DB380 or Diamondback Company

[bacndb]

I bought a DB380 over a year ago.  I bought it for price and concealment. Diamondback said that the first 100 to 150 rounds would jam or misfire during break in period.  I have fired over 400 rounds and it still does: misfires, Stovepipes, double feeds and failure to feed.  I cleaned and oiled after almost every use. I also tried different types of ammo: Federal Premium 90 grain hydra-shok JHP, Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain FTX, Perfecta 95 grain FMJ, Winchester USA Target pack, 95 grain FMJ, Remington HTP JHP and Inceptor 60 grain RPN. Also the front site broke off twice while I was shooting. I called DiamondBack and talked to Kimmie on 11/29/17 about the front site.  She said a new one will be sent to me right away and I would get an email with a tracking number.  Never got one, call her back on 12/1, she apologize and said she would send one right away.  Nothing again, called Kimmie a 3rd time on 12/5, she said she would call me back in an hour, never did, but I got a email with a tracking number.  I finally got fed up with the malfunctions and instead of dealing with Kimmie I used the DiamondBack  firearms website (contact us) and wrote about my DB380 malfunctions on 12/17/17.  It's now 1/7/18 and they never responded back to me.  So my personal option is you get what you pay for.  Plus I don't know who is more unreliable the DB380 pistol or DiamondBack Firearms company.

[mr380acp]

Sorry about your bad experience. I love my db380. I have about 1500 rounds thru it, flawlessly. The slide did crack after about 600 rounds and I talked to Kimmie and I was sent not only a new slide but a new top end within a week

[trooperc7]

Your diamondback experience is much like mine was with my db9...........i ended up fixing it myself after it came back from repair with the exact same feed problems it when in for.......Customer service told me that i didnt know how to shoot it......Well, evidently no one who shot it did either. After that i never considered sending it back in.

While i like the gun now for its ease of carry, i could not recommend DB to anyone unless they were capable of working on the gun themselves. Hope you are able to get it resolved.

[thehoghunter]

My two DB380's run great...once I swapped out the factory mag spring with Wolff springs from gunsprings.com (they don't have DB listed...look for the 79073 KELTEC P32, P3AT +10% XP MAG SPRING Pak of 3).

Took care of all the FTF issues...and that happened before the 'break in period' was over. 

You might also look into a Hogue 18401 HandAll Beavertail Grip sleeve.  Fits the DB380 and gives a much better hold on the weapon.

Springs are around $18 and the Hogue grip around $10.

[Terminatorret]

I concur 100% with replacing the OEM DB380 mag springs with KelTec mag springs. What minor FTF problems I initially encountered during break-in are now non-existent.
I'm sorry that "bacndb" didn't receive the great customer service I experienced with my ZAxxxx years ago. I sent in my ZAxxxx and received a ZExxxx within a couple of weeks as a no-charge replacement. I've been impressed and quite satisfied, since.

[mr380acp]

I never had the mag spring issue. Factory mags work for me

[gene814]

I replaced the magazine springs and still had some FTE so I cut a loop off the recoil spring because I always thought the spring was a bit stiff. That helped but I still had 4 FTE out of 50rounds.  Taking the barrel out of the gun, I noticed that the FTE shells stuck in the barrel when I tilted the barrel up, whereas the other spent shells just dropped out when I tilted the barrel up. So I polished the barrel chamber using a dremmel, taking off very little metal from the inside of the barrel. Now the spent shells that stuck inside the barrel just fell out when I turned the barrel up. I’ll shoot the gun next week.


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[Terminatorret]

Gene814...just curious. What was the type/brand of ammo of the FTE shells that stuck in the chamber (prior to your fluff-and-buff)?

[gene814]

Federal American Eagle and PMC. Haven’t been able to shoot the newly reworked barrel yet.


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[bacndb]

Thanks for all your information.  Reading online it looks like you replace the springs or you polish the part of the barrel that feeds the ammo or both.  I do love the DB380 for it's size and ease of concealing it.  But, I have to laugh that after purchasing it you have to work on the pistol to make it function correctly.  Maybe DiamondBack Firearms has fixed this issue in the newer versions.

[gene814]

Thanks for all your information.  Reading online it looks like you replace the springs or you polish the part of the barrel that feeds the ammo or both.  I do love the DB380 for it's size and ease of concealing it.  But, I have to laugh that after purchasing it you have to work on the pistol to make it function correctly.  Maybe DiamondBack Firearms has fixed this issue in the newer versions.

My DB9 broke. Diamondback could not fix it so sent me a new model. It has worked flawlessly. So perhaps they have improved the guns so the 380 works too.