Llama Super Comanche?
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bannockburn
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Swing
Llama filed for bankruptcy back in the early '90s. Some former employees bought the company and tried to keep production going along with some other manufacturing ventures but financial problems finally brought it all to an end in early '05. Spare parts are virtually non-existent and finding a gunsmith who could work on it or fabricate parts might also be problematic.
Llama filed for bankruptcy back in the early '90s. Some former employees bought the company and tried to keep production going along with some other manufacturing ventures but financial problems finally brought it all to an end in early '05. Spare parts are virtually non-existent and finding a gunsmith who could work on it or fabricate parts might also be problematic.
WestKentucky
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Swing, you will see wildly varying views of llama products. Some are fans, some arent. I am a fan. They have had many models of automatics and revolvers which have been wonderful guns, and a few truly crap designs including some which got a reputation for being dangerous. The Super Comanche is one I have no experience with but from my understanding it is one of the best guns that they made, especially in their later years. I would have no reservations whatsoever about shooting one assuming it is in good condition and locks up properly. As for value, Bannockburn kinda spelled out the reasons that they are available pretty reasonably priced. Some folks look at it as a cheap gun that is s risky investment, guys like me look at them as a good gun for a bargain price. Do some soul searching on where you stand and go from there.
bannockburn
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Swing
Years ago I had a Llama Omni, a .45 semi-auto that had some really innovative design features to it. Unfortunately it also suffered from some manufacturing and assembly defects that really detracted from the overall performance of the gun. From my understanding at the time the Llama Super Comanche was a fairly well built revolver. If you are considering buying one make sure you check it out thoroughly as you will have little in the way of recourse in terms of repairs, parts, or grips.
Years ago I had a Llama Omni, a .45 semi-auto that had some really innovative design features to it. Unfortunately it also suffered from some manufacturing and assembly defects that really detracted from the overall performance of the gun. From my understanding at the time the Llama Super Comanche was a fairly well built revolver. If you are considering buying one make sure you check it out thoroughly as you will have little in the way of recourse in terms of repairs, parts, or grips.
jdavis123
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Correct me if wrong but, isn't Firestorm somehow connected to Llama. I seem to recall something written about this a while back.
bannockburn
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I believe the company that was created by the former employees of Llama (Fabrinor), did market some guns under the brand name of Firestorm but both the guns and the company are long gone. There are Firestorm revolvers being made in the Philippines (somewhat resembling the old Colt Detective Special), but they have nothing in common with the Llama revolvers that were made in Spain.
WestKentucky
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I had a .45 built as a officers model which was easily the nicest (feature wise at least) 1911 I have ever had the pleasure of heating up. Didn't care for .45acp though so it went down the road. My absolute favorite pistol ever is a Micromax .380 that my dad called in some favors on and guilt tripped me into trading that gun to him (I retain visiting rights though) which is almost identical to what Rock Island and Browning are currently offering, but this thing was STEEL.
rswartsell
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And I am the counterpoint.
The first 1911 I ever owned was a full size Llama (.45 ACP of course) and it was without a doubt the worst handgun purchase I ever made. Inexperience had me chasing the "fix" well past where I should. Calling it a 1911 was a pretty loose description.
Part of the reason? My beloved maternal grandpaw had a smaller Llama semi-auto that he loved.
My experience with the Llama Comanche revolvers (big bore all), though limited was distinctly positive. Just a passing opinion, while they were probably not the equal of the Astra counterparts, I thought them at least pretty good.
P.S. Probably true that parts and qualified service would equate to unobtanium.
The first 1911 I ever owned was a full size Llama (.45 ACP of course) and it was without a doubt the worst handgun purchase I ever made. Inexperience had me chasing the "fix" well past where I should. Calling it a 1911 was a pretty loose description.
Part of the reason? My beloved maternal grandpaw had a smaller Llama semi-auto that he loved.
My experience with the Llama Comanche revolvers (big bore all), though limited was distinctly positive. Just a passing opinion, while they were probably not the equal of the Astra counterparts, I thought them at least pretty good.
P.S. Probably true that parts and qualified service would equate to unobtanium.
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OP
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Swing
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Thanks pallies for the notes. In the grand scheme of things, investing in this piece is nothing to me monetarily. Still, if it is a known problem, I rather avoid it, thus the question. It sounds like this particular model may be OK though. If not, meh, I've dealt with much worse.
Follow up question: are aftermarket grips available? Googling has resulted in hit and miss. How about holsters and speedloaders?
Thanx amigos.
