[Riss]

Have an older Llama 1911 clone. An exact copy. Grip safety, barrel bushing, lanyard loop, etc. Blued, cannot remember the model but can get it. Any idea of its age ? Not really concerned with value as it's too neat to part with.

[Jim K]

I don't know of any list of Llama serial numbers by date of manufacture. If you can provide the model and caliber, maybe we can tell when that model was first made and/or discontinued.

Jim

[Riss]

Rt side marking "Llama" Especial 1685XX , Left side marked Gabilondo Y Cia Elgoibar (Espana) Cal 9m/m(380) "Llama" also marked on butt "made in Spain" 4 proof marks on the gun an X inside a square, a circle with a crown on top and a W inside, and a letter Z. Gun looks exactly like a 1911 Govt model, but the barrel is only 3" long and the gun is likewise thinner and shorter in the grip.

[Jim K]

I can't find any reference to a Llama Special, but the gun sounds like the IIIA or the gun called the "Small Frame model". These were scaled down copies of the Model 1911. They were made in .32ACP and in .380ACP (called 9mm Browning Short in Europe, hence the "9mm"). The former were straight blowback, the latter was recoil operated with a dropping barrel and link just like the 1911. The pre-WWII and immediate post-war guns had a round top slide, just like the 1911, and wood grips; the post-war guns had a rib on the top of the slide and plastic grips.

The guns are interesting, mainly because of being a smaller version of the 1911, and fairly well made, though they tend to be soft, like many Spanish guns. The "x" in a shield and the other marks are Spanish proof marks.

Jim

[stans]

I am also thinking it is a III-A, that model is the closest match in the 2004 Standard Catalog of Firearms.