Diamondback DBX – Dual Piston Pistol

Diamondback Firearms announced the new DBX pistol at SHOT Show 2020. The new gun is chambered for the 5.7×28 cartridge and has a variety of interesting features that might grab your attention.

So, let’s not dally about and jump right in.

General Information

The new Diamondback DBX is in the general style of an AR pistol, but it should be readily apparent that it is not as simple as that.

Diamondback Firearms manufactured this semi-automatic pistol as a locked-breech design with a dual-piston gas system. I’m looking forward to getting some time with this gun to see how the system is designed.

Unlike some of the alternatives, this is a bottom feeder with the magazines inserting in the AR-standard position. The gun runs on FN Five-seveN 20-round magazines. However, the company has also announced that a second gun that will feed from the Ruger-57 pattern magazines will also be released. One magazine is included.

The 8″ barrel is threaded. It comes fitted with the company’s new DBX muzzle device.

Up front, the forend has M-LOK attachment points on the left, right and bottom for a wide range of accessories. Included with the gun is a Magpul handstop kit. For a gun this short, I like that the company includes this as a standard accessory.

Diamondback includes a side folding arm brace with the pistol. It attaches to the Picatinny rail on the butt end of the gun.

Specifications

Here is a breakdown of the Diamondback DBX specifications:

	Diamondback DBX
caliber	5.7x28
capacity	20+1
barrel length	8"
overall length	16.1" without brace
height	7.3" without sights
weight	3 lbs with empty magazine, without brace
frame	7075 aluminum
finish	hardcoat anodized matte black
MSRP	TBD

What Gives?

The new Diamondback DBX is one of several new guns recently announced for the 5.7×28 cartridge. Additionally, there have been some new ammo additions like the Speer Gold Dot self-defense load.

Why the sudden surge of interest in this cartridge?

I don’t have any inside information, but I believe all three guns were developed independently. This suggests that the sales and design teams at three different companies reached the same conclusion on the market data they had. That conclusion: there is enough market demand for guns chambered for the cartridge to make the projects financially viable.

So, what happens when three companies move to satisfy the same demand?

In this case, I believe it will work out well for all of the companies.

Starting with the Ruger-57, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the cartridge. When CMMG announced its own rifles and pistols (along with AR conversion kits) in 5.7×28, even more people took notice. With a third company jumping into the pool, it will make a lot of people ask “What am I missing?”

Will those people turn into buyers? I think a lot of them will. With the support of premium ammunition for self-defense, target shooting and small game hunting, the cartridge suddenly has a life I did not expect to see.

I look forward to a Diamondback DBX review, but what do you think? It is hard to carry concealed – after all, you can’t slip it into a Ruger-57 holster, but for a home defense weapon, it might be a great choice. Are you interested in this cartridge and/or pistol?