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  #1  
Old 09-27-2020, 04:27 PM
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Default Flea market find

I found this little Llama .22 today at the flea market I couldn't leave it sitting on the table for $200. I would like to hear what you know about the pistol, I know there not the best quality, but from what I read there not junk.
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Old 09-27-2020, 04:44 PM
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Internet wisdom seems to be that if you get one that runs, they're great. If you get one that doesn't, they can be pricey paperweights. Being a European gun I suspect they prefer spicy ammo.
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Old 09-27-2020, 04:47 PM
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I have the same gun in 380 and the recoil is nasty.
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Old 09-27-2020, 05:00 PM
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I have had the LLama .22, .380, 9MM and .45 ACP. All worked as advertised. The .22 did seem to like hotter ammo.
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Old 09-27-2020, 05:09 PM
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Big margin of quality in Llama. The pistols from 50s and early 60s were not to bad. That was true of most of the Spanish stuff. Stoger was importer back then and maybe required better QC. Up into 70s they started putting out some low quality pistols. I would have to agree unless you have a old one from Stoger, it’s individual luck of the draw.
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Old 09-27-2020, 05:14 PM
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If the rack locks back on the last shot it hasn't had 50 rounds through it yet!
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Old 09-27-2020, 05:30 PM
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I always liked them. I've had a quite a number of the .22lr editions and a couple 380's and a 32.

One 22cal was a poorly fitted piece and needed some repairs to make it go.
But the rest of them were good shooters. They usually liked one ammo over others and usually a HS.

Quality of the polishing and blue varied pistol to pistol and era to era. The ones from the 50's seemed to be better to me. That didn't seem to line up with the 'Spanish Guns are Junk' rant as that started mainly in the 50's and 60's.,,and not w/o good reason at times!!

The little 1911 look-a-like in .22lr are popular pistols.
Some are marked 'Especial' some not.
Early guns have a solid top rib, later a vent rib. Checkered wood grips early,,plastic later.
Some very early guns have no top rib at all,,just rounded like a GI 45.

Some of the post '68 guns have plastic grips w/a thumb rest and a small adj rear sight to make enough points for importation.

I don't remember if the firing pin is a rebounding style in those or not (like a Colt).
If not,,the firing pin will be down hard on a cartridge in the chamber if the hammer is left down all the way. That's a recipe for a discharge if the hammer is hit or gun is dropped.

Most STAR earlier pistols are that way, I'm not that familiar with the Llama pistols but I'd check that to see which way they are designed. Might save an AD.

The half-cock notch in the hammer is not a safety notch

Treat the magazine with care, they are hard to find orig replacements and they are $$ when you do.

Don't dry fire the pistol, they don't take kindly to that and broken firing pins in these are fairly common as are dented chamber edge from doing so.
IIRC there's a couple different types of extractors & springs for these in 22cal as design changes were made over time.
A lot of the other parts can interchange regardless of caliber.

The plunger tube housing on the left side of the frame above the grip comes loose and gets lost ocassionaly.
Early ones were steel,,later plastic. The plastic ones crack and fall off easily.

