AlongCameJones

I was an American soldier for seven years. I was issued M16s (AR-platform weapons), trained with them and even scored Expert on qualification. Tell me I have no AR experience.

No, I will not purchase a Diamondback DB-15 without going to the dealer and looking at them in person. My nearest Diamondback Firearms factory-authorized dealer is Murf's Guns in Duncan, Oklahoma some 30 miles away.

Having seen these neat-looking Diamondbacks on the Web the other day definitely has me interested in them. Last year I bought a new Ruger American Ranch bolt-action rifle in 5.56 with shooting rats and plinking in mind but this firearm was total crap in build quality. The bolt was tough to close on a live round in the chamber. I sent the gun back Ruger for warranty repair in March but still it was doing the same thing. You had to slam the bolt shut and manhandle it to get it closed. I finally sold this stupid gun on Armslist just five days ago. These Ruger Americans also have a low-grade matte finish that easily erodes away from cleaning the gun with a toothbrush.

I now think about buying a nice but not too expensive AR-based gun for rats, plinking and preppring. Diamondback AR-based weapons are touted to have MOA or better out of the box. An AR is certainly more fun to shoot rats with than cheesy bolt-action and an AR does have the COOL factor. 5.56 ammo can be had for a song in bulk. It makes a better prepper weapon than a bolt action too. 30-round capacity and it's completely semi-automatic! It's semi-automatic but think how much faster it is to fire repeatedly than a bolt action for dealing with looters or invading commies? I think it's exciting to own an "evil black gun" the media and Democrats hate so much.

This gun makes my heart palpitate to watch in action!! This DB AR is touted to practically never malfunction even though she prudently "SPORTS" a forward assist. It's not likely one would ever have to perform SPORTS in battle with a DB-15. My mil-spec M16s seldom,if ever, jammed on the range with live ball or tracer ammo, and never during qualification; only with blanks and sometimes even with blank adapters.

Slap up on magazine
Pull charging handle and hold rearward without using bolt catch
Observe through ejection port: does round eject, is there a dent in the primer, are there obstructions in the breech area?
Release charging handle without riding forward to chamber new round
Tap forward assist a couple times
Shoot weapon

mrbb

how many RATS have you actually ever shot in the past 10 yrs??

AlongCameJones

I have pretty much been out of recreational shooting since the late 1990's over other interests like boating, boating, camping, fishing and hiking. Guns for me only have been for home and personal security in between: not for fun. Only recently has the sport shooting and hunting bug reentered my mind. The last rodents (rats, figuratively speaking) and game animals I killed with a gun were in 1996: ten ground squirrels on a private ranch in NorCal in the afternoon and one morning-time deer that same day, Oct. 15, 1996. I have since killed mice with traps. I have frequented indoor gun ranges a few times to fire my revolvers and Remington police pump shotgun. Attached is my 1996 little buck shot that morning. I relieved Mr. Rourke, my guide rancher, of ten nasty gophers from his spread that afternoon. Here is my Remington 870 Express Tactical pump gun on the bedroom wall and two Smith & Wessons attached. I attach these pictures to show I am and have been a serious firearms owner and not some Internet nitwit. My Smith Model 686 PLUS at overall 8.50" and 3" barrel just shoehorns into my fanny pack. I would carry this into black bear or cougar country. Just got her new three weeks ago. My Smith Airweight .38 +P is for everyday city carry. The bigger 7-shot Smith would be for concealed carry in the woods or hip-holster carry as a hunting sidearm. The bigger L-frame Smith would also be a spare pistol for city carry in case the Airweight becomes unavailable. The J-frame aluminum Airweight is so much lighter to carry around a lot in CC Oklahoma. I would have rather had an older model Smith, a Model 619 K-frame in satin stainless as my .357, but I can't find a preowned one in nice condition anywhere. I really wish I had my 1971 Colt Lawman Mark III .357, 4" barrel, royal blue, which was sadly lost in a 1999 home burglary along with six other guns including my grandfather's Savage Model 1899 and his beautiful Husqvarna .308 Model 3000 Crown Grade bolt-action. I lost my poor Mossberg 500 as well and that nice Browning A-Bolt II BOSS .25-06 with Leupold you see me holding in my deer picture. A Browning Citori 12 ga. over/under was lost as well as a Browning AG-500 autoloading shotgun. Yes, I recovered the money on the insurance claim.

mrbb

so you again are talking about things you have NOT even done
how would you know a .2223/5.56 is good for shooting rats
and further more where in the heck are there rats to be shot with them?
you bring up words like some Internet nitwit
but sadly the things you type on forums is not showing us that your NOT one!

you ramble on about things again you have ZERO experience on or in
based on things you watched or read, having ZERO clue if what your posting is accurate or not! and most of it is NOT
any IDIOT can OWN a gun if they qualify , that doesn't make them an expert or an experienced gun owner or shooter!

being in the Military, also doesn't make one any sort of a GUN expert or shooter, even if they QUALIFIED as expert
as after basic training most folks in the military NEVER fire a gun again or very often!
posting pictures of guns means nothing as any one can POST a picture of guns, even one's they DON"T own!
EVEN you have already done this on the other forum your on??
its NOT proof that you own what you CLAIM to,
that's the problem with the world wide web, lots of folks PRETEND to be something there not or claim things they don't have!

