Diamondback .380

[opr1945]

Diamondback .380
I just laid away a Diamondback .380.

Any suggestions for break in when I get?

Or which ammunition works with it or doesn't?

Thanks

 

[heeler]

OPR1945,I own one and use it for at least now as my daily carry.
Mine does very well using 95 gr Winchester White Box.
After it was broken in which takes at least 100-200 rounds mine started smoothing out to the point where now mine has a little over 1000 rounds through it and feeds practically any FMJ I run through it problem free.
Mine is an early production model with a serial of ZA 18xx.
At round number 217 the magazine started popping out after each shot fired which took a trip back to Diamondback to get repaired.
I have had zero issues with it since.
Although a lot of the early production guns were problematic and this really pissed the owners off and since then the pistol has had a lot of bad reviews understandably from disgruntled owners.
But just check on the LCP's that early on had to go back to Ruger or Kel-Tec P3AT's that did the same until the bugs were finally worked out.
I wished it was not so but it is.
What is your guns serial number range??
One last thing I would like to mention.
A lot of people complain of failure to feed upon racking a new magazine.
The trick on that is this.
Since the pistol has no last round slide hold back if after you fire all rounds you just happen to lose count and dry fire the pistol MAKE SURE you rack the slide before you put in the fresh reloaded magazine and then rack in the fresh round.
What I was told is that upon dry firing the firing pin is out and will catch the new racked round causing a failure to feed everytime.
After I started doing this I have yet to have a failure to feed.
It should not be this way but it is what it is.
Also make sure you tear the pistol down and clean and lube it before firing it the first time as Diamondback ships these things dry.
The tear down on these little pistols is the easiest out there.
Good luck.

 

[Patriot1/3]

Fire 200 rounds of Winchester 95gr FMJ's. Get'm at Wally world for about 31 bucks for 100 rds. Then I would run some Talons and Hydros to see where you felt most comfortble.

 

[finz50]

Break in suggestions...

1) Break out your wallet
2) Stop by Fedex
3) Ship the DB380 back to the factory for them to repair an assortment of problems
4) REPEAT as necessary.

My experience at least, before i finally traded off that POS. BTW their customer service sucks even worse than their firearms. Hopefully they cleared up their QC issues since I bought mine.....good luck..

 

[RinkRat]

Dittos to finz50 my buddy had one and ditched it for an LCP,,,, I an’t heard to many good reviews on the Diamondback’s and my buddy had several arguments on the phone with their CS department too :banghead:

 

[franco45]

I'm with Finz50 and Rinkrat. I sent mine back twice. This time they sent me a new gun that I immediately traded for an LCP. Go to Diamondbacktalk and you will hear this story over and over again. Good Luck:banghead:

 

[CZ-Guy]

Agreed. After 20 rounds with mine, the trigger pull got progressively longer. After 40 rounds it would click once or twice before firing. Before I got through a box of 50, it quit firing altogether. I took it back and swapped for a Kahr. Problem solved.

 

[gym]

Same here, they started out good, but once you shot them a hundred rounds, they break down. It's a shame because a lot of guys liked them when they came out.

 

[kokapelli]

I had one that didn't work reliably with any kind of ammo, even after a trip back to the factory so I sold it and purchased a TCP that is 100% with everything I have tried in it and also purchased a P238 that has been 100% from the first round.

My Diamondback was an early production and hopefully yours will be better than the one I had.

 

[rd2007]

I picked one up yesterday and myself and three other guys put about 70 flawless rounds through it today. I used the white box .380 ammo from wally world and it was Glock perfect; absolutely zero issues. That combined with the $219.99 price I paid for it at Academy yesterday made me a very happy person. I was pretty worried too after reading some reviews, but luckily that was all for nothing. The recoil on it is also a very pleasant surprise. I had read it was pretty good, especially compared to the LCP and P3AT, but it's actually quite a bit better than that. I'd go as far as to say it was actually lighter recoil than even my Glock 19. It was a real pleasure to shoot and the only issue was how dirty it got. Not sure why that happened, but the finish on the slide looks almost a different color after the range, but nothing a little cleaning didn't fix right up.

 

[mopar92]

I shot an early build model and it wasn't too confidence inspiring... However, a buddy has 0 issues with his newer build..

 

[rd2007]

Yes, I'm normally an early adopter, but rarely practice that when it comes to guns. They're more like cars. Let someone else work the bugs out and then pick one up after things have started to get better.

 

[scrod008]

I was in the same boat as Finz50, Rinkrat and franco45, the one I had went back to Diamondback twice for a broken trigger bar, never made it past 200 rounds either time. :banghead: After the second time it broke and I sent it back I requested a new gun, which they sent me. When the new gun arrived (3rd trip from Diamondback) I never even took it out of the case, instead took it right to my LGS and used it on trade for another 1911.

 

[rd2007]

My son found the DB magazine with finger grip at Academy today for $19.99.

 

[Jim in S.A.]

Diamondback .380
I just laid away a Diamondback .380.

Any suggestions for break in when I get?

Or which ammunition works with it or doesn't?

Thanks

I've got one. Had it for several months. It did require break-in, but the ergonomics are great. It's a good shooter.

Mine likes Aluminum Blazers, Remington UMC, and Winchester White boxes. It definitely doesn't like Federal American Eagles. I haven't yet tried any specifically designated self-defense ammunition yet.

I would highly recommend you go to the Diamondbacktalk forum and read up on some of the problems and fixes. DB's customer service is good, and though I'm not usually an early adopter, I don't regret doing it this time.

 

[heeler]

I would also like to mention that problematic early production guns that have recently gone back to Diamondback are coming back to their owners as rebuilt guns with different serial numbers.
I for one think Diamondback will get their act together,as I think they are now doing by the way they are presently helping owners with problematic guns and they will be a big player in the micro .380 market.
The company is just a couple of years old in the firearms business.
I certainly like mine and most who handle them usually like them as well.

Edit to add...Jim,mine shoots Remington Golden sabres problem free.
It had feeding issues with Critical Defense though.

 

[rd2007]

Anyone tried the Winchester Supreme Elite PDX1 rounds in it? I picked up a box of them from the local BX and haven't had a chance to try them out yet. My DB is now up to 92 rounds with still no issues.