Llama .22 --- Tell me about it

[DR505]

A friend inherited several firearms...he gifted this one to me. It is a Llama .22LR "Especial." It came with three magazines. Anyone have any info? Its size is like a 1911 shrunk down 50%. I put a nickel in the frame for size reference.

 

[Professor Frink]

I had one. Bought it from Lock, Stock, and Barrel, in Duarte CA back in the day.

Got it used. It ran great and I thought it was coke can accurate. Was great fun. Can't remember why.I sold it.

 

[nedlate]

I have one also. Fun to shoot. I believe they started producing the .22 about 1956. A few years later they were produced in a different factory and imported into the U.S. by Stoeger. I will have to dig out my Gun Digest book with an article on them to get more facts.
Ed

 

[galena]

Had one in the early 1970s, fun little gun, not a target pistol but it was death on beer cans etc. I paid $44.50 for it brand new. Traded it a couple of years later, straight across, for a S&W M-34 Kit Gun. One of the best trades I ever made.

 

[planojack]

I've had a couple of them and they are great fun. My only issue with them, was that the bores are extra tight. There was a warning, back in the days when these were popular, not to shoot "Stingers" in them. The tight bore could be dangerous.

 

[Drm50]

Check out a 1958 Shooters Bible, there is whole page of them.
Various finishes, engraved and air weight

 

[Smithboomer]

I'm not a fan. I had one in 1981; not very reliable and it had a 10+ pound trigger pull. I traded it for a Single Six.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I have the same gun in.380. It was gifted to me also. Goes bang and cycles every time I shoot it. Which is not much. May use it for trading fodder one day.

 

[Cyrano]

I have one in 380 also. The 22 is a great little plinker and a nice pocket or holster pistol when out in the country.

 

[Goblin]

They're fun, but can be sensitive to ammo. If you have problems, try a different ammo. I'd start with Federal Auto Pistol Match if you can find it. Once you find the ammo it likes, it should run fine. They sell for about $200 or less around here.

 

[2152hq]

Neat little plinkers.
I had a number of them when I was in to the Spanish semiautos.
These little 1911 style
pistols from Llama were the only ones from that mfg that interested me. Otherwise it was Star and Astra.

Anyway, Early production didn't have the vent rib. I think the actual Model was XV for the standard gun, there was a separate model for the alloy frame pistol, the plated & engraved guns, ect.
'Especial' was used by Llama on several of their handguns.

Cal 32acp and 380acp were also available in this small 1911 style.
A locked breech in the 380 was made as well as a blowback system.
32acp pistols were made before and during ww2 (not sure about cal 380). Nicely finished, some are WW2-German Armed Forces acceptance marked.

Post war quality was hot and cold on these and other Llama pistols. Some really nicely made ones and some not so nicely made stuff.

There's two different bbl and slide latches on these 22cal versions but I don't remember the difference visually. Parts diagrams would probably help out if you ever got to that point. ,,,and any parts are somewhat scarce as the company has been out of business the late 90s.

The original magazines are a premium,,if you sell the pistol, I'd personally sell it with one mag and sell the other two separately, They are worth pretty good $$ by themselves.

Have fun with it,,that's what they were made for!

added:
You can date the pistol to the yr of proofing which is considered the yr of mfg by checking
the 3 proof codes (called the triad) on the frame.
It looks like the 3 proofs on your pistol are located on the left side of the frame above the front
of the trigger guard on the small bevel of the frame.
The link below explains the 3 proofs and what they stand for.
One of which is a date code indicating the year the gun was proofed.
(The proof codes are the same for any Spanish handgun regardless of manufacturer)

http://star-firearms.com/firearms/proof.shtml

 

[alwslate]

Nice little plinker. I have one that I bought used from a LGS back in
1973. It is older than yours as it has a low solid rib rather than a ventilated rib. Quality seems to have varied quite a bit over the years
with these pistols. Mine is very reliable and prefers CCI MM solids.
I don't shoot it much these days but I used to shoot it quite a bit. I
kept records for a while just to verify reliability. I ran 2,000 rounds
straight through it without a single jam or misfire and went back to
not counting.

 

[CajunBass]

I don't know much about them, but I remember drooling over them in the Shooter's Bible many years ago.

But then I drooled over a lot of guns in the Shooters Bible back then too.

I don't think I've ever actually seen one. Thanks for the pictures.

 

[gaucho1]

My experience with these is very narrow.

My Dad bought one in the early seventies and it not only
consistently jammed, it also keyholed.

I am therefore surprised at the positive reports.

Maybe the gun was a dud, bad ammo or defective magazine.

I always thought they were cool, but was put off by that experience.

 

[george_lehr]

I have one I bought new in the late 1960's. It shoots well enough to be fun. The firing pin broke a few years ago and a replacement I was able to get from Jack First cost more than half what I originally paid for the whole gun.
It doesn't get shot much anymore, since I got a Ruger SR-22.
George

 

[rwjenkins]

I purchased one new in 1965, my first pistol. It was a favorite little plinker until the extractor broke. I have searched for a replacement part without success. I also own its sister model in .380. It is reliable and ad accurate as I am.
Enjoy your Llama.