard CMX XXX comes with two magazines and the Academy package comes with four, so the package carries $54 worth of extra magazines at EAA’s own price. Whether it is a deal depends on a sticker EAA has not published.

What is missing is a low-capacity option. Neither product page lists a 10-round magazine. If you live in a state with a magazine limit, that is the first thing to ask about, because a pistol you can’t legally feed is a paperweight.

When You Can Actually Buy a Witness2311 XXX

Read the wording carefully. EAA says the pistols “will start shipping through EAA’s distributors network” in early October, and that sentence describes guns leaving EAA for wholesalers and says nothing about the day one lands in the case at your local shop, which is up to the distributors and the dealers who order from them.

MSRP is a list price, too. EAA’s site says its pricing is “purely indicative,” and dealers set their own. I have not seen a street price I would put in print yet.

If you want the cheapest way into the platform, the SC9 XXX at $599 is it. If you want a dot and no grip safety, the CMX XXX is the gun, and the Academy package is worth a look for the magazines alone. The last Witness2311 launch we covered was the compensated CMXX in July, and this is the opposite end of the family.

Not sure a double-stack is what you want? The 1911 vs 2011 breakdown covers what you gain and what you give up.

I have not shot either pistol, so this is a read of EAA’s own paperwork and nothing more.

Small grip. Sixteen rounds. Six hundred dollars before the dealer gets involved. Now we find out how many actually reach the shelf.

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