Follow up question: are aftermarket grips available? Googling has resulted in hit and miss. How about holsters and speedloaders?
Thanx amigos.
CajunBass
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I would think holsters for an N frame Smith & Wesson would fit, but that is just a SWAG. I doubt you'd find anything marked for them though. Same thing for speed loaders. If nothing else there are always speed strips.
I came close to buying a 44 magnum one a couple of years ago. Nice looking gun, mechanically checked out, nice grips, great price for that type gun. I finally passed just because I didn't really "want it", it was just there and I'd never owned one.
I'm old enough to remember when Llama revolvers had a pretty decent reputation.
I came close to buying a 44 magnum one a couple of years ago. Nice looking gun, mechanically checked out, nice grips, great price for that type gun. I finally passed just because I didn't really "want it", it was just there and I'd never owned one.
I'm old enough to remember when Llama revolvers had a pretty decent reputation.
Confederate
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When I had my FFL some years ago, I tried some of the Llamas and was not impressed. They came is plastic drenched in cheap oil that was difficult to get off. The tolerances were horrible and one of the gun mags I used to buy claimed it's writers never saw a Llama they found that was any good. This was back in the late 80s. One revolver they had would only shoot level or downhill, so they jokingly rated it "conditionally acceptable," adding that it would be okay to buy if you planned to do all your hiking and camping in the high mountains and could shoot downwards at your game.
If you consider one, check out the b/c gap, chamber throats, the space between the cartridge and the revolver's backside. Those were the areas that gave me the greatest fits. The bluing was always pretty good, as were the wood grips, but many of the guns also were fairly loose. I wish you better luck than me!
If you consider one, check out the b/c gap, chamber throats, the space between the cartridge and the revolver's backside. Those were the areas that gave me the greatest fits. The bluing was always pretty good, as were the wood grips, but many of the guns also were fairly loose. I wish you better luck than me!
bannockburn
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I knew it wasn't a good sign when I first opened the plastic case my Llama Omni came in and there seemed to be more of the bluing on the foam liner than there was on the gun. The bluing was actually coming off the gun and staining the liner. Eventually the bluing got so thin, or else it had come off completely, in so many places that I had the whole gun hard chrome plated. The two other problems were the rear sight becoming loose and the one and only magazine pretty much falling apart before too long. I did find that a Colt magazine would work but tended to rattle around in the mag well somewhat.
Other than those things the gun itself functioned fine and was capable of some decent accuracy. The double action trigger movement was smooth but rather long in it's travel. The single action was fairly light and surprisingly clean and crisp. This probably helped contribute to it being so accurate.
I knew it wasn't a good sign when I first opened the plastic case my Llama Omni came in and there seemed to be more of the bluing on the foam liner than there was on the gun. The bluing was actually coming off the gun and staining the liner. Eventually the bluing got so thin, or else it had come off completely, in so many places that I had the whole gun hard chrome plated. The two other problems were the rear sight becoming loose and the one and only magazine pretty much falling apart before too long. I did find that a Colt magazine would work but tended to rattle around in the mag well somewhat.
Other than those things the gun itself functioned fine and was capable of some decent accuracy. The double action trigger movement was smooth but rather long in it's travel. The single action was fairly light and surprisingly clean and crisp. This probably helped contribute to it being so accurate.
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CajunBass
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On those Omni's, did their triggers have ball bearings? It seems to me I remember that, but it could be another gun I'm thinking of.
bannockburn
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CajunBass
I believe the Omni's trigger set-up used dual sear bars. Not sure about the ball bearing part. Also the firing pin was in two pieces with some sort of ball-joint design connecting them.
Swing
Sorry for the thread drift.
I believe the Omni's trigger set-up used dual sear bars. Not sure about the ball bearing part. Also the firing pin was in two pieces with some sort of ball-joint design connecting them.
Swing
Sorry for the thread drift.
urbaneruralite
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There was a favorable review of them on TheIdahoanShow on youtube. Always wanted to try one, but they're not too common around here.
hemiram
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A friend of mine had a Super Comanche, and yes, it could not shoot uphill as the cartridges would slide out. A gunsmith knurled the chambers (I think that's how he did it) to prevent that, and cleaned up the insides while he had it and it was 100% ok from that point on. He had a Llama Omni, which was an ok gun. I always thought the 1911'ish guns were junk, at least every one I saw was.
bikerdoc
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In 64 I bought a Llama 38, I was 16, wanted a colt but could only afford the Llama. It was Ok, sold it to a neighbor kid who took it to Viet Nam and left it there.
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