Diamond Back Firearms- DB380 Pocket Gun....Any Experiences?

[backfire]

Anyone have or have any experience with this little pocket gun?

It's in the same mouse-gun .380 ACP class as the Taurus TCP, Ruger LCP, Smith Bodygaurd .380, Kel-Tec, etc. etc.

My stepfather has one and it's been a real POS since he's first bought it a while back and it's been back to the factory at least once for warranty to try to fix it with still no success to date... It's bad........FTF, FTE and stove-piping is a common occurance no matter what ammo is used.

Anyone? Have any fixes??

 

[doglb]

I originally purchased the 1st gen. Kept it in the safe for awhile, when I did end shooting it, it was a POS!! It jammed every other round, very frustrating...

On a good note, I bought the firearm at H&H, they sent it back for me in 2 days I received a brand new 2nd gen. that was flawless...

Ended up firing 200 rnds, straight from the factory, no cleaning nothing and I had no issues.

The 1st. gen had the silver mag release/trigger
THe 2nd. gen had the all black mag release/trigger

So initially I was honked off...but DB made it right.
It was accurate and reliable...well the new one they sent me was....

 

[deadsquirrel]

Love my DB9! No problems and very accurate

 

[backfire]

I originally purchased the 1st gen. Kept it in the safe for awhile, when I did end shooting it, it was a POS!! It jammed every other round, very frustrating...

On a good note, I bought the firearm at H&H, they sent it back for me in 2 days I received a brand new 2nd gen. that was flawless...

Ended up firing 200 rnds, straight from the factory, no cleaning nothing and I had no issues.

The 1st. gen had the silver mag release/trigger
THe 2nd. gen had the all black mag release/trigger

So initially I was honked off...but DB made it right.
It was accurate and reliable...well the new one they sent me was....

His gun is also a Gen II model, as the serial number prefix is "ZC" and the parts it's equipped with match the Gen II design. It's a real junker though, as it jams about 5-7 times within 12 rounds from both mags...


I've got the thing here at the house and I'm contemplating doing a "Fluff-n-Buff" on it like I did on my Taurus TCP .380 in order to make the gun durable and reliable. After seeing it gutted open today on the bench, I can say, that even though it's made in the USA, they used very cheap parts in critical areas of the gun where they shoundn't have in my honest opinion. Plastic in the firing pin mechanism?!?!

 

[paperboy]

I don't know about the DB380 but I have nothing bad to say about the LCP, I think they are great pistols...

 

[target64]

One of the local LEO's that comes into the shop had one blow apart while he was shooting it. Slide was bulged and cracked. Might have been just one in a million, but I will never own one.

 

[HandK]

I own both! the DB380 & the DB9 both are great guns! and shoot well, I would highly recommend ether one or both! as for the comment of plastic in the firing pin mechanism Glock uses the same thing in all there guns!

 

[backfire]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I think I'll do a "Fluff-n-Buff" on this little dude while I have it all apart and after looking at it closely to see how it functions, I think I found out the major reason for the jamming.. I'll bet it'll come around after it's been refined a bit and I want to make sure it's right, since it belongs to a family member as his EDC.

 

[Rookie]

Check the ejector pin. A lot of times it rubs the new round which causes feed issues.

 

[Cam]

I had one for a while and it was great. I sold it only because I carried my LCP more. Never a single problem. People don't like hearing it, but the reason for your problems are likely shooting form. None of us want to be guilty of the limp wrist crime, but it happens. These little guns expose it when we do it.

Good luck getting it going.

 

[backfire]

I had one for a while and it was great. I sold it only because I carried my LCP more. Never a single problem. People don't like hearing it, but the reason for your problems are likely shooting form. None of us want to be guilty of the limp wrist crime, but it happens. These little guns expose it when we do it.

Good luck getting it going.

I don't mind the comments one way or the other, However, "shooting form" issues tha cover hundreds of people's coomplaints all over the USA that have commented about it on the internet? Not including both my stepfather and myself having poor "shooting forms" too? I can certainly see where that might be an issue, but I don't buy it as a blanket statement as the cause of the grief of this gun....

FYI- My stepfather (who is 67) owned his own gun shop back in the late 70's through the late 80's, he's shot sub-professionally at both handgun and rifle levels, he's currently an NRA Insturctor, he has an entire trophy room filled with numerous trophies and accolades due to expert marksmanship, he's competed at Camp Perry in the M1 Garand Shotting Competiton w/ open sights at 600 yards, he's set records in Trap Shooting, he's an expert archer that leads big game hunts in Montana nearly every year, etc. etc. etc....the list goes on. He's quite an accomplished shooter, hunter, marksman, reloader, etc.

