Llama .45

glenncal1 · Jun 1, 2016

So I was sitting home bored yesterday and saw this gun for sale on line from a local FFL:

Gun is in great shape with a few minor nicks in the finish. Has a windage adjustable rear site. Going to get its first range session on friday. Seems to be a very solid piece.

Old Corp · Jun 1, 2016

Used to have one as a 'woods beater', and IIRC got it for a song.
It shot and fed reliably, accuracy was not it's best attribute and the hammer spur drew blood from the web of my hand enough times to send it along on a trade.
Good luck with yours.

Drm50 · Jun 1, 2016

Llama has had erratic past. They made some decent stuff when
Stoger was importer in 50 & 60s. Late 60s thru early 80s they put out some pretty crude stuff. From late 80s to present they
have improved a lot.

texmex · Jun 1, 2016

My Father had one back in the 1960s. It looked cool because the rib on top of the barrel was ventilated like a Python. Back then, the only type of 45 ACP rounds were full metal jacket and wadcutter. It fed the fmj fine. The waductter would hang up about once every 20 rounds or so. It was unusual to see anybody carrying a pistol cocked and locked. Most would carry it hammer down. On a Colt, the firing pin was too short to reach the primer. It took momentum to knock the firing pin forward and hit the primer. So if you dropped a Colt on the hammer with the hammer down, it would not fire. The Llama was not this way. Carrying it with the hammer down was as dangerous as carrying a single action with the hammer down on a live round. Back then, it could not use Colt magazines. That didn't matter much to most people because they didn't have any spare magazines anyway. The only thing some peace officers had on their belt was the 1911 and one pair of handcuffs. They all figured if you couldn't get it done with 8 rounds, you just couldn't get it done. I have seen a deputy carrying a 1911 with 12 spare rounds in cartridge loops. I don't think I ever saw a deputy in those days who carried a Browning High Power carry any spare magazines. They thought 14 was plenty. Of course, the standard load back then was 6 in a revolver and 12 on the belt. My how things have changed. The later Llama 45 in the photos looks a lot more like a Colt than the older ones did.

Pisgah · Jun 1, 2016

Through the years I've had a few Llama .45s, and they were a mixed bag. A couple were reliable and reasonably accurate; a couple of others were downright awful. Hopefully, you lucked up and got a good one. Sure looks nice.

2152hq · Jun 1, 2016

Hot and cold QC over the years as others have pointed out.
They stopped mfg around 92 or 93 & filed for bankruptcy.
Some employees tried to revive the company by buying equipment in the sale but ran short of capital trying to run the new business.
An on again/off again mfg of guns over the next few yrs finally lead to a final death of the company in the early 2000's.

You can find the yr of proof (yr of mfg) by reading the proof code on the pistol.
Located within the 'proof triad', a grouping of 3 auto-pistol proof marks applied to every pistol in Spain since 1927.
The middle symbol is the date code. The triad proof is sometimes on the outside of the pistol, generally on the left side. Later on, underneath the left grip panel most often.
Here's link to the codes and some info/explanation from the STAR firearms site:
Star Firearms: Dating your Star Pistol with Proofmarks

Good luck with your new to you pistol. They can be excellent shooters and like all semiautos, sometimes picky about ammo they digest.

model70hunter · Jun 2, 2016

I took 2 Llama's in on trade for something. A 9mm and a 45 ACP. Both were reliable and did not jam. Colt Mags did not fit. I never did find extra mags. Sold both of them.

I had a place to shoot and hunt out in the boonies, 3-400 acres with an 80 acre lake on it. There was a tall hill on the other side of the lake on the narrow portion. When the water was still I shot the 45 and 9. I was amazed at how much elevation was required of the 45 to hit 400 yards out. The 9 required very little elevation. With either turtles were safe on the far bank......\

P,S, Col Askins was very fond of the Llama 45, but he spent some years in the country and they were probably slicked up and he could get extra mags.

RILEY31 · Jun 2, 2016

The only one I ever had jammed about every 3-4 rounds with the two magazines I had the gun looked perfect just jammed like crazy. My friend traded for two brand new ones from a dealer in 1985 he never could get either one of the them to shoot through a whole magazine. I hope you have better luck than we did

glenncal1 · Jun 2, 2016

Got it to the range yesterday for a quick shakedown cruise. Ran fine with Federal bulk 230gr. ball ammo. Forgot to bring any extra magazines so couldn't try it with another mag. Fun gun to shoot.

palmetto99 · Jun 2, 2016

A cousin had one at a Thanksgiving family gathering a couple of years ago, and I remember it being a decent pistol. Functioned well and reliable.

Mike1647 · Jun 2, 2016

I follow GB auctions on Llama and I remember seeing that one a while back, it looked good in the photos. I (sort of) collect Llama pistols and I guess I have been lucky but I haven't gotten a bad one yet. Enjoy!

