The DiamondBack DB380

[lowbud]

This is to continue and update a closed thread located here:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/handguns/33416-db380.html

I sent mine off because it was a jam-o-matic. I picked it up on friday and didn't get a chance to fire it until yesterday.

According to the repair order they replaced the slide and polished the chamber. everything i read up to this point was good about these after a slide replacement. well...

I loaded up two mags with ammo. I used Magtech Guardian Gold 85gr +P JHP becasue it's what i used before and it wouldn't feed. I also had wwb, magtach fmj, as well as speer gold dot. I had enough to give the gun a good workout of several hundred rounds.

First mag, flawless. i'm thinkin oh-boy... i'm grinnin at this point.

Second mag,

BANG

BANG

click

click

hmmm i racked the slide at this point to chamber a new round.

BANG now i'm thinkin bad round?

click

click

click

i racked the slide again at this point and looked at both non fired rounds. neither had a mark on them from being struck. odd, huh.. ok back to firing.

click

click

click

click

what the heck.. so back in the house i go..

anyway... as it stands now I can't even strip the gun. it wont take down at all. i think something with the striker broke but i can't tell becasue it wont come apart.

looks like back to DB it goes.. I'll call them first thing in the morning.

I'll keep ya'll updated......

[mousegunner]

LB, very sorry to hear of your bad luck with this gun. I hope they get it fixed to your satisfaction. Thanks for your report.

[lowbud]

LB, very sorry to hear of your bad luck with this gun. I hope they get it fixed to your satisfaction. Thanks for your report.

I went into this knowing it was a crap-shoot. I hope they can work out the bugs too becasue I really like this little gun. in the hand it feels and shoots far better then the lcp or p3at at least for me.

[MacGyver]

Sorry to hear that. It is a good looking little gun.

[Shima]

Sounds like their QC is not that great. At some point, I would think they would replace it for you and give you something for your troubles. Hope they make it right for you.

[lowbud]

Sounds like their QC is not that great. At some point, I would think they would replace it for you and give you something for your troubles. Hope they make it right for you.

I'm thinking about asking for a new one this time. at least they better send a pick up order for it. I shipped it on my dime last time and that's not going to happen again.

[Shima]

They should give you a new pistol and kick in some extra mags for your troubles.

[lowbud]

They should give you a new pistol and kick in some extra mags for your troubles.

that's funny. I asked about an extra mag when they had it last week. the guy I was talking to said they didn't even have any. they were on backorder.

I'll post again tomorrow after talking with them.

[Guest Republican]

It is awful when your at the mercy of the customer service department. IMHO, if the send you a new one, I would be tempted to trade it off. What companies dont realize is that if you have a bad experience for whatever reason, you are gonna tell your friends, us, etc. That works against them in so many ways. Word of mouth and personal recommendation goes along way with us gun owners. Good Luck anyways buddy.

[lowbud]

just got off the phone with DB. They were super nice and sendig a prepaid pickup for the gun. Hope they can get it right this time. I'll update this thread again when it comes back.

[frankmako]

saw one this weekend at the gun show and it was priced higher than the kel tecs p3at. hope they get it worked out for you.

[Steelharp]

Well, even if they do make it right, I'm in no way considering one after this. Hate to see you with these problems, Bill.

[lowbud]

these have been priced higher then the LCP's. Most are running 350-ish. Is that about what you saw at the show?

[lowbud]

Well, even if they do make it right, I'm in no way considering one after this. Hate to see you with these problems, Bill.

I don't know how long these have been under development but I think they went to market a tad too quick. I think they will get things worked out but it may take a little time.

I still have faith tho so we'll see how they do this time.

[JReedEsq]

I saw one of these at a gun shop for $400 a while back. I thought the price was hight but I really like the look, feel, and finish more than any .380 I've seen. I was tempted but afraid of the unknown. Thanks so much for posting this Lowbud. I'll steer clear...

[lowbud]

just dropped it off at ups, they will have it tomorrow.. we'll see how quick the turn around is this time.

I wouldn't write them off just yet.. one thing for sure tho. i'm gonna shoot the crap out of it before even thinking about carrying it.

[Guest TNReb]

I bought a DB380 at the Outpost Armory on 2/5 and took it to the range on 2/6. I put 125 rounds through it (several kinds, including some Gold Dots), and like the other post, it was a jam-o-matic. It couldn't get through one mag without multiple failures, misfeeds and slightly dropping the mag after each shot. It even jammed several times when I tried to rack a round into the chamber. It was the last one they had and had been the demo, so I figured the problems probably related to that.

I called the company on 2/8 and gave them the infomation. On 2/9 I had a prepaid UPS next day air label emailed to me and sent it off that day. They received it on 2/10.

On 2/15, I called to check on it, and was told it had been shipped by USPS Priority Mail on 2/11. I received it on 2/16 with a copy of the repair memo showing they had replaced the slide and the mag latch. I took it to the range again on 2/17 and put 100 rounds of Blazer 90 gr. through it.

It worked like a champ! Not one failure in any of the rounds I shot, even doing rapid fire.

In short, I LOVE this gun. It is much more comfortable to shoot and accurate than my son's P3AT (which is also a great gun). The holsters for the P3AT fit it perfectly and I could literally forget its there, whether carrying in my front pocket with a Nemesis holster, or IWB with a Galco leather pop-up holster.

Based on my experience the customer service and repair work were excellent, and it didn't cost me one penny to get it fixed. I would say if you are looking for a great little pocket gun, this one would be hard to beat. If you really want one, go for it!

[CrazyRay]

So what is the going price for these things?

[lowbud]

right at ~400-ish

[Guest TNReb]

So what is the going price for these things?

I paid $399.

[lowbud]

Mine was being shipped out today. I should have it early next week.

Hope it's right this time. According to the gal I spoke with today they replaced several parts and fired 48 rounds through it. I'll post the results of my testing along with the repair order info when I get it back.

[lowbud]

got the gun in the mail today. the repair logs say they replaced the:

seer, sear springs, trigger springs, and trigger bar.

they even included an extra mag this time... sweet!

Test rounds: 48

So far I can't complain about the service. Top notch! at least time in / time out. I just hope they got things right this time....

my plan is to shoot 3 mags of each brand of ammo I have. That will be 72 rounds for today. I'll post the results. If tests are good I will clean the gun and repeat the test in a few days.

[lowbud]

19 rounds magtech guardian gold 85gr +P JHP - flawless

19 Rounds Winchester white box 95gr FMJ - 1 failure to extract

19 rounds magtech 95gr FMC - flawless

5 rounds Speer Gold Dot 90gr JHP - bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, then nothing. can't fire it nor take it down.

62 rounds fired before breaking again. same issue as the last time. I expect the seer is broken again.

Somehow I don't think i will ever carry this gun. I'm going to push for a replacement or maybe even a refund. I'm loosing confidence quickly.

3rd time a charm? guess we'll find out...... altho maybe a striker fired pistol of this size is not going to work out.

Edited February 22, 2010 by lowbud

[Magiccarpetrides]

lowbud sorry to hear of the bad luck. also on an unrelated note...the CW45 is not reliable with 1911 mags...it will shoot, but feeding is an issue after 2 or 3 rounds....however with the factory mag the gun shot flawlessly with a random mix of hollow points of varying quality and fmj...it would not however fire semi-wadcutter match ammo(though my DW Cbob 1911 will).

Edited February 22, 2010 by Magiccarpetrides
grammar....

[lowbud]

My CW45 has been flawless too. I picked up a couple of mags at the show on saturday on the cheap too.