Numrichs & Jack First Guns Parts was always the places to finds most of the parts needed to keep these going. But some parts just never seem to be available.
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Old 09-27-2020, 07:19 PM
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In today's market that price is about right.
Before the current panic, it would be worth about $120.
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Old 09-27-2020, 09:57 PM
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I bought my first two Llama .22s when stationed at Wheelus Field, Tripoli, Libya in 1962. They shot everything I could buy, usually we had no choice of brand of .22. It was what ever came in on the boat. Bought all ammo, components, and firearms at the Wheelus Rod and Gun Club. The .22s were $18, .32s were $21, and the .380s were $23. I still have one of each. I was and Airman 2nd class making $98 a month, I went over 2 years time in grade and got promoted to A1C and my pay jumped to $165 and I couldn't find a place to spend it all.
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Old 09-27-2020, 10:17 PM
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LLama and Star were often judged as junk because of their spanish origin.They did not deserve that reputation.While they were not Colt or S&W equivalent quality wise,they certainly were good to very good serviceable pieces of machinery.
You got yourself a good gun and you haven't been had for that price.Enjoy it!
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Old 09-27-2020, 10:20 PM
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I had one pretty much like that one in the early 80's. It was pretty rough inside and not real dependable.
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Old 10-02-2020, 10:16 AM
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I've had two of the earlier .22 models such as in your pic. over the years. The first one was a "jamomatic". After years of shooting it and NOT cleaning it, the darn thing began to run perfectly. I then cleaned it all up and it was back to "jamomatic". Evidently it reuires a build-up of residue to function properly The second one I had worked pretty well overall. I ended up doing a gun show straight swap with a fellow who had the same model in .380 who wanted a .22 --- I would not have walked away from your Llama at $200 -- Excellent price !! -- I always thought the "cool" factor of a "mini" 1911 was worth a reasonable price.
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Old 10-02-2020, 10:30 AM
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I have the same gun in .380. Goes bang everytime.
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Old 10-02-2020, 10:41 AM
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If it runs it would make a nice little kit gun.
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Old 10-02-2020, 11:58 AM
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My personal experience with one Llama revolver and two Llama semiautos has been very good. One of those brands which some people love to hate.
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Old 10-02-2020, 12:58 PM
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You might like to see an old Llama catalogue that shows your handgun.
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Old 10-02-2020, 01:50 PM
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Thanks for all the info. From checking completed listing on GB I think I did well.
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Old 10-02-2020, 05:59 PM
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I had a engraved .380 and it was a good one.Also have had Several Stars(loved the PD) and a couple of Astra revolvers,all good.
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Old 10-02-2020, 06:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by holo View Post
I found this little Llama .22 today at the flea market I couldn't leave it sitting on the table for $200. I would like to hear what you know about the pistol, I know there not the best quality, but from what I read there not junk.
Anything like that is worth having, for the novelty value if nothing else. I wish we were able to buy guns at flea markets here in CA
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Old 10-02-2020, 06:46 PM
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CCI stinger ammo box specificall mentions that gun and says not to shoot that ammo in it.
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Old 10-02-2020, 06:50 PM
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Thumbs up Llama Mini-1911 22LR

I purchased the Llama mini-1911 22LR new in 1967 (before 1968 GCA) for 59.95 + tax (1.80) = 61.75. Dealer gave a extra magazine at no charge. The little gun has worked great and never had a problem with it. It has that thousands of rounds of all brands of ammo / solid point & hollow points. My two grandsons and I have put enough ammo thru it to wear out most firearms, but this little guy is still going strong. I wish I had a ammo count for the gun, but if I had to guess, I would say over ten thousand rounds. I don't recall any FTC, FTF or FTE. It has been maintained and cleaned after each trip to the range. Good little gun !! NO NOT FOR SALE
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Old 10-02-2020, 08:41 PM
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I also bought one in '67 for about $50 and it worked so well I carried it as a BUG until I could find a M-36. S&Ws were hard to come by back then.
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Old 10-02-2020, 10:01 PM
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You cannot lose for $200 particularly if it works. Great find. On a similar note, I bought a Star BM for $160 a few years ago and after I cleaned it and put new springs in he mags and it is a terrific little 9mm. I hope that you are as happy with your Llama.
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Old 10-03-2020, 01:17 AM
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My friend didn’t like his because it wasn’t reliable. I had him try a different ammo (don’t remember what kind) and it never jammed again. He loved it after that.
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Old 10-03-2020, 12:39 PM
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I was fortunate enough years ago to find a Model 87 Competition. It's fit is good enough but the finish isn't like the higher priced firearms. After firing quite a few rounds I decided to keep it. It's one of my better shooting 9 mm's.
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Old 10-04-2020, 01:01 PM
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I traded off my Llama 22 long ago but recently bought a Star BM in 9MM. I'm still trying to work out the bugs but it seems to have a stuck ejector. The slide will not come forward enough to close and the gap appears to be about where the ejector should be riding up over the
cartridge rim. I replaced the recoil spring with a Wolff already.
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