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Llama 1911 .380 question

4K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Rex B 
#1 ·
Stopped at one of our LGS after work and came across a Llama Model 1911 .380 pistol. Used, looks pretty good at least sitting in the display case. I had stopped to look for a soft range bag that would hold 3-4 pistols and came across this firearm. Not sure if it is a II, III or IIIA? Do not know the date of manuf. Asking price is $229. Hope the members of this forum can give some advice on this firearm. Have never owned a Spanish pistol and am wondering about parts availability. In hind sight I should have handled it but was more focused on the range bag.
Any thoughts or wisdom on these pistols appreciated.
 
#4 ·
Those mini-1911s were made from about 1940 until 2005 or so. The Model 3 made up until the mid-1950s is the most desirable, being a near-perfect miniature 1911, with excellent finish and a true locking barrel like the Colt. They are identified by the straight grips and lack of a slide rib. If the store has one of those, buy it quickly as they sometimes bring some serious money. Later model IIIAs generally have a curved grip and a pronounced slide rib. My personal rule is "The bigger the slide rib, the less I am interested".

Note: All Spanish firearms made after 1927 have a date code stamped on them. On that llama it will be on the left side of the frame, above the trigger guard. See the forum stickies for the code chart, or google "Spanish pistol date codes". If that pistol was made before the late 1960s, you should definitely buy it. IMO guns made from around 1958 until 1995 were of lower quality and typically sell for the price range you are seeing. The latest 380s were made better, and have (again) no slide rib.

That's a quick primer, without checking exact years or noting variations. Hope it helps

More information here: http://www.carbinesforcollectors.com/llamapage.html

The site owner also sells replacement wood grips for a very reasonable price. http://www.4sgrips.com/
 
#5 ·
Stopped at the LGS this afternoon after work. Pistol had been sold earlier in the day. The clerk was unsure of the date of manuf. but said that it was stamped Stoeger on the slide.

Oh well. Thank you for all the information and direction. Greatly appreciated.
 
#8 ·
He who hesitates......absolutely correct in my case. But....hope springs eternal as I have the day off tomorrow and plan to take a short road trip to a LGS about 30-40 minutes from my home that I have never visited before. Might even find a little time to stop off at the range.
 
#9 ·
Rex, Great post but you took all the wind out of my often lengthy replies to the neat little Star and Llama pistols. Clbj61, If you are looking for a real shooter Llama watch GB for a Llama Micro Max...looks like a baby 1911 with enhanced features, well made but a little snappier than their predecessors as they are blow back and not locked breech. The chrome pistols are nicer finished but the flat blue pistols shoot just as well. I took one of my flat Micro's and had it Cerakoated FDE....really cool now. The Micro Max should go for $400 + or -.
 
#10 ·
Llama did do a good job resurrecting the Micromax. It is a nice, little pistol.
However, if I lay my money down it will be for their Especial, locked breech model.
That pistol(s) has won me over for a great shooting .380.
 
#11 ·
Agreed Larry, my locked breech Llamas are good shooters and display less recoil than the blowback pistols. Seems like most on GB are ribbed pistols and the quality oof those is all over the place from excellent to does not work very well. It seems there was a last ditch effort by Llama to listen to what customers wanted, removed the rib and generally brought the quality back in line. I have a Equador AF Micro (contract cancelled before delivery) that is reminiscent of the earlier pistols quality.
 
#13 ·
I have had my eye out for one of the latest models, no rib, red plastic box. So far I haven't found a decent deal on one. In fact, it's been a year or more since I laid eyes on one at a gun show.

I do have a Model 1 and a model 3 that I will post in classifieds pretty soon.
 
#16 ·
I never bought a blowback Llama, and the locked breech really does make it very close to a true 1911, if you take the sear and hammer and disconnector out and lay them on a table they look exactly like a 1911's but 2/3 size. Clearly the attempt was to make a miniature 1911.

The differences are few, external extractor, stupid miserable loaded chamber indicator on later models, and then there is the stupid raised rib, which no one ever wanted AFAIK. The rear sight on the one I tuned yesterday is a neat design, my own must have the it too. There are two opposed cone point set screws against a 1/8" ball bearing ball, tightening the screws forces the bal downward into a divot in the bottom of the dovetail. That divot effectively anchors the sight from side to side, so when you loosen one don't loosen too far or it will fall out and that ball will disappear. Don't ask how I know. It's actually an effective easy to manufacture rear windage sight!

BTW, many of these guns earned their nickname "Jammomatic", because quality assurance was not a big priority apparently. The one I did yesterday was jamming because the extractor was ever so slightly too wide in it's slot, I surface ground .0006" off the sides and did nothing more, and that freed it up. The gun shoots well now. That's 6 tenths of one thousandth of an inch!
So finding what makes it a jammer is becoming a detective, obviously a mechanical problem, or, much worse, several. Check everything out carefully on a good weapon like it and see if you can find something different, then make that the same on the jammer.:cheers:
BTW, anyone who needs a recoil spring plug, don't PM me, I don't read them often enough, just go to my website at http://www.partsproduction.com/
 
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