You stated you had a Ruger rifle,. but found it crude and disliking
well its a basic entry level rifle, NOT a custom shop or custom higher end rifle
that's common knowledge and can be found online if one doesn't know this by knowing things about rifles!

you seem to have issue's with many of the guns you have, which would also be a red flag to your experience level with them,
as guns do get inspected before you take ownership?
and if damaged happen after that, again??

you seem awfully concerned about details on things, yet fail to notice them before you BUY, why is this, if your skilled with firearms?
do you not do research before buying? notice things before buying?

I have owned several hundred firearms, and sold several thousand, pretty much knew what I was getting before making any payments or sales!
so, lets see, your Ruger you didn;t like, went back to factory for issue's and disliked it still afterwards to the point of calling it CRAP< yet you bought it?

your mossberg you also disliked(minus the OLD one) and you also sent them a complaint about there quality on there guns?
again there 500's are not HIGH end shotguns, , the price of them reflect the quality of the products fit and finish! typically!

your hunting experience pretty much ALL happened ONCE ONE DAY!
which basically means you have ZERO hunting experience, , more shooting practice at live animals
as you did NOT do the hunting a guide TOOK you and found you game to SHOOT

not trying to beat on you here, just starting facts based on things you told us?
again, if you WISH to ask questions, thats great and were here to TRY and help you

but when you ask a question and they go on to add context based on things you read NOT knowing if there true or not, and the FACTS you DON"T have much shooting experience or knowledge on firearms in general
it discredits any VALUE to your topic's and posts!

in order to learn, you have to STOP acting as if you know something when you really DON"T
and if you want real experience, you have to actually go do things to get it, NOT talk about it or watch video's on a subject!

MY guess is if, someone put 10 AR 15's in front of you all the same builds , but by different makers you couldn;t tell the difference in things on them
as your little experience in the military so long ago, has sine faded a LOT! which is NORMAL
so to CLAIM you like "X" brand based on your SKILLS is a JOKE to folks that actually know Firearms and why and what makes one better or not than another!

AlongCameJones

I could post copies of receipts of my guns, of course, those could be faked too. Rats, like gophers, is a term for any rodents, particularly pests.I shot my ten ground squirrels up to 100 yards with .25-06 ammo, $1 each per round. One squirrel even had his brain and face missing. I think 5.56 is much cheaper ammo per round for the task.

Does anybody here care to dispute the killing effectiveness of 5.56 vs any other rifle cartridge for rodents? I'm all ears. I even killed a stray peacock with my former Remington Nylon 66 .22 LR at 5 yards. The damn bird was causing me property damage and was on my private property back in 1992.

Nomercy448

Frankly, bragging on 7 years of service and qualifying expert as “experience” with AR-15’s - which we also know would have been decades ago - is indicative that you really don’t understand the breadth and depth of the current AR market in 2021.

Among the AR market, Diamondback rifles are relatively low quality, low cost, low performance. It’s pretty hard to mess up an AR, and it’s not hard to make an AR shoot ~1moa (I’ve built over 600 which all do). They’ll go bang and feed most ammo - which isn’t saying much. If you found a Ruger American to be garbage (asinine, but it’s your taste), then you’ll find the Diamondbacks to be worse. There ARE factory AR’s which could draw my money, and DB’s are a long, long ways from making that list.

AlongCameJones

Of course, everybody on the Web is going to bad-mouth a product that is not their favorite. I do think for the most part, I'm better off finding vintage guns. A person doesn't have to be an AR pundit to own an AR and fire one safely and effectively.

I do know the AR market now is much more complicated than it used to be. There's more brands out there now than I count all both hands and feet. Before Bushmaster came on the scene (late 1990's????) you just had to know COLT, one brand, and that was it.

Nomercy448

In sales industry, this is known as a close minded, self-justifying buyer. This is the kind of buyer who ignores market and product realities to convince themselves of an unrealistic illusion. The question posed was whether the Diamondback AR’s are “great rifles,” and among the fleet of AR’s on the market the answer is “no.” They make decent AR’s at decent prices; nothing about them is a bargain and you’re not getting more than your money’s worth from them, but you’re also not paying for hyper elite quality or performance, nor paying reputation premiums, and not paying for non-functional, non-performance enhancing tacticool aesthetic attributes common to some brands. DB’s are just AR’s.

