Unfortunately not the actual first gun I saw but the same model.
I had a great uncle growing up who I just thought was the coolest. He had a small farm with some animals and he would always take me to see them when I would visit.
I remember things about his place and him so vividly and visited often but one visit that sticks out the most I was likely maybe 7, he kept a pack of Beechnut in his back pocket and would give me a pinch to give to the one of the horses. I remember he told me to give it a try so I did and to my surprise not anything like Big League Chew that I was expecting.
Later on that day we were back at the house and he said he wanted to show me the two Llamas he had. Figured he got some new animals, nope he got out a revolver and what I now know as a 1911. The revolver was a simple blue revolver with a fairly long barrel and the 1911 was bright chrome with pearl grips. I remember these two guns so vividly because they certainly were not the llamas I was expecting. Then he showed me the teeny tiny little bullets they took to which I now know were .22LR and pretty sure he had some shorts for the revolver.
Had never seen a gun up close or even in real life that I can remember but I remember these guns plain as day. Maybe because I always thought my uncle was pretty cool, maybe it was them being called Llamas I don’t know but I can tell you I have never seen or come across a Llama in person since.
Until just recently and I was instantly transported back as I ran across a very very clean Llama model XXIV .22LR Match.
Nope nothing fancy hell it would cost more for me to eat alone at the local Brazilian Steakhouse than it did for me to buy the gun.
My uncle recently passed but I saw that pistol and had to have it because that memory I have of him is priceless. I’ll snap some picture of it tomorrow.
https://carbinesforcollectors.com/llamarevolver.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Black92LX,

Neat/cool.

Guess I forgot they even made revolvers. The S&W influence surely shows. I do recall their auto pistols.

Around here one mostly sees the .45 and 9mm semiautos - non-pony 1911s have a surprisingly long and rich history in much of the state.

Maybe I oughtta take another look at their .22s.

That is great! I have a place for sentimentality like that. (I also have a really cool uncle...)

I still own two Llama 380 autos. One was a gift from my late wife for Christmas many, many years ago. It is fully engraved with a nickel finish and pearl grips......It is priceless to me!!

Those look almost identical to the two Rossi revolvers that I have; one is .38spl and the other a nickel .22. Interestingly, both made in Brazil; wonder if the companies are/were related?

I thought Llama was made by Spaniards

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I thought Llama was made by Spaniards

My little .22 is made in Spain not sure of other models.

That is pretty cool, congrats on scoring one.

That is a fantastic story. I hope you have someone to pass the story and the new-to-you Llama on to someday.

My father, a raging alcoholic and workaholic, and I had a tumultuous relationship much of my life growing up, mostly because he favored his beer more than spending time with me. That being said, he was a bit of a horse trader. One day an old worn Ruger Automatic pistol appeared. As he lived on a farm, it got to see lots of use. Much of its use by me when I was around. It was the first pistol I had real exposure to, and back then a box of wildcats could be had for under a buck. It got lots of use.

I joined the ARMY right out of high school which took me to Texas. At an Austin gun show in about 1998 I bought an identical, much better condition Ruger Automatic Pistol as a replacement of the one I had in my youth described above.

Well, when I was 21 he walked out of my life, and ended up eventually settling back in Indiana with his first wife (who’d never remarried) and that’s where he died. He’d chosen not to have contact with me and I hadn’t seen that pistol since my teen years. My older half siblings asked me to come to his funeral and I did. After the service my brother handed me a bag and inside was that ratty old pistol I’d last seen at the farm.

Very bittersweet for me for it to find its way back to me. It rests in a soft case in the safe beside its cousin from Texas. I haven’t shot it.

So not as heartwarming a story as yours, but thought I’d share anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I thought Llama was made by Spaniards

My little .22 is made in Spain not sure of other models.

I could easily be wrong, but I would have sworn my late brother's Llama .45 was made in Brazil. But heck, that's been two decades ago since he had it, and I've slept a time or two since then!