Check the thread where Treo's Llama disassembled itself. According to him, the slide came completely off the frame while going into battery after firing. This in a Browning link pistol. The slide stop didn't break, so the barrel would have been pinned in place by the barrel assembly. How, exactly, did the slide come free of the barrel, and the rails, then? The model under consideration is one that I own. I cannot duplicate the situation unless I remove the slide stop, and then only with some serious manipulations. I asked about that, and never received an answer.
I don't think reading a book is going to help anyone looking to potentially buy a Llama .45 in any way. They'd be better served with real-world personal experience, which is what Treo offered.
Reading a Book will allow you to have factual information at hand. Especially involving past thread's tirades about "soft metal" or "pot metal", or why a manufacturer went out of business, though. All too many "real world experiences" appear to be built up a little more with each telling.
Would care to elaborate as to which anecdotal experiences you consider suspicious?
Well, the "soft metal or pot metal" statements of other Llama threads, which will appear here shortly. Why these companies went out of business, which will also enter here, along with "articles" from books that never seem to be able to be identified.
I'm not the only one who has taken note of the ranting pursued here, and on other threads. It certainly goes far beyond what YEMV can convert to discussion.
I suggested the book to enable the questions to be answered without the usual legend and myth that masquerade as fact on the Internet. It does a good job of explaining the Model sequence, variations, and time of manufacture for the Spanish gun-makers. It also mentions QC, or lack thereof, during specific times. As all Llama, Astra, and Star handguns are now available only on the used market, and these manufacturers have produced some models for 50-60 years, it's going to be important to be able to accurately identify the pistols prior to buying for parts availability.
I own a pair of Llama pistols, a half-dozen or so Star Pistols, and four or five Astra pistols. They have given service equal to, or greater than, my S&W pistols. Fit and finish is on a par with American pistols of comparable eras. They exhibit no abnormal wear, either.
Instead of relying on forgotten articles that state bad things only, I'll take a better researched book that exposes myth and problems for what they are.
Anyone who has a serious collection of guns, or who has been around the industry for any length of time, can relate horror stories about any brand ot Model of gun. Basing condemnation of an entire company on the experiences of a minor sample is hardly sound logic.
As SwampWolf pointed out, these threads are always pushing the "soft metal, pot metal, bad reputation" angle without empirical proof. Oddly enough Llama was the supplier of NATO spec 9mm pistols for the Spanish Army. They also supplied the German military, during WWII, with thousands of pistols. The Germans were never known for accepting into service poor quality guns. After the war, the German Police bought Llama guns, as well as Star and Astra. Again, the Germans have never been known to accept shoddy weapons.
