By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
When it comes to Colt’s family of “snake” guns—which started with the Python and expanded to include such legends as the Cobra, King Cobra and Anaconda—the one I wish would come back would be an updated version of the Diamondback.
I’ve written about this .38 Special sixgun before and hope to write about it sometime over the horizon, but right now seems like a good time to extol the virtues of my often-overlooked member of Colt’s reptile wheelguns. While the Python, Cobra, King Cobra and Anaconda seem to have arisen from the wheelgun cemetery, the Diamondback doesn’t seem to have enjoyed the same resurrection.
I’ve often referred to the Diamondback as a beefed-up Detective Special with a vent rib barrel, wide target-type hammer featuring the firing pin, an adjustable rear sight, blade front sight with glare-defeating serrations. Adding the vent rib to the Diamondback’s full underlug barrel to capitalize on the eye-popping profile of the Python.
While the Diamondback earned screen presence as Steve McQueen’s handgun in “Bullitt” with a 2 ½-inch barrel, and as John Wayne’s 4-inch sidearm in the early scenes of “McQ” and then “Brannigan,” with a brief appearance in the Burt Reynolds action flick “Sharky’s Machine,” it never came even remotely close to becoming an icon, as did the Model 29 Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum carried through five “Dirty Harry” films.
What makes the Diamondback tick? Why is there something of a cult following for the one “snake” gun Colt hasn’t brought back?
Well, it may be a combination of things.
- It’s a tougher revolver than I think some folks give it credit for being, provided, of course, you don’t run down to the range to fire red hot handloads through it just to see how much punishment this gun can take.
- It has a very smooth action, both single- and double-action, with a smooth trigger, wide serrated hammer spur and a sight setup which actually works rather well, as I’ve demonstrated many times using a couple of good handloads. More about that in a minute.
- The heavier barrel does contribute to stability, recoil reduction and accuracy, in my opinion.
- It carries well, whether in a traditional belt holster, a pancake-style rig or even a rough-out IWB holster I built for my gun some ten years ago.
- With the 4-inch barrel, it is my opinion that the Diamondback is a very well-balanced wheelgun worthy of carry anywhere, tucked inside a three-piece suit or under a down hunting vest.
I have seen Diamondbacks for sale at gun shows, with asking prices triple what someone might have paid for a new one back in the 70s or 80s. I once turned down a Diamondback snubby offered to me for $1,300! “Uh, no thanks. I want to sleep in my own bed tonight!”
Swapped Grips
Not long after acquiring my Diamondback about 16 years ago, I swapped out the factory grips for a set of “Detective” stocks from Herrett’s. These grips, made from checkered walnut, fit my hand like the proverbial glove. Featuring wrap-around checkering, Herrett’s crew added a superb finish, and because the grips are slightly tapered toward the butt, this gun conceals rather well under even a light cover garment.
The factory grips, again designed to resemble those of the Python, seem a bit too large for this size gun, an observation shared by the late Skeeter Skelton when he did a review of the Diamondback about four decades ago.
In my opinion, the Herrett replacement grips help manage recoil by fitting “just so” in the palm of the gun hand.
Somewhere I also have a Pachmayr one-piece checkered rubber grip, which I use occasionally during the wet winter months, and they also help tame recoil, which isn’t bad when compared to that of the .357 Magnum or .41 Magnum sixguns with which I am more closely associated.
Over the years, I’ve built holsters for this gun which have served well in all kinds of environments. As noted earlier, my rigs are all made from quality vegetable tanned leather.
Reloading
Over the course of many years, I’ve reloaded enough .38 Special ammunition to settle on some favorite, and for the Diamondback, which does not get a diet of +P+ loads, I’ve come up with a couple of reliable choices. I never deliberately run beyond-rational hot loads in any of my sixguns, though I’ve encountered others who do this sort of thing. I’ve seen some nice guns pushed beyond the limit because of such nonsense, and I’m never sympathetic to anybody who complains his handloads knocked a wheelgun “out of time.”
There is the 125-grain JHP over 4.7 grains of Hodgdon HP-38. This load clocks about 900 fps and out of my Diamondback’s 4-inch barrel, it stays well within the black at 25 yards offhand, and I can bounce a tin bean can around at longer ranges. You can find similar recommendations in the Hodgdon Annual Manual.
With the same weight bullet, I can run 6.2 grains of CFE Pistol as the charge and get just over 1,000 fps.
Switching to a 110-grain JHP, I’ll boost the powder charge to 6.5 grains of CFE for a muzzle velocity topping 1,100 fps.
Of course, your mileage may vary, but these loads have satisfied me. They are good for small game up to coyotes, bobcats and the like, and would likely acquit themselves in a self-defense scenario.
I wet tumble my brass in a Lyman tumbler, and cases come out shining like new. Each case is full-length resized in a carbide die, and if there is any question about trim length, I check cases with a caliper and bring them back into spec accordingly. The trim length is 1.145-inch.
I typically grab a dozen rounds out of each batch of reloaded ammunition just to check muzzle velocity and whether the bullets go where they are aimed. My reloads are all stored in plastic boxes.
My loaded Diamondback weighs just over 30 ounces, which isn’t a lightweight, but neither is it too heavy to be packing all day. It’s essentially about the same weight as my Lightweight Commander in .45 ACP, yet it “feels” a little lighter when carried in a comparable IWB rough-out rig.
I’ve never felt under-gunned when packing the Diamondback. It has joined me on the trail, and I’ve taken it along on firewood cutting trips in areas where there are black bears, mountain lions and other potential unpleasantness.
Despite its alleged weaknesses, which I’ve never observed, the Colt Diamondback is no stay-at-home wheelgun. With the summer months looming, I’ll be packing my Diamondback along for its concealability, accuracy and reliability. That’s about the highest compliment I can give.