This further exposes your naïveté of the AR market. Bushmaster started making AR’s in the early 1970’s, and were already civilian market leaders before the federal AWB in 1994. Before the “late 1990’s,” DPMS was already cranking out parts and rifles, fully established as the “every man’s AR” at the time. Armalite weren’t as popular because they were harder to find, more expensive, but they were around to be had even on box store shelves. Remember - AR’s were popular enough by the EARLY 1990’s that Democrats drafted the federal AWB to ban them, so it’s silly to pretend there was only one maker in the game, trickling rifles out into the market.

But what we were doing 20-30 years ago has zero bearing on what’s going on today.

mrbb

when you ask a question like this, its pointless
as what is the difference in a dead"X" over another Dead 'x" ! as dead ids dead no??

IF one wishes to use use larger calibers to shoot small animals, or uses smaller calibers to kill them, its a personal choice again? and many will argue that THERE caliber of choice is the BEST or BEST for them!@

BEST is an impossible part of a question to ever be answered period!
and proof calibers are all over from large to small??

a .22 rim fire has been known to kill about every animal ever hunted l in the world that lives on land!
from the largest to the smallest!

BUT when you ask about killing effectiveness of a 5.56/.233
this is a question missing a LOT of DATA in order to even attempt to answer it

as its NOT just teh caliber that matters, its the BULLET type that actually does the killing part or NOT
SO< without knowing the LOAD data of a bullet your using, the Range /distance of the animal being targeted
its a question that has no answer again without knowing the details your trying to find DATA on!


NOW as for this part of your post??

Of course, everybody on the Web is going to bad-mouth a product that is not their favorite. I do think for the most part, I'm better off finding vintage guns

this is a rather ignorant view,a s this is very inaccurate, most folks on MOST honest forums, don't brand BASH,. when asked about a brand(yes some maybe do, but its Not EVERYBODY !!
as a fact most members here do not at all, we WILL voice our opinions, but then again when asked about something, that is a what you will get!
and NO one here BAD mouthed this brand,
we gave you info/opinions we have on them , that's all!

NEXT<

I do think for the most part, I'm better off finding vintage guns
why do you think this period
the modern guns made today, are pretty much better in all ways, minus a few odds and ends guns made yrs ago, that are no longer made!

the tech today is capable of holding tighter tolerances on mass produced guns, using better parts on many(due to the fact the flaws in older guns shown themselves and things have been changed to correct issues they had)

if you think older guns are better, you again show your lack of knowledge on firearms

I Know you LIKE pretty blueing on guns, and that sadly I agree with you on that has gone down hill,l on MANY guns, NOT ALL,
it however is due top the FACT that the majority of Buyers DON"T care or even want high gloss bluing any more period,
and OEM makers have gone away from high end wood stocks and high gloss blueing to stay viable in business!
providing what SELLS<
ALL OEM"S still offer higher grades to there guns if you wish to ORDER them with it, you can still get HIGH end bluing from most ALL factories
and can for sure have them re done if one wanted too, and done so rather simply, There are also better coatings than blueing offered as well
and NO shortage of custom wood stocks to make a gun how ever you want it too look!
Oem's simply figured out that BUYERS want guns to be more reliable, accurate,durable and lower costing, over pretty and fancy! thus why you don't see many high gloss guns in gun shops anymore!


the part I think you dislike is the FACT, that higher end LOOKING guns, COST more, and your expecting OEM"s should sell them for less to make you happy!
which, isn' going to happen!
even fine used OLDER guns, will bring premium price tags
and many of them will have ZERO warranty or buyer support, as most ALL OLDER gun company's have changed owner ship over the decades and older one's made by other owner's many times will NOT have any support for FREE! or at all!
so buying Vintage guns from a GUY that knows so little about Gun's, isn't something I would suggest here?? sounds like just more disappointment for you and issue's you cannot solve yourself!

AlongCameJones

Older guns just look better to my eyes. I've owned a 1971 Colt Lawman Mark III in 4" barrel and both a 1970's-vintage Colt Series 70/Mark IV and a pre-Series 70 Government Model that had lovely smooth bluing and crisp impeccable letter markings. There's no beating the cosmetic quality of common service pistols made by Colt prior to 1980. Which is prettier to your eyes? A mint 1964 Cadillac Eldorado convertible or any modern plasticar?

I have a lot of EMOTIONS about guns. Most here fail to understand that. I HATE cosmetic sloppiness, period. The gun, old or new, has to look machined and finished neat or it doesn't make my cut.