How well made were Llama semi-autos?.....

I have limited experience but have found Llamas to be very good or very bad. I'd buy one if the price was right.

Last time I saw one was maybe 30 years ago, but it worked just fine.

The classic Llamas were fine right up to the mid-late 1980s or so. Most of the Spanish Arms industry really suffered about this time. My experience with the 1940s-1970s era pistols has been positive. The 1980s-1990s not so much... I have a new Llama branded Philippian Metro Arms produced 38 Super that is on par with any mid to high end 1911 on the market. 0 complaints.

Llamas could be hit or miss, some were great, others had problems. Any you find now are going to be older and you really don't know how well they were maintained over the years. For the price I've seen used ones going for, you could get a new Rock Island and have a dependable 1911.

I have 2 Llamas, both seem to be good solid guns.
One was my dad's 1911 (ish) .45, beautiful gun and very accurate.
The other is the .380 model, also a good shooter.

I don't know how well made they were, but that little 380 was one of the guns I drooled over when I was a teen, studying the Shooters Bible, like most teen age boys did a stolen Playboy.

I had a friend who had one of the .380 1911-style autos; after a good cleanup from sitting in a box since the mid-50's, it worked fine, and was a fun and accurate gun to shoot.

My first semi automatic pistol was a Llama 1911 chambered in 38 super. I struggled with an inconsistent trigger pull for a while, before I came to observe that the sear and hammer pivot holes in the frame were not drilled perpendicular to the bore axis. The gun was, effectively, a loss.

I wound up giving it a refinish of GunKote and gifting it to my father-in-law for use in his VFW color guard duties, to fill out his holster.

My entry into the 1911 style was a 80's Llama bought new for a little under $300 & It's been my amateur gunsmith test mule to this day (haven't Bubba'd it yet). It's not mil spec but most parts can be fitted. It's aways run well & I've certainly got my money's worth out of it tinkering with it. Accessories & parts are scarce but hey can be good value range plinkers.

Not a fan of LLama pistols.

If I was buying Spanish I would go with Star.

This was in the 80's. I went to an indoor range with a Friend. I had my Colt Series 70 and he had a Llama .380 which he had just bought. Bright silver, and it looked cool. I had squeezed off about three rounds when I saw a flash of silver going down range on my right. The Llama had launched the entire slide and assorted pieces off the receiver for about a dozen feet. I was trying hard not laugh. It sure wasn't funny to my Friend. He took the pieces upstairs to the sales room and he worked out a deal to buy a six inch Colt Python. That was my only experience with Llama.

It seemed like the most common complaint I heard from people about Llamas (this was back in the '70s and '80s), was that the heat treatment of the slide and frame was at times hit or miss. Also the ones I saw for sale seemed to be lacking in their overall fit and finish (compared with other Spanish gun makers like Star and Astra).

As above, the models before the 80s were better. Post-Franco Spain was tough on the Spanish gun-makers.

Price was lower because of labor and material costs, not lack of skill applied in manufacture. At least, back in the day.

Starter52 said:

Not a fan of LLama pistols.

If I was buying Spanish I would go with Star.

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I agree.
Star>Astra>Llama>every other Spanish manufacturer.

I have a XI C that I bought in the early 1990’s. Shot the snot out of it with no broken parts or failure. I do have a spare firing pin and extractor just in case. Also a spring kit. Point is that parts are hard to get. If the price is right buy one.

Starter52 said:

Not a fan of LLama pistols.

If I was buying Spanish I would go with Star.

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OR ASTRA !

I do love my Star pistols. That being said I have a Llama IIIA in 380 that has been good to go and is just so neat looking. Other than mine being straight blow back, it looks and operates like a baby 1911. The earlier Llama 380's used a barrel link just like a true 1911.

I had a Llama 45 mid 90's. I was in high school and it was cheap. It worked and was pretty reliable.

It had a double stack mag. Held 13 in the mag if I remember right. Fit the hand like a 2x4.

my data point = the only gun I've ever blown up was a Llama

This is my only Llama and it is very well made. It's mid 50's

I have 3 older versions; 32 and 380 true mini 1911’s, and a 38 Super that has been in the family for over 50 years. All three have had good reliable heavy use without issue.

I never saw many new ones for sale until the early 90’s. And that is when I started hearing nothing but bad things. That was also the time period whim Llama was trying to be a Para Ordnance wannabe and was pushing the double stack frame frames in all sizes.

Maybe the fat framed guns gave the bad rap, I don’t know, but I have stayed clear of Llama ever since.


32 Mini with Full size for reference. vvvv




380 with thick grips, boy do they aid in giving great control! vvvvvvv




Full size 38 Super that performs! vvvvvv

I know this is a Llama thread, but what about Ballister-Molina?

Nothing to do here but be sick and miserable.

PWC said:

I know this is a Llama thread, but what about Ballister-Molina?

Nothing to do here but be sick and miserable.

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The Ballister-Molina is a Venezuelan copy of the Sistima which is a copy of the 1911. The difference is that the B-M uses a swinging trigger instead of a sliding trigger (like a true 1911)

in the late 1970's I had a scaled down Llama .380 with a vent rib. It was a good little pistol, and never failed to feed or function.