Finally ... Diamondback!!!

[rking22]

Finally found a shooter that the owner wasn't overly proud of! Actually a friend called me and told me it was for sale and he was to set value. Talk about an enabler!!!! Anyway I'll get it tomorrow and see how it shoots ASAP..

Any love for the little snakes???? it's a 4inch 38 made in 1976, very fun year for me, so that's cool too!
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll40/rkingk75/a6632baf-10da-4743-86e8-7d41044c31e3_zpstx9ejmvr.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/rkingk75/media/a6632baf-10da-4743-86e8-7d41044c31e3_zpstx9ejmvr.jpg.html)

[DerekP Houston]

I've handled a few in stores but they never quite drew my appeal. Looks like a handsome revolver.

Holy cow, I did not realize the value of these and spoke out of turn.

[Nueces]

I started loading up on them when they stopped production. Sometimes, that will depress prices for a bit, so I jumped in. I now have three 4" 38s, a 2 1/2" 38 and a 4" 22 LR. One of the 4" 38s is in line to become a 4" 32 H&R. I like the handsome little buggers.

[Ithaca Gunner]

I always admired em, but the only "D" frame Colts I ever owned were Detective Specials. (I'm a little envious)

[kmw1954]

Nice piece, should be fun.

[Scharfschuetze]

Nice looking revolver. Are the initials on the right side the previous owners?

Here's a sad story of about a Diamondback: My partner for a few years carried a Diamondback that he was quite fond of and shot very well. One night while chasing a bad guy, he had to climb over a chain link fence of some height. Somewhere along the line, his holster came unsnapped and while vigorously negotiating the fence, his Diamondback went for a short flight and then a long skid down the cement paved alley. Needless to say, your new snake looks to be in much better condition than his.

[Mk42gunner]

I never shot any of the .38's, but my cousins' uncle had both a 4" and 6" .22, along with one of the Ace's, that he let us kids shoot back in the 1970's. I liked them.

If I had been smart, I would have bought a few like Nueces did when they were affordable. I haven't even seen a beat up one with an asking price of less than $1600 for the last several years.

Robert

[Drm50]

A word of caution, I bought 4" 38 when they were 1st out. Very slick and accurate gun. I got a case of +P at a very good deal. During the next few months I shot up that whole case of +P.
Gun shot like a target gun, but I ruined it with steady diet of +P. Gun is to light to fire heavy
loads. Stick to standard velocity ammo and save your DB.

[shoot-n-lead]

Nice gun.

Back in the late 70's and early 80's, I always wanted a DB and a Python...tried several times to buy them as new they weren't really expensive for me at the time. But, I could not shoot them double action...the thickness of the gripframe from backstrap to frontstrap made the trigger reach too far for me to be able shoot them with a consistent pull...and I like to shoot double action...so, that prevented me from ever buying one.

[9.3X62AL]

Jewels. Absolute jewels. And I don't mean cubic zirconia, either.

[rking22]

Thanks folks, that is initials on the right frame side. I was told of the gun last year and thought the engraving was an electric pen,, sure glad that was not the case. I bought it from a friend of the original owner. If I understand correctly the original owner was a state trooper.
I have always regretted walking away from a 4 inch 22 way back when, so I let a mutual friend know I would be interested in the gun if it came up for sale. He sold the Diamondback to fund a Ruger 96 in 22,,, can't figure some folk :)
I was asked to help price it, I declined as I did not feel right setting a value on something I wanted (lusted after). When they told me the asking price, I said I think that will be fine with me if everyone else is happy. They were and I am happy, so all is good !
Now I need to sell a couple rifles to fund my son's new target shotgun, as I seem to have been dippin into the fund, but I wasn't passing up another DB :)

Will be feeding it mid range WC and Lee 125s at standard pressure, Got bigger stuff for shooting bigger stuff! Hopefully it likes the same loads as my 36-6, it gets coddled too.

[KA0811]

:Beautiful six-gun you have there. I'm envious. Have 3 or 4 Colt's.... but no Snakes. And at today's prices I would have to luck into one. Oh well:|

[contender1]

I had to look in this thread,,, as a friend has a 22 cal Diamondback. He's missing the knurled nut on the ejector rod, as he lost it over the years. It's get loose, he'd screw it back down, but never got around to putting any thread lock on it. It got lost.

We've been looking for a replacement for this nut, w/o luck lately.

He has a mind to sell his 22 DB but doesn't want to sell w/o it being "right." And yes,,, he knows what the current market is,,,, ! He'll be fair,,, but not taken advantage of.

[robertbank]

You don't want to know what the Snakes go for up here. Under the heading of shudda, & cudda for sure. $2K+ and that just starts the bidding.

