.22lr Diamondbacks

[Shmackey]

I was looking for a price check, but I guess a better question would involve some history of the Diamondback, as my local shop has a used one for $900 and a new (or at least recent) one for $450. So obviously there's something about the old ones.

At any rate... What's the scoop on these? I'm revolver-free at the moment, interested in .22lr (to go along with my Trailside), and a Colt fan. I'm seriously considering trading my Series I Kimber for one of these if I can get a fair trade. Thanks.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Diamondback prices are all over the map, but generally heading uphill P.D.Q. They haven't been manufactured in quite a few years, and have Python-style slotted ribbed barrels, so they're pretty, and many sport Colt's old-style blueing and attention to detail. I like them a little more than Smith & Wesson model 17s for their better single action triggers and tighter lock up just before firing. They're much harder to work on than model 17s, and it's harder to find good stocks for them, as well.

I found one I liked at http://www.gunbroker.com recently, and haggled a bit with the seller. I offered him $650, and was willing to go to $700, but he wanted $750, plus shipping and insurance, and he wouldn't accept anything but a post office money order.

 

[Quartus]

Please don't mention Diamondbacks! I had a 4" .38 and a 6" .22, and stupidly let them go....


If you can get one of the older ones, you've got one nice gun!

 

[9mmepiphany]

i have had a 4" .38, and two .22lr dimondbacks (4" and 6")

i still regret selling the .38
haven't given another thought to having sold the 6" .22
and wouldn't part with the 4" for any money.

my 4" .22 will easily outshoot my 6" smith m-17. i've never handled a "bad diamondback", i think they stopped making them before the quality went downhill.

i've heard that prices were going up again but i couldn't justify spending twice the money for an older model. i've had all my colt's actions "tuned" and that has corrected any QC problems.

BTW...the .22 diamondback doesn't share the python's reputation for shooting it's action "loose"...not enough recoil

 

[Shmackey]

Thanks for the info. So could a guy get an excellent 4" .22lr Diamondback for somewhere around $600? Are there years or periods to avoid (or to look for)?

 

[popeye]

As can be witnessed by SaxonPig's fine pic, Diamondbacks are pretty. I bought one (blue 6" .22) and sold it cause I couldn't get used to trigger as opposed to S&W's. I now have a model 17 6" and a K22 4", and a model 41, everone of which I can shoot better with than the Diamondback. You won't however find a nicer .22 than a Diamondback, and it will also retain or increase in value. I would recommend 4"

 

[4v50 Gary]

Dang Saxon Pig, you really did steal those guns. You did much better than myself and buying the 38 for $180 is bargain. I think I paid $300 apiece for my Diamondbacks (4" 38 & 4" 22).

 

[Majic]

Want to see sticker shock then take a look at prices for the 6 inch nickeled models in .22lr. Only a couple of thousand were made one year and the price rises out the roof.

Are you sure the $450 one is not a .38sp? .22lr models are always a couple of hundred dollars more than a .38sp model. They are great shooters to go hand in hand with their good looks.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I doubt I'll ever understand why Colt quit making Diamondbacks!

 

[Quartus]

That's because you aren't a stock market driven, shortsighted, pin-headed BEAN COUNTER!


Hmmm. A bit of redundancy in that, eh?

 

[BluesBear]

Diamondbacks are great guns in either caliber.

But what I lust after is a 6" blued Python in .22LR.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Quartus,

Try to find a major corporation that is not driven by a bean counters, short sighted stock market price TODAY in the US. I know it sure seems that we are!

On the topic at hand. My 38 diamondback is still one of my favorites as it was my first centerfire. Bought it 24 years ago now and still shoot it regularly. Got to love them diamondbacks!

 

[4v50 Gary]

The internal lockwork of the Diamondback require a level of skilled workman that is not readily available today. Not that folks can be trained, they can, but the cost and time to train them isn't worth the investment in money. More can be returned to the coffers by attaching the Diamondback barrel to a modern frame featuring updated Trooper lockwork. That's why production of the Colt Python isn't what is use to be. Colt just doesn't have the skilled labor force anymore. As Bob Dunlap says, "blind high-school dropouts on drugs." Make my Colt a used one please.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Make my Colt a used one please.

Yep. The last few current production Pythons I've looked at were no better than Rugers. Oh, they locked up nice and tight, to be sure, but the triggers were terrible, the fitting was terrible, and the finishing was terrible—for nearly $1,100 each.

I was born at night, all right, but not last night.

 

[JNewell]

Does anyone know if Colt has upgraded to CNC and other more modern machinery and production techniques?

 

[farscott]

Insane Diamondback Prices

One of my local dealers has a .38 Special Diamondback with a four-inch barrel. The condition is immaculate, but the original grips are gone; the gun is wearing Pachmayr Compac (sp?) grips. The asking price is $595!!!

The really insane thing is that this revolver might be worth the asking price. The bluing is deep and black; the metal polishing is truly a sight to behold. The trigger feels wonderful in single action and has a delightful double-action pull. I checked the cylinder lock-up on all six charge holes, and I was amazed. It locks up just about as tight at my Freedom Arms M83 does. There is no side-to-side wobble and no detectable end shake. I think it is safe to say Colt does not make them like this any more.

Since this is the first Diamondback I have seen in good condition in quite some time, I put it in layaway. I am probably paying too much, but it is only money.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Hello, farscott!

That's not a reasonable price, but it's by no means unusual, and probably a little better than average these days. I'd have paid that for a six-inch blued Diamondback in good shape. The factory stocks, by the way, are no loss, at least as far as shooting is concerned, although the gun would be worth slightly more with them. The Pachmayr grips are ugly, but in terms of pure shootability, a significant improvement on those Colt supplied with the gun.

 

[BluesBear]

Numrich lists at least one type of Colt Checkered Walnut Grips for the Diamondback as being available

 

[farscott]

Standing Wolf,

Thanks for the support. I am a bit ambivalent about the price. It is probably too much, but it will be more in the future.

BluesBear,

Thanks for the info on Numrich.