Stoeger LLama 1911 informantion?

[ralt33]

I received this in trade (got it for a 10 speed bike) back in the late 80's. Eats everything. When I first acquired it occasionally it would double fire. I replaced the hammer and sear (non Llama parts) and never another issue. No ftf, fte or anything - ever. I flash chromed the whole top end. Yes, magazines are different and standard mags do need to be altered slightly. Pretty accuratethough obviosly not up to a custom built gun. I like it and trust it. It was my truck gun for a long time.

 

[JR47]

Thank you. You wouldn't have a picture of the plastic tube plunger, would you? I'd like to keep one.

 

[stalkingbear]

As soon as I learn how to make pics go from camera to computer to site I'll post some. I have a broken 1 and a whole 1 I could send to you.

 

[Flames]

I couldn't view a .bmp file. Can you send it as a jpg.? I've owned several Llama's, and have two now. One is a serious pile of junk but shoots well. The other is much better. Llama's have a reputation for quality control that seems random. All three Spanish gun companies (Astra, Llama and Star) went out of business basically because of politics. Every American should get up every morning and thank God that we weren't born in Europe! I'm serious about what I just said and practice that every day, thanking Him that I was born in America.
Anyway, in Llama's case poor quality was as big a cause as politics, they had some really nice designs. The .380 Llama is one handgun that should still be being made by someone, a 2/3 scale 1911, I like both of mine very much. The steel seems soft to me, they aren't heat treated like a Colt or if they are quality control wasn't working. I assume that with the much more powerful .45 they would pay more attention to it, if so it should be a good gun, contrary to internet "wisdom". Remember, in the internet I've read where people say that $4000 custom 1911's are junk, so don't pay attention to one or even several such reports. If you like it, shoot it and enjoy!
You may have a weak recoil spring, try one with a couple more pounds of force? It may also be a slight three point jam, where as the cartridge is entering the chamber it simultaneously contacts the breech face and the bottom edge of the chamber mouth while the top of the cartridge hits the top of the chamber farther in. If it's only just barely doing that it can be Intermittant and hitting the back of the slide will chamber the round. If the cartridges are too long because the bullets are not seated deep enough that can do it too, reloads most likely in that case. If it's three point jams with factory ammo you can very carefully round the bottom of the chamber mouth with a cratex wheel in a Dremel if you have skill ( polish off a little where the ramp meets the chamber bottom, reassemble and try it, repeat as necessary), if not ask a gunsmith. Parts can be hard to find so don't do it if you aren't real handy with small tools and are not patient. All that is only if you know that it's three point jam with factory ammo.
It can also be that the external extractor has too much spring tension and the rim is catching on it as the case is rising into the chamber. If this is your first gun it's time to develop a friendship with a good gunsmith.[/QUOTE

 

[Flames]

This is my llama gabilondo y CIA Victoria (España) serial number is A36893Y I think.heres some pictures I hope they help you.I'm trying to look for magazines for it and see where I can get parts for it when it breaks down ,right now is working great but I want to be ready for it when it does .I been wanting to buy magazines for it because I only have one for it.please help me I try looking everywhere for days now n I can't find anything or anyone that can help me.thank you for reading my email and replying back to me I really appreciate

 

[Flames]

As soon as I learn how to make pics go from camera to computer to site I'll post some. I have a broken 1 and a whole 1 I could send to you.

 

[Flames]

This is my llama gabilondo y CIA Victoria (España) serial number is A36893Y I think.heres some pictures I hope they help you.I'm trying to look for magazines for it and see where I can get parts for it when it breaks down ,right now is working great but I want to be ready for it when it does .I been wanting to buy magazines for it because I only have one for it.please help me I try looking everywhere for days now n I can't find anything or anyone that can help me.thank you for reading my email and replying back to me I really appreciate email me at [email protected] thank you

 

[tark]

I have owned pistols made by all three of the Spanish manufactures. The Star's and Astra's always seemed to be more consistent in quality than the LLama's The latter were either very good or very bad, there seemed to be no in-between. My old boss refused to work on any of them, but did, once, admit that some of the Star's he had seen were"not too bad."

I owned a Llama full sized 1911 in 9mm back in the 80s. I was shocked to find that it had no locking lugs on the barrel and that it was a straight blowback action. But it worked quite well and it was quite accurate. Go figure....?

LLama's seem to be a hit or miss proposition. But there seems to be no good way to tell if you have a good one, or a you know what.

