Is Llama 9MM a bad gun?
 

A good friend got sick and needed to sell his hand gun. From what I can see it not a very good gun. Its made in Spain and looks to have a poor reputation. But I was happy to help turning it into cash for him and it will be a priceless keep sake to remember him by. It says parabellem on the side and was imported by stroger in NJ. anybody know anything about them bad or good?

I own one. Bought it in the late 60's. Shot it many times and will sometimes carry it when in the woods or during inclimate weather.

Other than not being the most accurate gun I own, I do not see a problem with the Llama. Mine is in .45aacp.

Different Llama 9mms were made. Some were along 1911 lines, but in the late 80s/early 90s there was a hi cap Wondernine DA auto that they made (everyone got into that business for a time). Llama guns often work okay. The ones I had worked at least. They were considered a lesser Spanish maker though, behind Astra and Star.

Back about 20 years ago I had a couple buddies with Llama 9s. Neither of those worked very good. Over the years I've seen about everything on the firing line...but curiously Llama has been absent.

Wonder why.

A gunsmith friend says he can usually clean one up into a decent shooter for about $150, but they are not worth spending a lot of money. I asked about it when I spotted one in his "repaired" storage, since he usually does more expensive guns and competition mods.

They run hot and cold in the QC dept. Some are very nice,,others not so very nice. The 1911 look alikes go way back in the Llama mfg lineup to the 1930's and like other Spanish semiautos have the common differences from the Colt.


Less than stellar heat treating and somewhat crude fitting are found on the poorer examples while suitably tough steel and fitting are found on the others.
Alot of cottage industry & outsource work was used in the Spanish gun trade at one time and that led to some of the poorer work and a life long bad reputation for overall poor quality.

I've had a number of the Llama small 'Especial' size .22, 32 and 380 semiauto pistols. Small 1911 Colt lookalikes. Only one was what I would have called poorly fitted inside and the outside finish was somewhat shody. The rest that were anywhere from WW2 mfg to mid 60's were nicely made and shot well. Wish I had kept one of the .22's.

GatorFarmer's correct in that Llama is usually placed third in line, with Astra and Star in front as far as quality goes.
All three companies are gone now. Llama was at one time bought up by Astra in an attempt to save the company .

About 10 years ago I bought a large frame, 1911 style Llama in 9mm. I paid $175. It was accurate and never jammed, and I traded it for a guitar amp. I still have the amp, but I could kick myself for getting rid of that pistol. I'd buy another if I found one, although I know I'd never get it for the price I paid for the first one.

"But I was happy to help turning it into cash for him and it will be a priceless keep sake to remember him by."

You obviously got one of the good ones.
Enjoy your new gun.

Had one in .22 cal. years ago [60's] Not very reliable, jammed a lot. Traded it off for something, don't remember what.

Well said!

I bought a blued 9mm Llama from a friend three years ago. It looked kinda like a 1911 except had a vent rib and I think an external extractor...was Commander size, single stack.

It worked fine with no problems. He eventually wanted it back and I sold it back to him. Do I miss it? Nope, not at all.

Here's a Llama .32 ACP. It too works fine with ball ammo and JHP's.

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL216.../375630501.jpg

I had one for a while. I actually kind of grew kinda fond of the little
critter.. I used it as a pocket gun at a business a few years ago.
It was great for that job. I could keep it in my front pocket with
no problems. Not heavy enough to make my britches droop, and small
enough not to print much through the pants.
Sometimes after I closed up at night, I'd shoot it into phone books, etc
in the building.
Never failed to go bang and I was able to hit the phone books. :)
Can't complain too much I guess.
I remember a friend of mines mother liked those things.. :/ No joke..
She found it just right for her and used it as her house gun.

BTW.. Fer some reason I was thinking it was a small 9mm..
But now that I think about it, the one I had was a Llama .380 I'm pretty
sure. Which is the same as my friend's mothers choice.. The .380..

1911 Llama .38 acp
 

I have a chrome Llama 1911 9mm/38 acp that belonged to my uncle who served at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, Guadalcanal and other points in WW II's Pacific Theatre. Aside from the various good & bad Llama reviews I have seen, it obviously has sentimental value but I would still like to run rounds thorugh it at the range now and again.
I can either find some Largo ammo for it (as I only have a box of .38 acp now) or change out the barrel to shoot standard 9mm Lugers. Any suggestions?

