Recently, while attending a gun show, I was made aware of these pistols and picked one up for personal use. Here's my impression of this diminutive handgun.
Overall, the pistol looks like a miniature Glock. With an unloaded weight of just 11 ounces, it's the lightest weight pistol in it's class. Fully loaded with 6 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, it's still easily carried in a pocket and won't weigh you down. Other dimensions of the handgun are; overall length, 5.60 in., width, .80 in., height, 4 in. with magazine inserted.
It's a striker fired, double action only handgun, so no exposed hammer, but it does have a long trigger pull. But that simply means too that it's safer to carry. The trigger breaks cleanly between 5 – 7 lbs.
Shooting:
When I got the handgun home, I just had to take it out to "the range." For me, this is a cleared lane in the woods behind my house. I set up a human silouette target on a cardboard box and paced off 10 yards. I didn't bother trying the gun at longer ranges because when you're shooting a self-defense handgun, it's going to be up close and personal, so 10 yards is about maximum range. If you need to shoot at a longer distance, you shouldn't be shooting, you should be running!
I didn't have any 124 grain (recommended weight bullet) ammo, so I loaded it up with some of the 147 grain hollowpoint bullets that I shoot in my larger framed 9mm. I don't want to abuse the gun a lot, so a trip to the ammo dealer will be in order before any more shooting is done. But, with two different brands of ammo, the gun fired 14 rounds without a hiccup. There were no feeding issues, nor any problems with cases hanging in the ejection port. The trigger pull was longer than I anticipated, but within a few rounds, I was already used to it.
Because of its size and weight, there is noticable recoil, so I do recommend you have a firm grasp, but it is manageable recoil. And the gun comes back to a good firing position quickly and easily.
The rear sight is drift-adjustable, but as the gun came out of the box, it shot right where I needed the bullets to be. I fired 14 rounds and there are 14 holes in the target, center mass, right where they should be.
So, here's my initial thoughts on the Diamondback DB9.
It's a fine handgun, especially when you consider that the average "shop price" is around $350.00. It loads easily and shoots well. Two different brands of ammo haven't bothered it in the least, so it doesn't appear to be ammo selective as many semi-auto pistols can be.
I'm positive you can spend more money on a self-defense gun, but if you're looking for a compact design, for a reasonable price, it's an excellent choice. I give it "Two Thumbs Up."
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