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Hey everybody. This is Richard from GunsHolstersandGear.com. Today, I
want to briefly review the Diamondback DB9. The DB9 is a single-stack 9-
millimeter pistol on a polymer frame. It's Diamondback's first entry into
the 9-millimeter market, and it comes at a time when there are a lot of
people introducing these very small, very thin 9-millimeter subcompact guns
for the concealed carry market.
The DB9 is a double-action only gun. It is striker fired and there are no
external controls whatsoever on this pistol. There's no slide stop,
there's no safety or anything else. From the factory, Diamondback says
that the trigger should be about 5-lbs. I measured it and averaged 10
trigger pulls, and that was after a trip to the range and after doing some
dry firing to kind of work out any burrs, or any imperfections in the
trigger. I measured actually 6-lbs 9-oz. Which is considerably more than
what is advertised, however, it is a very smooth trigger. Compared to the
Ruger LCP, I think that it's a much better trigger than the LCP. Also,
comparing it to the Smith & Wesson BODYGUARD .380, infintely better than
that Smith & Wesson. I love Smith guns, but the trigger on that BODYGUARD
is pretty awful. It's so long that you can actually stop halfway through,
get yourself some lunch and then come back to it. It's pretty awful. The
trigger on the Diamonback is actually very good. I liked it a lot.
It is a single stack magazine of course, to maintain it's thinness. It
carries 6 rounds of the 9-millimeter ammo in the magazine, plus of course
one in the chamber; giving you a total of 7 rounds. Considering it's 9-
millimeter ammo, that's actually quite a bit of an improvement over some of
the other subcompact guns, like for example the LCP. The ammunition
selection is somewhat limited, in that the Diamonback is only rated for
standard pressure ammunition. In other words, the higher pressure +P and
+P+ loads are not going to be appropriate for it. Will they fire in this
gun? Yeah, probably. But, they will also wear the gun out much quicker,
and Diamondback states specifically that if you fire those types of rounds
in this gun that you will void your warranty.
I can only imagine that the gun, to achieve it's really compact size, had
to make some compromises and I guess that's what a handgun is anyways.
It's just a compromise, but to get the small size they had to make some
compromises in durability, and hence, the high pressure rounds are probably
going to wear this gun out very, very quickly. So it may be a situation if
you're not that worried about your warranty, that you practice with the
standard pressure, but then maybe carry a magazine of the higher pressure
rounds in here. Completely up to you.
I will say, however, that there are plenty of standard pressure rounds that
are suitable for self-defense. I know Federal makes their HST in a
standard pressure 124 grain load. They also do the Hydra-Shok in a
standard pressure 124 grain. Speer does their Gold Dot in a 115 and a 124
grain, both of those standard pressure. I'm fairly certain that Winchester
and Remington have similar loadings. I think Cor-Bon actually makes a DPX
round, I think it's a 90 or 95 grain that's a standard pressure. So
there's definitely plenty of good rounds out there, and of course we're
talking about the premium stuff, but there's plenty of the more expensive,
more conventional jacketed hollow-points that are available also, in
standard pressures.
One other thing about ammunition, is Diamondback does say that the 147
grain rounds, or I should say that they specifically state that anything
greater than a 124 grain bullet is not recommended for the firearm. You
know, that could be for one of several reasons. One of which is that those
rounds tend to be a little longer, so it could be some of the tolerances
inside the longer 9-millimeter round, maybe won't feed reliably. Or it
could be that those rounds also typically generate less slide velocity, and
the recoil spring on the DB9 is quite stout. So it may be that those can't
reliably generate enough slide velocity to cycle the ammunition.
Regardless, stick with a 115 or 124 grain standard pressure round and
you'll be fine. Of course, those rounds also compare very well against the
.380 rounds and the .38 Special rounds are typically found in this size
handgun. So even with the standard pressure rounds, I think you're
definitely stepping up from one of those others.
Real briefly, the gun feels pretty good in my hand. It is very, very thin.
It measures only 0.8 inches wide. so it conceals very well in the pocket
but it's still big enough that it feels pretty decent in my hand. The
magazine base that I have on this gun has a slight pinky extension, which
actually makes a great deal of difference when shooting it. It really
gives you a little better control on the gun, but yet it only adds maybe a
quarter of an inch to the length of the pistol. It's definitely worth it
in my mind.
When I had this out on the range, I was a little concerned that recoil
might be a bit stout and it's probably not going to be the best gun for the
novice shooter because there is recoil there, but the recoil is not as bad
as I thought it was going to be. I actually found that the recoil was
better than the Taurus 709, also known as their Slim, which is a subcompact
9-millimeter. I thought it was better than the Taurus. I also felt that
it was slightly better than the Ruger LCP, which is just a .380 pistol. I
don't know why that is. I can only imagine it's because of maybe the size
of the DB9. It's slightly larger, it gives you a better grip on the gun
and so maybe it's not bouncing around as much. But, that was what I kind
of took back from the range.
I also found that the DB9 was very reliable. All the different kinds of
ammo I threw through it, it digested it fine. There was no problems. I
didn't have any stoppages or malfunctions or anything. i was very
impressed by that. Sights are definitely much improved over something like
the Ruger LCP, which just barely has a bump on the front end. The sights
on the DB9 are actually a hard plastic. The front sight is fixed, the rear
is wind-age adjustable and it's dove-tailed in. They're not anything
superior, but they actually are better than what you find on a lot of these
real small guns. They're very usable. Given my Druthers, I'd rather have
something like what Carr puts on their subcompact guns, but like I said,
this is a vast improvement over the LCP.
The gun is a little slow to reload and the reason why is it has a recessed
magazine release, which is probably pretty good in that while you're
carrying it in a pocket or on an ankle or wherever, you're unlikely to
accidentally release your magazine, which obviously would be bad. But, it
also makes it a little difficult for you to swap out a magazine, especially
if you're under stress in a self-defense situation. So in my mind, the DB9
makes for a perfect backup gun to a full size or a larger concealed carry
gun. If you're a cop working the street, this would probably make an
excellent backup gun for you as well.
Something that I think you should probably just plan on having the 7 rounds
and, you know, if you can carry an extra magazine then do so, but just with
the understanding that it's going to be very slow to reload. It's going to
be difficult to do under pressure.
Anyway, this is just kind of a brief overview. If you want to see my
complete review, go over to gunsholstersandgear.com and, if you're seeing
this early, it'll be right there on the main page. If you're catching this
in a few weeks or a few months from now, just type in Diamondback DB9
review into the search bar and it'll take you right there.