Torn on buying a Diamondback

G

GunsnRovers

New member
I want. No. I NEED a nice .38 shooter. I need another one.

I am having my .357 Blackhawk converted to .44spl so I need another .38/.357 to take it's place.

I have found a nice Colt Diamondback in .38 for sale. Appears to be clean and the price is fair for the market.

My concern with a Colt is the general lack of parts and smiths out there who work on them. Should something break, will I be sitting on a very pretty paperweight?

If a part on my S&W's should break, I know I can get it repaired. I worry about Colt revolver parts. Should I be?
 
Since the Diamondback is the same frame type as the Colt Police Positive Special, which was in production from 1908 up through the mid-1990's, and was the basis for an entire series of small frame revolvers like the Detective Special, there isn't going to be a serious parts shortage for some time.

Colt revolvers had surprisingly few changes over the years, and most parts from an early 1900's Police Positive Special would still interchange with a mid-1990's revolver.

There were millions of these small frame Colt's made, and parts will be plentiful for quite some time.

For repairs, you have your choice of the Colt factory, Pittsburgh Handgun Headquarters, or Cylinder & Slide.
All three do world-class repairs to Colt revolvers.

Bottom line, You'll have no trouble getting any needed parts or repairs for a Diamondback, even IF you manage to break it.
 
You NEED a 38spl Diamondback! Buy it! They aren't fragile, so you don't have to worry about breaking it. Colt is excellent about making repairs in the event you have to. Most gunsmiths today aren't qualified to do much work on Colts anymore.
 
I'm sitting here with a problem.

I am now confident that the Diamondback will be fine. Thanks to all the replies.

Now I just need to figure out which of the pistols in front of me to buy. I can purchase only one.

The 4" Diamondback. Clean, but no box, or original grips.

A NIB older carbon steel S&W CS9. All paperwork, etc. complete. Not fired since factory tested.

Neither are PRK approved so I can only get them when they come up on the consignment market/PTP.

The CS9 was on my want list before I thought about the Diamondback, but another .38 revolver is never a bad thing.

Decisions. Decisions.
 
Depending on the price. I would go with the Diamondback. There is a lot of interest in the Diamondbacks in general and you can't go wrong with one. They have been appreciating at a greater than normal pace in the last couple of years. You get a great shooter and a gun that will hold its value. Diamondbacks are my personal favorite recent manufacture Colt revolver.
 
Collect it

I think it would be better as a collectors item than a shooter, if it is in near mint condx. Any wear you put on an out-of-print Colt deducts value. I myself had one for a short time. Did not find it to be very accurate with the .38 ammo I tried. Had loose throats. Since I got it for informal target work, not defense, I found that a negative for me. Shooting it felt like a J frame Smith, with the smaller dimensions of the gun. I personally prefer a medium frame revolver feel. I accept small snubs for their intended purpose, and have also gravitated away from large frames for informal shooting. I sold my D-back before I put any noticeable wear on it, it had been fired before I got it but only marked the cyl. notches a little. Nice looking gun and it will hold value or increase, but I just did not think it was for me, after shooting it. And you are right about having to get "experts" to work on it. I do my own work on Smiths. Modern Colts scare me.
 
I recently purchased one with a 2.5 inch barrel. It is easily the best snubby I have ever fired. Unlike other small frame revolvers, firing 158 gr. +P ammo is a pleasure. BUY IT!!!
 
Funny how things sort themselves out.

The CS9 can't be sold in the PRK. Don't know why the seller didn't post as much in his ad.

However, before I jumped on the Diamondback, I just had a 1894 Webley Mk II dangled under my nose....

Converted to .45ACP (too bad), but with some mild .45 Auto Rim it should be a nice shooter.

Now I just need to pick up a Martini-Enfield to go with it.
 
The Diamondback is a "D" frame, which is the same frame as the Detective Specials and Police Positive Specials. One can still get parts for them. They have the V mainsprings, which are sometimes found bent to the point of producing misfires on some used revolvers. The hand is another part to keep on hand.

Although I've a S&W fan, I've enjoyed tinkering with the Colt D-frames and often carried a Detective Special off duty or as a backup.
 
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