Anybody know anything about Llamas?

No, not the critter. I used to live by someone who raised them, and I know enough about them to not want to know more.

The pistols. Specifically, the 22 semi-auto's. Back when I was a youngster, I used to drool over them in a dog eared old Shooters Bible I had. I not only thought they looked neat, they were reasonably enough priced that I could actually think I might be able to save up enough money to get one. Everything else was in the "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" class back then.

But I never saw one in the real world. And I mean never. Up until last week, one turned up at the LGS. I didn't need, or really want another 22, but in this case nostalgia kicked in, and it was still pretty reasonably priced. Still looked pretty good too.





I can't even find a model name. It's just marked as a "Llama 22." I think it's from the early 80's, but that's not much more than a swag. It does look just like I remember them from that Shooters Bible, mid/late 70's maybe.

I know you can't find parts or magazines for them. I guess if it breaks and a local smith can't make a part, I've got a paperweight. No big deal really. Same thing with spare magazines. No big deal either.

I think this one is either an "XV" or "XVI" (15 or 16, for those not fluent in Roman numerals ).

Magazine still looks to be available but may be a substantial portion of what you paid for the gun:

LLAMA XV, .22LR, 10 RD: - Triple K

My father has a earlier .380, a mini locked breech 1911, that seemed to work fine. Enjoy!

"I know you can't find parts or magazines for them. I guess if it breaks and a local smith can't make a part, I've got a paperweight."




A true professional "pistolsmith" should be able to repair your LLama if ever need be. Congrats on a very cool find.



[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LTxy2_R9k[/ame]

I've had two over the years,both in .380. The first one I took in as payment for a debt around 1975. I too was drawn to the looks of it as it had that 1911 appeal. Didn't shoot it for about a year after I got it but recall grabbing it twice while running out to the store on a cold winter night. Was just married and had our newborn daughter so wife was constantly sending me on errands. Kept my duty and carry guns in the bedroom dresser and the LLama was on he bench in the shop, so it was accessible and fit great in the old P coat pocket. I recall doing this maybe twice on errands.

Later that summer.I finally took it to the range, nicely cleaned up and oiled, I loaded he mag w/some factory ammo, squeezed and there went all seven rnds (?), over in about 1.9 seconds. I remember standing there,arm extended,trying to comprehend what just happened. The range guy came out and said something like"what the he** are you shooting ?

To make a long story short,sear spring and trigger was worked on previously and not well. I replaced all the internals and loved that gun for a couple more years, it shot & worked great,a friend wanted it (prob because of the full auto experience) and although I told him it was restored to semi, I gave in and sold it. I have regretted that ever since.

The second one I got recently from the wife of a dear friend who passed,he and she knew how much I would remmenice about my above experience. This one is of the same vintage but nickle plated and I consider it a keepsake more than a shooter mostly due to sentimental connection and parts availability.

I think they are great for the value and my neighbor loves his in 45acp.Enjoy it.

murphydog said:

I think this one is either an "XV" or "XVI" (15 or 16, for those not fluent in Roman numerals ).

Magazine still looks to be available but may be a substantial portion of what you paid for the gun:

LLAMA XV, .22LR, 10 RD: - Triple K

My father has a earlier .380, a mini locked breech 1911, that seemed to work fine. Enjoy!

Click to expand...

I haven't had good luck with TripleK. My son has a Winchester 77 he got from my Dad. We had one magazine, but wanted a second. They are all but non existent. I found TripleK and ordered one from them. Took about four months to arrive - I guess they make them to order or something. When it did arrive we found that although it looks basically identical to the original it will not function reliably. Very frustrating.

I finally found another original mag. on gunbroker. Paid nearly $100 for it, but at least it works.

There is a chunk of Llama info on this page. llamapage

I recall when CCI stingers first came out there was a specific warning NOT to shoot them in Llama 22's printed on the box.
dont know if this still is happening.

Neat Little Toys!

The first handgun I ever purchased was one of these little darlings. It is a Llama XVII. I enjoyed it a lot. Not a target gun, but an enjoyable plinker and backpack gun. It has all the same operating features of a 1911 except in a .22 LR blowback action. Alas, mine was stolen in a move. Years later I acquired another, and this one is a safe queen. The slide-stop/safety spring plunger housing on this later model is made of plastic and has split, rendering the slide-stop and safety inoperable. Numrich/Gun Parts Inc. does not have the tiny part, so I am pondering what to do with it. I'm always on the lookout for this tiny part. I'm sure a gunsmith could make one, but at a cost equal to the gun's value. If anybody knows a source of Llama parts, I would sure be interested. It really is a neat package. Browning made a scaled down 1911 .22 LR, but at much higher cost.

My experience with Llama firearms has been, less than stellar.

Of the four that I’ve owned I have experienced major mechanical defects in two of them, including one catastrophic failure in which the gun literally fell apart while I was firing it.

The two that didn’t give me fits (or blow up in my hand) were, in my opinion, of poor quality and cheaply made. I found parts and extra magazines difficult to come by and very costly.

