Last month my brothers and I took a roadteip to N Florida to visit a gun dealer my brother-in-law likes to buy from. We all decided to come back with rifles. As there was nothing I was particularly looking for or really craving at the time I went with the Diamondback DB-15 in Flat Dark Earth, it was a good deal. I haven't seen much about these rifles so I figured I'd give some first impressions now that I've put a couple hundred rounds through it.
Packaging:
The rifle comes in a nice Diamondback branded hard case. Nothing fancy but it's a decent case. Inside the case is a DB catalog and the user manual/standard stuff. It comes with 2 steel 30 round mags.
Rifle specs:
The DB-15 is a 16" M4 contour barrel, 5.56. Forged upper/lower recievers with T-marked upper. Forend is Diamondback's own modified quad rail, aluminum and free float. Buffer tube is Commercial and the stock is an ATI Strikeforce with adjustable cheek piece. A2 pistol grip and flash hider. Standard Milspec fire group and bolt. The rifle has a very nice 2-tone finish, FDE and black. Very nice combination.
My thoughts:
When the dealer got the rifle in and sent me pictures his exact words were "This is the prettiest AR I've ever seen." And it certainly is a very fine looking rifle. The only thing I dislike about the rifle is the ATI stock, but I knew that before I even ordered the rifle. The cheek piece keeps you from being able to charge the rifle when the stock is in the collapsed position. The cheek piece is removable but I plan on replacing the stock with a Magpul ACS-L. Just personal preference.
I didn't think I was going to like the forend as much as I do. It's very nice. I really like that it only has rails on the muzzle end. It makes it very nice in hand while still having the ability to mount your doodads where you would likely mount them anyways.
Fit and finish is quite nice. No sharp edges and no imperfections in the finish that I can find. Trigger is what you would expect from a basic milspec setup. It's a little heavy but it's very crisp with minimal pre travel.
At the range:
I put roughly 200 rounds through it on my first range trip. Mostly American Eagle 55gr FMJ. Brass cased, I try and stay away from the steel cased junk. I didn't shoot for groups really, I forgot my spotting scope and wasn't really able to fine tune the sights as well as I wanted but the target pictured is 30 rounds fired at 1 second +/- intervals with the forend rested, from an already warm barrel. At 50 yards. I will shoot for groups once I can really get out and tweak the sights.
I had 0 malfunctions or hiccups of any kind.
Now, on to the sights I chose: the Fab Defense (by Mako) RBS BUIS. i hadn't seen any info on these and couldn't really find any reviews but I really liked the look of them and the sight picture so I thought I'd give them a chance. I got them for $75 with free shipping on Amazon. Overall, I really like these sights. They do not pop up on their own, they have to be flipped up and it takes a firm hand. Once in place (up or down) they are solid with no play. It takes another firm snap to fold them down. To me they feel more solid than the Magpul sights and for less money. The only drawback I can find is that I believe the front post is non-interchangeable. The adjustments are easy to make and solid. Again, I really like these sights. They are a simplified, no nonsense backup sight that seem pretty bulletproof as far as polymer sights go. If you are on a budget or are just looking to an alternative to the Magpuls, these are definitely worth a look.
And now the sights:
I added the BCM
Packaging:
The rifle comes in a nice Diamondback branded hard case. Nothing fancy but it's a decent case. Inside the case is a DB catalog and the user manual/standard stuff. It comes with 2 steel 30 round mags.
Rifle specs:
The DB-15 is a 16" M4 contour barrel, 5.56. Forged upper/lower recievers with T-marked upper. Forend is Diamondback's own modified quad rail, aluminum and free float. Buffer tube is Commercial and the stock is an ATI Strikeforce with adjustable cheek piece. A2 pistol grip and flash hider. Standard Milspec fire group and bolt. The rifle has a very nice 2-tone finish, FDE and black. Very nice combination.
My thoughts:
When the dealer got the rifle in and sent me pictures his exact words were "This is the prettiest AR I've ever seen." And it certainly is a very fine looking rifle. The only thing I dislike about the rifle is the ATI stock, but I knew that before I even ordered the rifle. The cheek piece keeps you from being able to charge the rifle when the stock is in the collapsed position. The cheek piece is removable but I plan on replacing the stock with a Magpul ACS-L. Just personal preference.
I didn't think I was going to like the forend as much as I do. It's very nice. I really like that it only has rails on the muzzle end. It makes it very nice in hand while still having the ability to mount your doodads where you would likely mount them anyways.
Fit and finish is quite nice. No sharp edges and no imperfections in the finish that I can find. Trigger is what you would expect from a basic milspec setup. It's a little heavy but it's very crisp with minimal pre travel.
At the range:
I put roughly 200 rounds through it on my first range trip. Mostly American Eagle 55gr FMJ. Brass cased, I try and stay away from the steel cased junk. I didn't shoot for groups really, I forgot my spotting scope and wasn't really able to fine tune the sights as well as I wanted but the target pictured is 30 rounds fired at 1 second +/- intervals with the forend rested, from an already warm barrel. At 50 yards. I will shoot for groups once I can really get out and tweak the sights.
I had 0 malfunctions or hiccups of any kind.
Now, on to the sights I chose: the Fab Defense (by Mako) RBS BUIS. i hadn't seen any info on these and couldn't really find any reviews but I really liked the look of them and the sight picture so I thought I'd give them a chance. I got them for $75 with free shipping on Amazon. Overall, I really like these sights. They do not pop up on their own, they have to be flipped up and it takes a firm hand. Once in place (up or down) they are solid with no play. It takes another firm snap to fold them down. To me they feel more solid than the Magpul sights and for less money. The only drawback I can find is that I believe the front post is non-interchangeable. The adjustments are easy to make and solid. Again, I really like these sights. They are a simplified, no nonsense backup sight that seem pretty bulletproof as far as polymer sights go. If you are on a budget or are just looking to an alternative to the Magpuls, these are definitely worth a look.
And now the sights:
I added the BCM
