A very large number of years ago I purchased a Llama Model I automatic in .380, mainly because it seemed like it was about a 5/8 scale model of the 1911, right down to the locking system, and even to a little tiny barrel link.

I always wanted to take pix of the 1911 and the Llama .380 compared.  I was cleaning the .45 this morning  and decided to do it.  I was pretty tired, and sorry for the dirty rag background, but here they are together. 

I later picked up a Llama Model II or III, I forget the designation, but it was a blowback version of the Model I and found it was heavier than the Model I and the slide was hard to actuate against  the heavy recoil spring required of blowback actions. The advantage, as I saw it, was better accuracy because of the solidly-mounted barrel.  You could see slight variations in the slide where they tried to increase the weight opposing the pressure of the cartridge.  I gave that one away.

I carried that little locked-breech .380 Llama everywhere, and it even got lost in my airline luggage once and it ended up in Boston.  I got it back about a week later,  those being the days when a gun was a gun and not a "GUU-UHN!"  I called it "My Wi'l Fwend" looong before the Scarface movie used the line, "Say hello to my little friend!"  I call the .45 "Bruno"... hell, they name ships, don't they?

So, for what it's worth, here they are.... I'm somehow reminded of the phrase, "He ain't heavy, he's my brother."

Cute little bastiche, no?

Terry, 230RN


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Cool!

Never wanted a 380.......till now. 

Is a 380 better than a 9mm?  Just curious why not a 9mm since the caliber's about the same.

Awwwwww I want one too!

Is a 380 better than a 9mm?  Just curious why not a 9mm since the caliber's about the same.

Huh

9mm is much better than .380 at everything.

Oh, and it's less expensive to boot.

That's really cool Terry

Is a 380 better than a 9mm?  Just curious why not a 9mm since the caliber's about the same.

The bullets are the same diameter or caliber, 0.355" or 9.017mm --call it  9mm, but the pressures are much higher in the "9" versus the .380ACP.  In fact, they call the .380 the "9mm Short," or 9mm Corto, or 9mm Kurz in English, Italian/Spanish, and German respectively.

Working pressure for the  .380 ACP is about 21,500 "psi," but is about 34,084 "psi" in the 9mm for comparison --about 60% higher for the 9mm Luger, or "9mm Parabellum" cartridge.

In scaling the mechanism down, the two weak points would be the barrel/chamber and especially that little tiny barrel link, which pulls the barrel down out of the locking ridges in the slide.  Besides, it was just about inconceivable to use a high-pressure cartridge in that small a gun in those days.

Nowadays, the locking mechanism in many autos is a little bit different, and no barrel link is used.  Rather, the much stronger barrel ramp system is used, where instead of having a little link pull the barrel down, a strong pin bearing on a ramp cams, rather than pulls, the barrel down, as, for example, in the Browning Hi Power and the tiny KelTec PF9. 

In addition, instead of having the barrel lock to the slide in those shallow little grooves in the upper inside surface of the slide, nowadays in many small autos, the front part of the barrel's chamber area has a ledge which butts against the front part of the ejection port in the slide to lock the two together in recoil until the pressure drops and the barrel is tipped down by the ramp out of the locked position..  I can't find any images of the difference between the two systems right now, though.  Maybe someone else can help out there.

Terry, 230RN

Very cool, thanks for the pics and the comparo!!!!!

The other advantage to a .380 is that they make 'em laughably small nowadays, which is a plus for concealed carry.  As they say, better to have a .380 in your pocket than a .45 or a 9mm in your nightstand...

OK, this comes close to explaining the differences I mentioned above.

This is the 1911 barrel and barrel link, which pulls the barrel down out out the corresponding locking grooves in the inside top surface of the slide as both kick backwards in the short recoil locking method used in so many guns.



This is the Browning Hi Power barrel, which instead of the barrel link, has a ramp, or camming surface to pull the barrel out of lociking engagement with the slide.   The locking surfaces are still those grooves on top of the barrel which mate with grooves on the inside top surface of the slide.



This is a modern barrel locking system, where, like the Hi-Power, a cam, rather than a link is used to unlock the barrel.  Note that there are no grooves which mate with grooves in the slide.  Rather, the locking occurs on that "ledge" on the barrel in front of the chamber.  This ledge locks against the front edge of the ejection port of the slide.



Terry, 230RN