 

[Ibmikey]

Where did you find this eight year old post? Ha ha bet they won't answer too quickly. As. Far as your Llama. (Spanish for Flame) parts can be a real problem but some 1911 parts will fit, what caliber is your pistol? If .45 a GI mag may work in it...I have a number of Llamas but in the smaller frames. As noted above the Llama pistols are really nice or (during the Seventies-eighties) bad as they drew closer to bankruptcy. A last ditch effort was made in the late eighties and early nineties to make good pistols again but they were dealing with an outdated design, too little engineering and no cash flow causing collapse in early years of this century.
Shoot your Llama and don't worry about parts it should shoot many a round without problems...Gunboards forum under Spanish pistols is a good place to express a need, Larry1108 ( I think) has a lot of parts for sale.
Magazines can be found on Gun Broker but watch to see if aftermarket. Triple K. Sells a repro but their quality is hit and miss, I have a couple that fell apart with the first firing and some that are doing quite well.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I've owned two OLDER (Stoeger-imported) Llamas, both 9mm, and they were fine weapons.

In a moment of weakness, I sold my first one for a small profit and later regretted the sale. I bought another, locally, that looks like it's NIB, and it's in it's original box with manual. There was some rust inside of the second one, but it was easily cleaned up. (I couldn't figure out how one so pristine on the outside could be so messy inside.)

Except for slight variances in the hammer and sear geometry, they seem to be true 1911s. (My first one came, used, with a broken hammer hook. I asked my gunsmith to fix it, and he found that a standard 1911 hammer wouldn't work in that model of Llama unless you also used a standard 1911 sear; the Llama parts were incompatible with 1911 parts. So my first one had an Ed Brown hammer and a McCormick sear (or was it the other way around?)

Stoeger apparently paid a lot of attention to quality with those early imported guns. The Llamas that sullied the company's reputation started to show up when Llama started exporting a lot of guns to the US years later. That was also the period when they were having (as were other Spanish gun firms) a lot of financial problems.

Both of mine were/are tack-drivers. They are also heavy (steel, not alloy). Colt 9mm mags will work, but Llama factory mags work better. I don't like the sights which are mounted in/on a rib on the top of the slide. I think the grips are not standard, so replacements may be a problem. (I did find some aftermarket rugger grips for my first Llama.) This one came with three mags. Here's a picture.

 

[MICHAEL T]

The Llama name has been revived. New Llama pistols are being made by Metro Arms in Philippines.
They are not they Spanish clunkers of old days.
My 1st Llama 1911 was a 38 super . Was a excellent pistol late 1960's My last Llama was early 2000's Was nothing but one headache after another. Never got it to run a full mag and the plastic plunger and screws were a pain.

 

[Ibmikey]

Your Llama has the slide without the coves on the front, these came out in each of the frame sizes but were not accepted well. The pistol was probably made in the late eighties when quality control finally became close or on par with their fifties and sixties pistols. The pistols then evolved to the "Max" series ( I have 4-5 Micro Max pistols) where the ribs were dumped and a few other improvements made, these were the last of the Llamas and nice pistols.
I believe your grips are Llama although may not have originally been on the pistol, aside for some of the internals still being a bit rough they are well made in that era, but alas, Llama was on a skid from which they could not recover.
Some of my Micro boxes still have a lifetime warranty sticker.

 

[bannockburn]

Flames

Try Numrich Arms (gunpartscorp.com), for parts for your Llama.

 

[HisSoldier]

New Llama pistols are being made by Metro Arms in Philippine

RIA started making similar handguns to the .380's but they decided to make them blowbacks! I wish someone would make high quality versions of the little Llama .380 locked breech design, I'd pay well above what they ask for blowback guns for one myself.

 

[larryh1108]

I'm still around and still have a lot of Llama parts (thanks mikey). PM me if you need parts.

As has been mentioned, Llamas are hit or miss but if you get a good one it will serve you well.
I also like their Max series but it was too little, too late.

The grips are Llama only but there is a good selection on Ebay these days of different types and textures.
If you want spare mags, take yours to a gun show and find a guy selling the old GI 1911 mags and try a bunch until you find a few that fit in snug and drop like they are supposed to. Chance are they will work fine. If you have to slam them in or if they are loose then I doubt they will function 100%.

I like their small frame offerings the best. Their .380 with the locked breech seems to be their best offering and only recently has someone reproduced them but the cost is up there. If you find a good Llama from the 60s then you will pay half what they cost today and still get a great gun. Their .22s are also great little guns. If you get a good one, they are nice, range guns.

Llama had it's place in the world marketplace but technology has turned them into a novelty more than a collectible although they have some really nice, older guns out there for very reasonable prices.