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Anyone have any info on a Diamondback .380? Are they reliable?

I have an older one; it's "OK" I wear it around the house. The newer ones are pretty reliable; like any new model; they had to get the kinks out.

Personally; I've gotten rid of most of my .380s, kept 4 of them, moved to 9mms

Unless you absolutely need an expensive lightweight thin 380 ... get a thin 9.

(My Keltecs sit at home, my Taurus PT709 gets carried as a backup to my Glock 26)

(If you want a smaller, more expensive (essentially hand made).380, LW Seecamp ...)
My Seecamp sits in my front bluejeans pocket in a holster. Not real "fun" but it's a .380 in pocket size Stainless.
($800 and up, basically made 1 at a time, up to 20 month waiting period to make yours, if factory ordered instead of gunbroker type dealers or gun show dealers or any dealer with 1 in stock))

------ back to the DB380 .... use hot ammo ... (Although there isn't really an official SAAMI +P rating for 380; that's what you want ... hot .380 ammo; especially during "break-in")


Still trying to remember why I spent over $300 on .380s (other than the Seecamp) when some of my better 9s cost less than the $400 380s,,, North American Arms (heavy and thick and snappy recoil, but kept in bathroom since stainless, with 10 round mag and laser [can't holster with the laser, it's thick and lumpy]
DB380 (light enough to sleep in with proper holster and light enough for boxer shorts elastic))

If you find a "good" (luck of the draw) AMT Single Action .380 Backup, cheap, ($200 or so) I carry that front pocket sometimes (Aluminum and Stainless, but more were bad than good quality) DBV380 and AMT 380 backup are very close in size. AMT's DAO 380 backup was heavier and I hated the trigger

Here's photos of the DB380 copmpared to some other 380s, though not great photos http://s342.photobucket.com/albums/o433 ... 2QQtppZZ16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Photos show:
DB380
AMT backup 380 SA
NAA 380
Seecamp

(Note: I had 3 AMT backups, 2 worked, gave one that worked to an officer buddy)

txcshooter wrote:Anyone have any info on a Diamondback .380? Are they reliable?

Gun Tests Magazine rated them a "D" this month. They liked the design, but experienced repeated range failures, including double feeds, failure of the striker to hit the primer when the trigger was pulled, and failure of the trigger to reset after a shot. They sent theirs back to the manufacturer for warranty service and said they would rate it higher if the manufacturer could fix the issues.

Caveat emptor.

If you are bound and determined on a small .380 and don't want an LCP/Keltec for some reason or another ... you might peek at the Hellcat
Blued
http://www.ioinc.us/our-products?page=s ... egory_id=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Nickel
http://www.ioinc.us/our-products?page=s ... egory_id=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All I know bout them is they sort of look like an LCP/Keltec clone

I had one. Constantly had problems with failure to extract, failure to fire, failure to feed, and double feeding. I sent it in the the manufacturer, they replaced the springs and extractor, and sent it back. Extracted better (still occasionally left on in the chamber, and fed the next round into the back side of it), but experienced a lot of failure to feed and double feeding. Sold it and moved on.

For a small .380, they feel great in the hand, they have really good sights for that size of a gun, are extremely light, and I like the way they look. Unfortunately, it would not function properly, which above all, is most important ESPECIALLY for something that you need to be able to trust your life with.

RPB wrote:If you are bound and determined on a small .380 and don't want an LCP/Keltec for some reason or another ... you might peek at the Hellcat
Blued
http://www.ioinc.us/our-products?page=s ... egory_id=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Nickel
http://www.ioinc.us/our-products?page=s ... egory_id=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All I know bout them is they sort of look like an LCP/Keltec clone

This looks like an interesting little gun with an unusual feature - an external extractor that appears to be fastened in place with an external screw.



It'll be interesting to see how reliable and durable this design proves to be in the field.