Just Announced: Diamondback DB FS Nine Pistol

Diamondback just announced the company’s first full-size pistol, the DB FS Nine.  The new handgun is a striker-fired gun with a polymer frame.  This new gun will no doubt be compared to the striker-fired guns already on the market, but it does offer a few interesting features that caught my eye.

Diamondback originally gave me a bit of teaser information on this pistol in the fall of 2012.  Of course, the mad rush for all things gun through 2013 delayed the introduction of a lot of new products from many companies.  I expect with the lines of AR-15 and compact pistols, Diamondback probably had their collective hands full with fulfilling orders on existing products last year.

What I find to be particularly attractive about this pistol is the width.  The published width on the DB FS Nine is 1″.  That puts it slightly wider than the single stack Springfield XD-S (0.9″) and Bersa BP9CC (0.94″), but considerably thinner than the Glock 17 (1.18″) and Smith & Wesson M&P (1.2″).  Of course, these are the manufacturer provided widths for all of these pistols, and each company may measure in a different location.  Even with the thinner measurement, the magazines still hold 15 rounds.

The gun has a 4.75″ long chromoly steel barrel, slightly longer than many of the competing models from Glock, Springfield Armory and Smith & Wesson.  When compared to the Glock 17, for example, the Diamondback handgun has a longer barrel, but shorter sight radius and shorter overall length.

Specifications

• caliber:  9mm
• magazine capacity:  15 rounds
• barrel length:  4.75″
• sight radius:  6.25″
• weight (unloaded):  21.5 oz
• width:  1″
• overall length:  7.8″
• height:  5.6″
• trigger pull:  double-action, 5.5 lbs

Lipsey’s lists the MSRP of the Diamondback DB FS Nine as $483.00.

I look forward to shooting one of these new pistols.  Some people claimed to have problems with the original DB380 and DB9 handguns.  However, I did not.  Mine ran quite well, as did one of my shooting partner’s.  I got incredibly good performance from the Diamondback DB15 pistol I reviewed.  Considering how long I believe the company has been working on these new pistols, I expect they have done quite a bit testing and expect they are releasing a solid pistol.