My brother in law has a buddy who lets us shoot on his farm about once a month. He frequently comes out and shoots a few rounds with us. He has amassed a nice collection of the Llama pistols, from the .32 and .380 and several .45acp versions. The last time we were out there he had just returned from the gun show two counties over and picked up a Llama 9mm. I've shot his .380 a few times and except for a little stiff trigger it is a fine shooting little pistola. You have done a good deed by helping your friend, and I wish you good karma with the pistol.

(Holy Thread Resurrection Batman! I just noticed the date of the original post..)

Now THAT's a gun for a jefe' :D

Spanish mfg surplus 9mm Largo is still available from time to time. Comes in 25rd boxes. Some is corrosive,,some not. Most of it that I've had and seen is dated in the late 40's and all fired w/o any problems.
Sarco used to sell alot of it. Even Dillion listed it for sale in a small ad in the back pages of the Blue Press as recently as a year or so ago. Might still be in there.

A bbl switch to 9mmLuger would make life easier in the shooting dept., but where you may find such a bbl I don't know. So many different models of the Llama auto around, you'd really have to have gun and bbl in hand for a comparison before buying. Even then a bit of fitting is most likely needed.

The 9mmLargo magazine, if they are anything like the Astra and Star mags of the same cal., have feed lips shorter than the comparable mag in 9mmLuger cal.
Calber changes in the Astra and Star pistols from 9mmLargo to Luger often work fine with the Largo mag, but once in a while the Largo magazine will release the shorter Luger cartridge too soon and fail to feeds result.

There was a somewhat popular conversion method in the 50's and 60's to take cal 9mmLargo pistols and 'short sleeve' the chamber.
Largo caliber pistols and even some carbines were imported in great numbers and sold for $10 to $15 back then,,but ammo has always been scarce.

A short section or ring of the correct diameter is press fit into the forward part of the 9mmLargo chamber. It is then carefully rechambered w/a 9mmLuger reamer to re-establish correct headspace for the new cartridge using the 'ring' as the new front edge of the chamber.

Thousands were done that way.
Conversions were also done to 7.62 French Long caliber pistols to convert to 32acp,,and 9mmBrowning Long caliber Swede M07 pistols to convert to .380.
Some of the work was done in a less than spectacular fashon by small basement operators. But done carefully, it works fine and there's no damage to the exterior of the pistol.
The 'ring' can actually be removed is you ever want to by making a chamber cast around it and tapping it out with the casting.

Just some thoughts,,

There is some 9mm Largo ammo on Gunbroker now. Santa Barbara mfg, should be good ammo. Corrosive , so clean when you finish shooting.

I have a llama 380
 

Mine is a early pistol 50's-60's deep blue with no import marks. Works like a champ. Never a single problem,but I only use ball type ammo. Very accurate. Not my favorite small pistol,now I have a sig p232 I like better.

Since it will be a while before another Llama thread comes along, here is my chance to show off my 9mm Largo "Extra".
Someone put a little work into it with great results. I don't know when it was made, but it seems like one of the early ones.
Ken

http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/P4250109.jpg

The 32 ACP won't work in the French pistols. The 1935A magazine is too narrow for the diameter of the 32 ACP rim; you can't put 32 ACP cases in the magazine. The 1935S will feed and function with 32 ACPs, but when the round is fired, the rim comes back agains the loaded chamber indicator hard enough that it knocks the indicator vertical. This isn't good, it might break the indicator; it's even less good when you realize that the chamber indicator is what's holding the firing pin in the slide. In our book on the French 1935 pistols, you'll see a picture of me looking down quizically at a 35S with its loaded chamber indicator standing on end.

32 ACPs will work...sorta, if you grind down the semi-rim to the diameter of the base of the case, but feeding and functioning of the mechanism are marginal.

Been there, done that.

What a coincidence, I was gonna post up tonight about llama. Saturday at a gun show I bought a mini mag in 40sw. Went shot today and put 200 rounds through it. If anybody can post pics I will email them. I don't know how to post from my phone and that's all I have. This is my first foray into 1911's and I love it.

I found a llama especial a couple weeks ago,.22 L.R.,all steel,fairly decent wood grips, not a lot of wear. Runs like a little sewing machine! Hard to find extra mags at a decent price, but that's been the only downside.Its a keeper as far as I'm concerned