DWalt · Jun 3, 2016

I had one of the large frame Llama .45s, similar to the one pictured, from the mid-1980s until I sold it about a year ago, mainly because I was just no longer using it. I had no trouble whatsoever with it, it functioned very well. I wouldn't use it in competition, but plenty good enough for any other application. Parts will not interchange with the M1911s, but M1911 magazines sort of worked OK, at least in my Llama .45. I did have one spare Llama mag I found for sale in a small rural hardware store. I also formerly had one of the Llama "Extra" pistols in 9mm Largo/.38 Super for over 20 years, shot it a lot, no problems with it either. It's one I am sorry I sold. I wouldn't throw rocks at a Llama based upon my experience.

sooper44 · Jun 3, 2016

I have one I bought from a relative a few years ago. I used it for my last re-qualification for my CHL. It is a very reliable gun and accurate. I have 5 magazines for it. One of them has a jamming problem, but only on the last round. I find the Colt mags work very well in it. It is a full size and a bit large for me to use as an EDC but would have no hesitation using it if not for the size. (I am 72 and on the slim size!) I have heard pros and cons about Llamas, guess I was lucky and got a good one.

Watchdog · Jun 3, 2016

Mike1647 said:
I follow GB auctions on Llama...

If you follow the Llama auctions on GB, I'm wondering if you saw one months ago...probably last year...that was for sale. It was the .45 lookalike in .32acp, and it was totally engraved with little skulls and bones and maybe some scroll engraving. I think the minimum bid required was $600 or $700. The engravings reminded me of imagery you see associated with Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations. The style was just bizzare, for lack of a better word. It was the only thing for sale by the seller, a private individual if I remember right.

I don't believe the gun ever sold on GB...it was listed at least twice with no bids. It just disappeared from the site. I kinda wish I'd bought the thing now. A strange looking little pistol. I wonder what happened to it.

Dvan34 · Jun 3, 2016

Recently it appears that BERSA is manufacturing the Llama 1911's. I have a .380 1911 that I bought back around the late 1950's. I carried it off duty and concealed for many years. I have had no complaints about the firearm. The .380 ammunition manufactured today is much better and make the .380 a reasonable choice for defense. Field stripping the Llama .380 is rather challenging due to its size. The barrel link pin that sets on the recoil spring is difficult to handle and can fly away if it has a chance. It often does even on a full size 1911. The Llama .380 is a beautiful little version of the 1911 in every way.

Mike1647 · Jun 4, 2016

Yes I did see the pistol you mentioned. Out of my price range and it didn't do anything for me. Too much of everything. I would like very much to find a .32acp Llama that I could afford but haven't found it yet. So far all of mine are .45acp. My latest I got from GB about a month ago. Seller had a BIN of $200 and I jumped on it. It was worth every penny. I will get around to photographing it someday.

mcmaniac · Jun 4, 2016

I had the same style Llama in 38 super in the early 80's and it worked OK. I wasn't very accurate with a handgun and it was my first semi-auto, so I was not confident with it at all. Then I shot a friend's new Beretta and that was so much better that it spoiled my thinking. I sold the Llama for $100 and felt a bit guilty, but the guy loved it.
Now, in addition to my revolvers, I have a 92 FS that's dead on, fun to shoot, and a Kimber 1911 that shoots just as well.
I'm curious as to how I'd like that old Llama if I could try it now.

kaveman · Jun 4, 2016

As many have said, the Llamas can be quite good(or pretty bad). Yours looks like a good one, but the innards will tell. If the internal parts are roughly ground and filed it may not work too well.

I had two .45's of about the same vintage as this one, both purchased used. Bought one from a local shop and another several months later at a gunshow a couple of hundred miles away. One turned out to be VERY good and the other was probably the worst pistol I've ever owned,........and as it turned out the serial numbers were nine numbers apart. Hard to imagine that they weren't made on the same day, but obviously not by the same person. They've both been gone for many years, but I wouldn't mind having the GOOD one back. Astra and Star have always been reliably good, but I've shied away from Llames ever since.

Watchdog · Jun 4, 2016

Mike1647 said:
I would like very much to find a .32acp Llama that I could afford but haven't found it yet.

Well, this won't help you any, but in 1969, I gave a guy $40 for one in 32acp. Looked just like a 1911 in miniature, except it had a vent rib on it! Flawless finish. It was fairly accurate with hardball out to about 6-7 yards. I can't remember what I did with it...guess I sold it to someone somewhere a long time ago. Funny thing...every once in a while, I dream I find that little pistol under a stack of t-shirts in my drawer. How weird is that.

DWalt · Jun 4, 2016

I very nearly bought one of those Llama miniature 1911s at a gun show several years ago for, as I remember, $175. No real reason other than I just thought it was cute. Sanity returned in time and I walked away.

Llama .45

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