Diamondback Shooting Sports — Attraction in Tucson

I'm not generally motivated to write reviews, let alone negative ones, but my interaction and experience here was so frustrating and disappointing that I feel the need to. I had a firearm delivered here for FFL transfer on the 21st. The usual wait time from the multitude of other FFLs I've interacted with is usually 24-48 hours from delivery to the firearm being ready to pick up. On the 24th, with no communication from Diamondback, I call and am informed that due to the "hundreds" of transfers they process daily, my firearm is not ready for pickup and they have no ETA for when it will be ready. I am then told that I will receive a text/email when it is ready. That's fine, patience is a virtue.

Three more days pass with no communication. I call again on the 27th and am told that my firearm has been ready for two days now. I'm mildly exasperated but happy to finally get going on the transfer. I arrive at the store at about 2 PM and then wait 45 minutes for one of the three visible employees to even acknowledge me or any of the other customers that have come in. This employee takes the IDs of me and another customer waiting on a transfer and disappears into the backroom. Many minutes pass, people walk out having never been acknowledged by an employee, the other customer and I commiserate over the wait time. After another 20 minute wait, the employee returns with my firearm but not that of the other customer's. He leaves, thoroughly defeated, and I am handed a 4473 to fill out and promptly abandoned again for another 10-15 minutes.

At this point a lady with a nametag of "Dee" takes notice of me and finally gets my 4473 processed and sent up to the register for checkout, where the cashier apparently has to enter almost all of the paperwork information yet again before I can actually pay and leave. I would like to thank Dee for her politeness and promptness in taking care of me and finally getting my transfer finished speedily.

I finally leave the store at around 4:30 PM.

While this is not strictly related to my experience, I feel the need to comment on the dearth of actual guns and ammo in the fairly large store. The majority of the salesfloor is taken up by accessories and clothing, with thin and spaced out displays of actual guns along one wall and a few counters.

The store seems remarkably understaffed, and what employees are there are fairly lackadaisical in serving or even acknowledging customers when they come in. This has been my own personal experience and yours may vary or be quite different, but as it stands I cannot recommend this store for FFL transfers or serious firearm purchases. I sincerely hope they can find sufficient staffing and a larger in-store inventory, I would like to shop there again if these issues...

Don't know who the older gentleman was at the door today, March 22nd around 3:30 pm, but he is the reason your shop is receiving a 1 star review!

I had not even been into your store and this is the type of review you are getting. Now I understand the world is going crazy at the moment and quite frankly I wanted to see if this is true. As well I have been on the edge of purchasing my first AR built or buying a kit and building. When this comes up I like to visit a shop, look around and do my research and ask questions, if the shop is well informative and can sell me, usually I will leave with something. Well not today, I called my friend and asked him about Diamondback and said they are the only store open today and he recommended them with excellent service (he has bought 2 AR's from this location). When we arrived it was barely 3:30 pm, we parked my truck and walked to the door. To my surprise a gentleman held the door open and I figured it was respectful and kind due to the virus protocol. As we approach him, no welcoming words just straight to the point asking us what are we there for?? Caught me off guard so responding, "wanting to see if we can get 9mm ammo." He replied, "nope we don't have any." Then I responded, "how about some AR's?" His response, "nope none." Then again I ask, "what about some AR build kits?" Again, "Nope only lowers." At that point my friend and I felt awkward, never have we been questioned why we are going to a shop, and the older gentleman came off rude. At that point we decided to walk away and leave. As we left we noticed another gentleman approach the store (older than us) and he allows him into the store, no confrontation. Don't know if we witnessed Ageism today or what but honestly it's bothered me all day. Why wouldn't you want me to enter your store, look around and most likely leave with merchandise? I usually visit Trail Boss Outfitters and somehow get talked into leaving with something! I am impulsive, like to be sold and honestly wanted to visit your store to get talked into purchasing something and now you lost my business! I may visit again but for now I'll just continue my business with Trail Boss Outfitters in Vail. They may be a drive but they are family owned and treat everyone with respect and have great quality merchandise as well...

So far I have taken 3 of their training classes, they are great, they are fun, but very strict on safety rules, as they should be. They offer rentals for all of their classes. I’ve been in the shop a few times as well, every time I’ve been there, the staff was always helpful, the guns were clean (including the used ones) the store was clean, they were fairly well stocked on attachments, uppers, lowers, and extra accessories you may want or need. Shoutout to Zane, Mike, and Sean. Mike is the training director, he is bubbly and super cool dude, but an absolute badass. Sean, super funny, he is the CRSO for the training programs. Also an absolute unit with a firearm, he put 10 rounds same spot at 25 yards. He was very knowledgeable. Zane, a really cool dude, also a tremendous shooter, does well at explaining things in a way that makes them easily understood. All the times I took the classes, they were there helping and making sure everything was being done right, and helping you build good habits, instead of bad ones. They modify the drills to be more fluid in everyday life, or just all around better experiences. By the end of all three I was fairly proficient with handguns, and ok with rifles. I would heavily recommend the Carbine Lvl 1 course and the Intro to Handguns course. Both are almost necessary before you buy either of those classes of weapons, they go in depth with the parts and pieces that help it function. They explain the different types of ammo, firearms, whether it’s a revolver, striker fired, or hammer. They explain the components and what to do if something goes wrong. They explain the different types of malfunctions. It is a good family thing as well. I went by myself for intro to handguns the first time, and loved it so much that I took it again and brought my parents along. They also took the carbine course with me as well, we all had a blast. The classes are not packed, they limit the classes to 8 people. The weather at the outdoor range could get wicked at times, so bring lots of sunscreen during the summer months, and bring lots of water as well. They do have a bathroom at the range, and a very safe background when shooting, maybe 15 meter berm surrounding the place. All around good people, have not purchased a gun from them yet, but definitely will in the...