YouTube personality Graham Baates gives us a video breakdown and review of the Llama Max-1 1911 Handgun in .45 acp.
Some may remember the Llama brand of old. Â It’s a name that has been in the firearms industry for over one hundred years.
Beginning in 1904 the Spanish company made a variety of revolvers and semi-automatics. Â Trademark registration began in 1932 and the company did well in Europe and enjoyed some sales in the United States until the late 1990’s.
Various global financial problems brought an end to Llama in 2005.
Today, the name has been revived along with their Llama Max-1 1911 Handgun model, currently available in .45 acp. and .38 Super and produced by the craftsmen of Metro Arms. We’ve loved the MAC Bobcut and SPS Pantera, so I had no reservations about taking a ride on a Llama. As you can see in the video below, I was not disappointed.
Llama Max-1 1911 Handgun
Is the Llama Max-1 1911 Handgun the ultimate 1911? Â No it is not, but can you find a better-built 1911 for under $500? Â That is the question.
While cheap guns are plenty, well-built 1911s with fitment, like the Llama Max-1, are hard to find. On the range, the Max-1 performed well. It reminded me why extended beavertails and rounded hammers became popular as I did get some hammer bite, but that’s not something that can’t be remedied at home with a drop-in kit and a couple of minutes of time. We shot a dozen or so different 1911s recently priced from the low $400s to well over $1,000.  The Llama Max-1 1911 Handgun performed more like the latter than the former, and I’m willing to with a little attention and inexpensive drop-in parts it could rival them head-on.
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It also makes for a great candidate as a base for an affordable 1911 home-build project. See our shooting impressions below and decide for yourself.
Those who love to look at the numbers can see from the specs below this is an all steel 1911.
Llama Max-1 1911 Handgun Specifications:
- Caliber .45 ACP
- Action SA
- Capacity 8+1
- Barrel Length 5″
- Front Sight Mil-Spec
- Rear Sight Dovetailed
- Finishes Matte Blue
- Grips G-10 Grips
- Construction 4140 Steel Frame / 4140 Hammer Forged Steel Slide
- Safety Grip Safety / Thumb Safety
- Weight 36.9600
- Length 8.25″
- Height 5.5″
- Width 1.25″
About Graham Baates
“Graham Baates” is a pen name used by a 15-year active Army veteran who spent most of his time in the tactical side of the Intelligence community including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Post-Army Graham spent some time in the 3-Gun circuit before becoming a full-time NRA Certified defensive handgun instructor and now works as an industry writer while curating a YouTube channel and blog onthe side. Visit Graham on Youtube .
Though I speak a few foreign languages they are all of the Slavic and Germanic families. Sorry.
I’m old enough to remember when the ( Yama ), 38 supers we’re all the rage in competition. That was back in the 80s, early on. I had one. It was a decent shooter. Do i want another…….. no. I like 1911s with the rearing horse emblem. And no, there not the best, but it’s what I shoot and carry.
But with 1911 prices so high. I love it when another company opens the door for new shooters at a decent price. It only adds continuity to the shooting sports.
No surprise. I grabbed a 1984-85 Llama 45 for a song a few years back and it runs super smooth. The only downside is the non-standard grip panels but there are aftermarket options if desired.
As Archie Bunker once said ‘You’s all got to learn how speak American”. 8- ) Any ways, the early Llama’s I’ve had experience with tended to have soft fire control parts. Other than that they were nice guns.
Where can I pickup that bushing tool?
I did not see a saffron-robed Himalayan mystic flapping around in the video. The double ell in Castilian is pronounced like the y in English: yah’ mah. Llama means flame and also the Andean camelid related to the alpaca and the guanaco. It is also a third person present verb meaning “he/she calls.” It is also a second person familiar imperative: “Thou call!”
Anyway, y’all learn to pronounce the double ell as a Y..