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Llama .45 - Pros and Cons?

12K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  OMEGA5 
#1 ·
Hi!

Does anybody know where I can find a few reviews of the Llama MAX I .45? Perhaps a few of you own one?

Comments would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks
 
#3 ·
I've got one. I bought it about 6 months ago or so. I got it to just mess around with.

Fit was OK. Exterior Finish was OK. Internally there are a lot of machining marks left and a few sharp edges. Trigger pull measured 9+ pounds.

For the first 200 to 300 rounds, I had a few Failure to feeds but no other stoppages.

At the 500 round mark, I did a trigger job on it to reduce it to 4.5lbs and polished the feedramp.

2000+ rounds now and all is running good. No jams that can be attributed to the pistol since the 300 or so round mark. All failures have been magazine related since then. Got all of those fixed.

Groups are running about 2.5 to 4" at 25 yds. Not outstanding accuracy but not too bad either if I do my part.

Now, I pull the trigger and it goes BANG! You didn't say how much you were wanting to give but I've only got a little over $225 in mine. Your mileage may vary.

If I can be of any further assistance, just let me know.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the reply, stepbyrd. Also, thanks for your descriptions on the work you did to it. That gives me an idea of what to look for if I come across any problems.

I've been looking for a fairly good .45 within my price range for a while. The pistol magazines (Guns and Ammo, Handgunner,etc.) are no help at all. Load of crap if you ask me:
"The Awesome Wilson Tactical!"
- Yeah, with an average price tag of $1000 it better be good. Now how about you review a few weapons that those of us who have car payments, house payments, bills, and a job that pays less that $100,000 a year can afford?

That's why I wanted a couple of opinions about the Llama. Its price is an averave of $250. A GREAT price if the gun is reliable, which aparantly it is.

Thanks for your help!
 
#7 ·
I agree with the gun shop guy. The Llamas I have seen lately have been nice looking sh*t. Soft parts, lots of hand filing, poorly fitted, inaccurate (one Omni wouldn't shoot inside 10" at 25 yards off a rest). A fix would have cost hundreds of dollars.

Better guns in that price range are Sistema Colts, Norincos and even some good used Colts with finish wear but good internals.

Jim
 
#8 ·
I agree with you Jim , the Omni was a pos for the most part . We wouldn't sell them or even the basic 1911 style at that time .

That was 10-15 yrs ago . The new Llamas are not machined real pretty on the inside . The exterior isn't bad for a $250 pistol . We sell 75-100 a year without much trouble at all . I can remember sending only one in for service this year and it was a year old . The lifetime warranty covers repairs if needed .

Mitch

www.oldeenglishoutfitters.com

We sell Baer,Colt,Kimber,SAand Wilson . Some people just can't afford them .
 
#9 ·
cheaper...

I am new to this forum and new to 1911 pistols...but not guns..I just baught a llama max-1 45 govmnt with the delux finish and am very happy with the exterior looks....the internals could use a little refinement but for 250 bucks not too bad...took it to the range with 200 rounds of wolf ammo and had a blast!! the gun never missed a beat...it did shoot a good bit to the left but with the help of a small brass hammer i drifted the sight a little and it shot fine...for someone on a bit of a budget i would recommend it without hesitation..i wouldnt recommend sinking more money in it to try and make it better because you could obviously get a better gun for the total you would have invested..but it seems reliable and decently made...good starter 1911 to see if you really like 1911s before you dump alot o money on one...alot of fun too.........Now i think i have the fever....when is the next gun show....my wallet is burning my butt..HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
chachi
 
#10 ·
The only experience I have had with a Llama was when another investigator let one fall out of a shoulder holster and hit the floor. The round just missed my head, went thru the wall and lodged in the wall over the dispatchers head. He traded it in the next day for a Colt. It llanded on the hammer when it went off. Don't know who it scared more, me or him.
 
#13 ·
Not bad so far...

Meunke-
I concur with stepbyrd. I have a Max-I and have been fairly pleased with it. I'm new to handgunning and wanted an "entry-level" .45. Llama fit the bill. The only reliability problems have been reloaded ammo related. My father-in-law has done some rework on the trigger, recoil spring, and extractor, but on a good day I can outshoot him and his SA Mil-Spec, and he's been shooting for 25 years!

The problems have been with flatnose ammo, and the ejected brass is considerably crushed when I retrieve it. I have about 500 rounds through it now, and have had a few (maybe 5) FTFs with the flat nose ammo. Accuracy has not been a problem regardless of the ammo I've used, but have had no problems with factory ammo.

For an "entry-level" weapon, I've been very pleased. Granted, I plan to purchase a SA or Kimber within the next 12-18 months, but I would recommend it highly IF you know someone who is willing to work on the weapon with you to help you learn. The way I figure is if, while working on my weapon, I screw up a $250 weapon I won't be nearly as peeved off as if I'd screwed up a $700 Kimber or SA.

bmcc:)
 
#15 ·
It's like anything else, you can get a lemon with just about anything. On the other hand, you can get some very good examples also. Will this pistol hold up as long as my stainless colt did (I say "did" because it was stolen from me in '92 :mad: )? I don't know but we'll see. My Colt had 12k through it at the time it was stolen. I broke one slide stop and one collet barrel bushing in the Colts first thousand rounds. So far my Llama hasn't broken anything.
 
#16 ·
My first .45 was a double-stack Llama. And I bought it cause I too thought I couldn't afford a more expensive gun at the time.

It is not very well made, it's heavy, no one sells parts for it, and it's accuracy is abysmal. It is an absolute POS.

I only paid $200 NIB and I think I wasted about $250 (the time and ammo I wasted on that gun are worth something, ain't they??? ;) ). It is the only firearm I have ever bought that I actually regret buying... :(

If I were you, I would wait until I could afford a bit more. That way, you will only cry once. You don't need a $1000 Wilson--but don't scrape the bottom of the barrell either. If you do, I predict that you will be disappointed.

My $.02
 
#17 ·
Llama Mini-Max 45

Gun would not fully feed some GS 185's from the rack of the slide unless I did it twice. I sent it back to them. It came back a month and a 1/2 later and it still won't rack the GS 185's. The nose of the GS's are pretty rounded. Is there anything (hollowpoints) either rounder or pointer I could try in this thing to always feed the first round properly?
 
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