Bob

[9.3X62AL]

MAJOR PROPS for going about the acquisition in the right way for the right reasons. Good on ya, sir.

Got to thinking about the 38 Special again, based on this post and other factors. It has been a LONG time since I carried a 38 Special for social purposes......close to 30 years. My old shop's authorized load is a +P, Rem 125 JHP (I think). The possible pending arrival of an Airweight snubgun so chambered caused me to confirm WHICH load is currently kosher with The Powers That Be. All of the D-Backs are +P rated, as is the AW if I move on it. I haven't loaded or fired a +P 38 Special in over 10 years, though--my current 38s are older (Colt in 1949 and S&W in 1965) and not built to manage them in large numbers--so I don't "go there". Having 357 Magnums in some numbers in the safe, the need for 38 +P seemed kinda silly--I just assembled soft 357s into 357 cases and shot those. A Lyman #358429 at 975-1000 FPS does a lot of things really well, and is pretty docile in most 357s. NO, I won't even consider one of those J-frame 357 Magnum belly guns. I don't need to light up adjacent hillsides at dusk while getting my gun hand bitten.

[Blackwater]

All the .38's I've ever shot have been very accurate with good ammo. The .22's, not so much, which was a real disappointment for me. I'd love to have one now. They're light to carry, fairly compact even with a 4" bbl., and in .38, really accurate in my experience. What's not to love. And beautiful, as well. It's a shame they're not making beautiful firearms these days in any quantity.

[DerekP Houston]

What's not to love. And beautiful, as well. It's a shame they're not making beautiful firearms these days in any quantity.

I find that a shame as well.....though I doubt any would compare to the real thing from back in the day. The old adage holds true for me at least, they don't make em like they used to.

[Nueces]

Thanks, Al.

These 5 were not the first 5 I ran into, but the remainders after years of trading. In 1976, when about to attend USAF UPT as a Captain (making more money than I ever had), I put in an order with a local tool dealer for a lifetime supply of Starrett and Brown & Sharpe machinist tools. Took 2 years for the order to be completed. One item was a Starrett dial bore gauge that could be set with a mike and could measure bores to a ten-thousandth.

I used this tool to measure all chamber throats in all revolvers, passing on those that were too large or out of round. I've passed on some real beauties with poor internals. My DB 22 is the second tightest 22 revolver I have, the first being a Colt Officer's Model Target. The OMT throats are all round and all measure 0.2221", just phenomenally perfect. With it, I can ring an 8" steel gong at 75 meters, offhand. The DB 22 measures 0.2231", just a silly mil more, but still very good. The consistency is wonderful. Most Smiths measure much larger, with a first model K-22 Outdoorsman (1931) coming in at 0.2277". These larger throats can benefit from use of a Paco Kelly tool to swage the bullets larger.

[rintinglen]

One of my groaners was the decision when my youngest daughter was born to sell my 22lr Diamondback and keep the K-22. To be fair, the K-22 shot better and had the better action, but the Diamondback was so pretty. I could buy a pair of K-22 for what they get for Diamondbacks these days.

[Blackwater]

Al, it's my understanding that the earlier guns, made some time in the mid-70's and earlier I believe the date is, were NOT +P rated but the 2nd gen. ones made after that, with the barrel shroud for the ejector rod ARE +P rated. Am I wrong in that? I thought I had it on good authority, and the only thing I don't like about my nickeled DS without the barrel shroud is that it's not +P rated, at least to my understanding. Who's right here? I'd love it even more if it WAS +P rated, but I can't damage a really great old specimen (like new) with too heavy a load! Been thinking about donating it to my DIL with some custom grips (made by me) just to fit her very small and dainty hands. I had her grip it once to make sure her trigger finger would reach, and it's actually just right with the factory grips, that are fairly narrow at the top. He would probably like std. vel. .38's better anyway, and with the right bullet, and good shot placement (I'll be teaching her that) it ought to do yeoman service in the event she had to shoot for her life one day.

I've heard for a long time that the older DS's don't stand up well to very many +P loads. Who's right on this????

[rking22]

Well , got it today, it's even better than he described! The initials and a very light holster wear on the left side of the muzzle are the only issues. It shoots my WC load very well, plinking at the creek, 15 to 20 yards. There is no perceptible endplay and the BC gap is tight. I'll do some measuring after I clean off the drool :)
No leading so I assume the throats are pretty decent, but it needs a good clean and lube. I shot a few DA but being used to a Smith it was a little weird, that's when I noticed it needs a lube. It is not as smooth as my Cobra in DA and I would think it should be very close. All in all I'm VERY happy, now for a Simply rugged that fits it for those fall days walking the woods.