I wouldn’t purchase a Llama at any price. And I wouldn't trust my life to one unless I had absolutely no other option.

I own several, including one very much like yours. I like them. I have had very bad luck with Triple K magazines. I would hold out for OEM magazines and be willing to pay the price for them. They are a good, solid, well-designed and well-built pistol.

The sears are soft and will wear out with a lot of use.

That's a Model XV. Early on they were called the 'Especial' and had that marked on the right side of the slide.
The Especial marking was dropped in the 60's IIRC but they still get called the .22 Especial sometimes.

The Model XVI was the same pistol with what the factory call 'extra embellishment finish'. Engraving and usually a plated finish.

The small adj rear sight and the 'target grips' were added in '68 to make the pistol importable.

You can find the yr of proof by locating the proof code on the pistol.
Most likely on a pistol made this late the Spanish proof marks are underneath the left grip panel.
They are called a triad of proofs as there are 3 separate proofs bunched up together.
One of them indicates the year that the pistol was proofed in the Eibar Spanish Gov't proof facility.

Here's link explaining the proofs and what they indicate including a chart to figure out what year the proof code on your pistol shows.
This link is for STAR pistols, but all Spanish semiauto pistols use the same proof markings, so they apply to the Llama as well.

Star Firearms: Dating your Star Pistol with Proofmarks


The small 1911 Look-a-like Llama pistol has always been a popular pistol.
They were made in 22, 32 and 380 calibers.

A 380 in simple blowback was made,,the Model III. This was the pistol that started the line in the early 1930's till mid 50's. Then changed to the Mod III-A. A grip safety change in the design.

A 380 version was made in a locked breech system, same swinging link bbl as the Colt 1911. This was the Model VI

The 32acp version was the Model X-A

Lots of cosmetic changes to the pistols. Grips used to be wood, Lanyard rigs on the centerfire pistols, especially police and Military contracts,,Germany bought some 32acp versions in WW2.

I had 4 or 5 of the 22cal versions. Earlier production guns. A couple NIB guns, others well used, but good shooters.
The quality ran as most expected Spanish guns of the post war period to run,,hot and cold.
One was particularly coarse, the others quite nice.
One in 380 I carried for some time but another Deputy just couldn't live w/o it. Don't remember what I ended up with for it.

Llama is out of the biz now like the rest of the Spanish big pistol makers. Parts are where ever you can locate they. Most can be fabricated if not able to find them. They are simple pistols that sometimes just need some TLC to help them along.
Fun shooters if not just real cute.

The only reviews I have read about them were they are not very well made. But reviews sometimes are like opinions.....

I have found over the years that if any gun has quite a bunch of reported problems or bad reviews then it probably is a gun to pass on. Fan boys often brag about a gun while they own it but after selling it they bash it to pieces.

A fellow law enforcement officer carried a Llama .357 revolver. When we went to the police academy, he had many, many misfires. He wound up borrowing a Colt Diamondback from another officer to get through the firearms training.

I had a Llama minimax .45. I broke an extractor in the first 200 rounds, and I couldn't go through a mag without some sort of failure and tried 5 or 6 different factory mags. It was poop.

I bought it because I had good experiences with STAR and ASTRA pistols and I thought Llamas were similar. They're not.

I wish you well and hope your new find gives you years and years of shooting pleasure!

Ματθιας;140070182 said:

I wish you well and hope your new find gives you years and years of shooting pleasure!

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Thanks. I'll probably shoot it once and park it in the safe. What little I shoot a 22 is taken care of by a pair of Model 18's.

I bought this one mostly for nostalgia reasons.

They taste like pork.

I have seen them, but been afraid to buy and done no research. You learn something new here everyday - if you are not careful. thanks for posting.

Wee Hooker said:

They taste like pork.

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I thought they tasted a little like the California Condor and the Spotted Owl, just a bit more chewy.

ggibson511960 said:

The first handgun I ever purchased was one of these little darlings. It is a Llama XVII. I enjoyed it a lot. Not a target gun, but an enjoyable plinker and backpack gun. It has all the same operating features of a 1911 except in a .22 LR blowback action. Alas, mine was stolen in a move. Years later I acquired another, and this one is a safe queen. The slide-stop/safety spring plunger housing on this later model is made of plastic and has split, rendering the slide-stop and safety inoperable. Numrich/Gun Parts Inc. does not have the tiny part, so I am pondering what to do with it. I'm always on the lookout for this tiny part. I'm sure a gunsmith could make one, but at a cost equal to the gun's value. If anybody knows a source of Llama parts, I would sure be interested. It really is a neat package. Browning made a scaled down 1911 .22 LR, but at much higher cost.

Click to expand...

Jacks First Gun Parts has a plastic plunger tube for the later model Llama pistols. These are aftermarket and a bit better designed to avoid the cracks so common with the orig Llama made part. But I admit to never having had to use or install one (yet).

Llama .22, .32, .380 plunger tube, plastic #365-A046 – Jack First Inc.

They have quite a few parts for the little 1911 style Llama pistols.