I about laughed myself out of my chair when you siad it's his "shooting form" that's the cause of the gun malfunctions. Maybe me, but certainly NOT him....

 

[dhw9am]

Choose the Ruger of SW

Anyone have or have any experience with this little pocket gun?

It's in the same mouse-gun .380 ACP class as the Taurus TCP, Ruger LCP, Smith Bodygaurd .380, Kel-Tec, etc. etc.

My stepfather has one and it's been a real POS since he's first bought it a while back and it's been back to the factory at least once for warranty to try to fix it with still no success to date... It's bad........FTF, FTE and stove-piping is a common occurance no matter what ammo is used.

Anyone? Have any fixes??

I do not have a DB380, but a friend does. He has said that if it weighed
more, it would be a good paper weight.
MY friend has had his fixed once, it went bad again. Sorry, I can't give
you any advice on the fix.
I have a Kel-Tec - lots of problems, but that is only my experience.
I know people at the range I go to, that have Ruger LCP's and SW
Bodyguards. Both of these have been excellent.

 

[backfire]

Update....

Well, I finished with the deburr and polish job on this little gun that was very similar to what i did on my Taurus TCP .380 and took it to the range today for some testing. I ran 76 rounds through it (Federal American Eagle 95g FMJ) both slow fire, moderate speed fire and the last three mags. on full tilt, pump the ammo through it as fast as it would eat it... You *CAN'T" make this gun jam!!!

All good and not one single missfire, nor FTE or FTF, stove-pipe....nothing. Even with the gun hot to the touch afterward! The brass no longer gets gouged or dented like it did before and it fires as smooth as silk. Even the primer strikes are dead-center now, where they were off-tilt before, causing random missfires. I'm pretty pleased with it now and my step-father is even happier, as it's his gun.

I'm finding all these little mouse guns have their quirks and they are VERY picky on machining tolerances to be right, otherwise they will NOT fire right and they WILL jam... The factory warranty doesn't mean squat if they fail to fix the thing after sending it back/forth time and time again, only to get the same crappy gun performance as a result. Spend a little time with them (deburr & polish job) and they rock-n-roll with the best of their bigger gun bretheren!

 

[Elliot451]

I picked up my second-generation DB380 yesterday and took it to the range with three different types of ammunition. The very first shot jammed. As did the second... and the third. The last two fired without a problem though. Okay... its a new gun... needs to be broken in. Well it took me almost 3 hours to go through 250 rounds. That's one round about every minute and a half if you average it out. The gun seriously jammed that much, and on all three types of ammunition. I even cleaned it again halfway through. The gun not only jammed, but it would fail to feed the next round, not completely lock forward, and worst of all, about every three rounds the firing pin did not recess back into the slide causing the shell to catch on it, and thus jam the gun. I still gave the gun the benefit of the doubt, so I cleaned it again, and left for a box of Winchester white box. One hundred rounds of that and it still jammed 3-4 times each clip. Before you say anything, it was NOTHING to do with my grip! The range has a Gen 1 rental and I personally put close to 500 round through it while trying to decide which gun to purchase. This particular gun did not jam once, fail to feed, or have any other problems... it was incredible. So it is not that I am "holding the gun wrong" as Diamondback and a few people on here suggest (I'm a professional firefighter... I like to think I have at least moderately strong wrists...). Also hard to believe it's the ammo when I tried four different kinds all having the same problem. And when I cleaned it I did not over-oil anything, or damage any internal components (I know how to clean a gun). When I asked the owner of the range about the firing pin he became very concerned that if the pin was faulty, it could fire a round as it is being chambered and told me to stop using it at once and call Diamondback. I gave them the whole story and they said they would send me a shipping label (which I have not received, even after a second phone call). They also told me 4-6 weeks or more to get it back (once I'm able to finally send it that is). Kind of ridiculous that I paid $400 for a gun that I can't use for four to six weeks. If I wanted to wait four-six weeks I would have bought one four to six weeks from now. Like everyone says, a CCW needs to be reliable 100% of the time with no exceptions. If my DB is not FLAWLESS when it returns I guarantee I will not give them a second chance. I'll TRY to sell it, but if I have to swallow the $400 I will just have live knowing I learned an expensive lesson. Yeah, I'll be pissed, but at least once I buy a Glock 42, or pony up $600 for a Sig, (or convince the range to sell me their Gen 1 DB380) I'll know I have a reliable weapon that I can count on if needed.

 

[SERparacord]

Those clips do tend to jam........

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

...I'll TRY to sell it...

If you do end up selling it,
will you honestly tell the buyer
all of the problems that you have/have had with it?

 

[Cam]

You can rest assured I won't give you any advice since the last time I posted in this thread I got "told off"! Y'all are on your own!