[9.3X62AL]

BW--my understanding via FBI range/armory folks was the shrouded-rod DetSpecs are good to go with +P, earlier 1st & 2nd-series (to about 1969) are best left with standard pressure loads. Like any other mechanism, these will wear a little faster fired double-action with +P than if hammer-cocked and fed standard pressure loads. V-spring Colts just aren't as bullet-proof as S&Ws or Rugers, they come from a time when gunsmiths could be found about 2-3 per square mile in most cities. Good V-spring Colt 'smiths are one of few shooting elements more scarce than CCI rimfire ammo these days. My D-frame and I-frame Colts get hammer-cocked and hunted with these days......S&Ws and Rugers get the D/A work at my place, by virtue of there being a lot more parts available to fix them and a lot more folks able to do so.

[Lloyd Smale]

had a chance about 5 years ago to buy a like new nickel 38 for 300 bucks. Had just bought a third model 15 and didn't really think I needed it till I went home and found out what there worth. I raced back to the gunshop to buy it and found out my buddy whos smarter then me had walked in a bit after I left and snatched it up.

[Blackwater]

Thanks for the clarification, Al. That's what I thought. Mine's an older one, and REALLY has a VERY nice DA pull. The SA is just where I'd want it to be with a mildly trained woman or man. It's the first nickeled gun I've ever owned, and darned if I haven't just fallen in love with it. It just fits and points well with only a Tyler T grip on the factory stocks. I really want to carve some grips for it out of probably curly maple. I think the maple/nickel would really compliment each other, and it seems to matter more than it probably should if a woman simply likes her gun, and thinks it's "pretty." She's a real pearl of great price, and it'd be something I think she could appreciate and because of that, would probably shoot it more - always a great asset with a SD gun. And I think it's FAR more important to put a good, flat pointed bullet in the right place, than it is to drive it a little faster. A .38 can still do the job IF it's well placed, and that's the theme I'll use in training her with it, along with a lot of whatever loads prove to do best in it. There's NO substitute for accuracy, and I've worked too many cases where .22's have done good jobs to think a .38 isn't adequate. I like more myself, especially now that I'm not quite as quick or sure as I once was. The .45 and .44's are my favorites, and in the heat of summer, my little pocket .380 is always with me, even when carrying the bigger guns. Nothing we carry can give us more than a "fighting chance," and I've reconciled with that. She's smart, and realistic, and I think teaching her what's called "situational awareness" now, will be pretty easy. She's much more aware of her surroundings, typically, than most women are already. I wish all the gals I've taught were as prepared to learn as she'll be. And she's athletic, and quick on the uptake, and recognizes truth when she sees/hears it, and has little to no argument with it. I think it'll be the round peg in the round hole for her, especially if I can get those grips carved out. Thanks for the confirmation of what I've thought I long understood.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Attached are pictures of my Diamond Back, Detective Special and my K22. I bought the Diamond Back and the Special in gun shops. I paid a little under $400 each but they were bought many years apart. I have shot the D.Back once or twice and the special not at all. My wife has asked me several times why, and I tell her they are now worth too much money to shot. I should pass them on to someone who would like to shoot them but the way they keep going up in value it makes more sense to hang on for a while. In 1976 a coworker offered me a Python and a Diamond Back new in the box for $500, he needed new tires for his dune buggy. I didn't have the cash so I got my brother to buy them. He still has them and they are still in the box they came in, in fact they are still in the plastic wrappers. He also has four Colt Single Actions that I bought for him. With his money of course. They are also nib. I made the holster BTY but I am not left handed. I made a right hand one as well with the hope I would be able to find a 38 D.Back but they suddenly seemed to have disappeared from the market place. I never found one to buy and a friend had a 38 so I let him have the right hand holster.

[9.3X62AL]

Gopher Slayer's jewelry ensemble. VERY nice.

I'm with ya on the ammo question, BW. The current chase after a 38 snubby prompted me to ask the Old Shop which ammo was kosher these days for the 38 Special. The answer was basically "Any factory load you want to use". Surprising response, and I wish they felt that way about 9mm.....but I digress. Pretty difficult to beat the old FBI Load of a +P 158 LSWC-HP in any barrel length. They might lead things up a bit, but I do have Chore Boy and can load duplicators for practice very easily.

[robertbank]

Al because the <105MM guns are prhibitives up here those snub guns go for around $250 max IF you can find someone to sell them to. You have to have a special grand fathered license to own the guns and current owners must dispose of them or sell them off at some point as they cannot be passed on to someone who is not grand fathered. You can see at some point the guns will be destroyed. :<(

The snake guns with barrels >105MM are golden and are worth more........
Take Care

Bob