Saw a Llama 1911...

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TonyB

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Went to Saranac Lake this weekend and found a little gun shop...much ot my wife's dismay:D
anyway,I see this 1911...turns out it's a Llama 9mm...excellent shape for $229...is this a good price...not that I have the money now anyway,but it did get me thinking......:cool:
 
My first handgun was a Llama 1911 in 45acp. The steel was too soft and the slide peened where the bushing rides in 200 rounds to a point that I could not disassemble the gun. I sent it in under warranty and they simply ground off the peened part. I traded it in on a Norinco.

For the price there are better firearms out there. (The Star pistols come to mind)
 
Kind of depends on WHEN the Llama was made. As noted, recently made guns are a crap shoot -- some OK, many not OK.

On the other hand, I have a much-older 1911 imported by Stoeger, with a fully ramped barrel. Well made with quality steel. Nice gun. I paid around $250, and it has been worth that and then some. Finding mags will be a problem, and I've found some Colt 9mm mags that can be made to work.
 
I have had GOOD luck with Llamas. I like the present Firstorm models. The 38 Super Colt/Llamas were excellent if you can find them. The 45 ACP versions of late are solid performers. The 9MM versions are difficult to find mags for. They don't like JHPs either.
 
"Saw a Llama today..."

I hope you didn't fall down and hurt yourself while running away from it.

In all honesty, a Llama at any price is a crapshoot and no bargain.

Jim
 
Thanks..that's why I asked.......a 1911 in 9mm is a cool thought though...just not a Llama I guess.....thanks:cool:
 
Llama 1911

Owned one several years ago. I traded a great Taurus .357 mag for it. Long story short, I traded a good gun for a true P.O.S. Hands down the Llama was the worst handgun I've ever owned. Many many ftf and fte. That being said. If you look on the 1911 fourm you will find some who have had positive things to say concerning Llama's. But I'd never buy another.
 
It's not really fair to condemn a whole brand of guns based on owning one or two examples.

But, I've owned a couple Llama 45's.
The last a few years ago. I about gave it away after telling the buyer all it's problems.

There are a couple guns I will not have if they are given to me free.
Llama is one.
 
You guys will think I am crazy but I have a Llama 1911 in 9mm and I absolutley love it! I bought it used about 10 years ago and it was probably 10 years old at that time. But since I have owned it I have put thousands, yes thousands, of rounds through it without a single ftf or jam! Did I get a ringer??? I don't know, but the thing is dead nuts accurate, reliable as the day is long and just plain fun. It feeds all types ammo with no complaints. I have heard many negative comments about it from people at the gun store, range, internet, etc. but if I had to defend myself I would have no qualms about doing it with my Llama.
 
My experience with them has been poor also. I almost had to give the thing away to get rid of it. I will never ever buy another one. This isn't to say they don't are can't make a good gun...Avoid them I would try and find a used police trade in or somthing.... :evil:
 
Yeah my local gunshop had a RIA 1911 that I was kinda sorta interested in. It was gone this week and replaced with two Firestorm (Llama) guns. No thanks. I'm not interesting in those in the slightest. Time to think about a SA milspec instead and move up the 1911 ladder.
 
I have an older Llama 1911 in 9mm, imported by Stoeger in the 80's. Its a nice gun, solidly made, good quality, with a fully ramped barrel. I've since had the trigger and hammer replaced (with stock 1911 parts).

The newer Llamas might be a problem. I bought this one from a gunsmith who specializes in 1911s and he vouched for it. He was right.
 
The Armscor made RIA is a great gun for the money. They also make them in .38super, I'd really like one in 9mm for cheap shooting. I've the Armscor 1911-A2 widebody 9mm (a Para P18 clone with slightly better sights) and its been fantastic for the first ~4000 rounds so far. But I still want a single stack 1911 in 9mm.

If I had time to reload for .38super I'd be reloading and shooting my 45s but I can buy FMJ 9mm for about the same cost per round as reloading 45ACP hard cast lead bullets.

You should be able to fine the RIA in the $290-330 range, .38super is a bit higher, $350-360.

--wally.
 
I have a matched pair of two-tone Llama Max-1 .45's that I bought 4 or 5 years ago. Probably ~ 1000 rounds each so far. Pretty reliable, but fit and finish leaves a bit to be desired. Accuracy is OK, not bad, not great. Basically, they are about what you'd expect for a $280 1911 knock-off. Can't say I regret buying them, but I should have spent the extra $300 and got two Springer GI's instead. Hindsight is 20/20.
 
Remember Llama has closed its doors They are no longer being made. What in warehouse or Dealer is it. Parts,are advaliable and warrenty are still being honored. I have found many 1911 parts will work, may require a little fitting but that goes for 1911's to.
 
I've got a 38 super llama, it's a real tackdriver and a blast to shoot. Its an older one and it has a few sharp corners on the internals, but the finish and the fit is pretty good.

I have a 9mm commander length slide and barrel that I am thinking of fitting to it for cheap practice shooting. the only catch is that the 38 super bushing is to large for the 9mm barrel, it will work, however the slop is such that I wouldn't fire it.

Anyone know where to get a 9mm bushing for a llama? or heck, even one for a colt, they look close enough to make fit.

the 9mm slide has a slightly narrower channel for the ejector in it, and i will probably have to take a pattern file and carefully fit it to the lower frame, but other than that, just having the option of switching over to a commander in a less expensive ammo would be nice to have.
 
Can't you just fit the 9mm slide to the frame? That makes more sense than trying to fit the barrel to the .38 super slide...

(In the message above I said I had replaced the trigger and hammer with 1911 parts; that's correct, but also had to replace the sear, too -- as the LLAMA hammer and sear, when fitting with 1911 parts, must have BOTH units replaced -- as they are quite different. I didn't do the work, a local gunsmith did. When replaced together, they work fine, but either one, by itself, is incompatible with standard 1911 parts -- or so I'm told by folks who know from experience..)
 
Kubura...Try this....http://www.e-gunparts.com/model.asp?idDept=149

Like many pistol mfgr's that are unknown to many posters, it's real easy to be negative...Llama's are no better or worse than a half-dozen other mfgr's that I could name...What gripes most of the "bashers' is that they pay a hell-of- alot more for a "name" and become jealous to anyone that has a reliable pistol for 1/2 the $. ;)
 
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