Early Ruby .45 ACP Pistol

[Bob Riebe]

The Spanish company Gabilondo y Urresti, later to become known as Llama, introduced this locked-breech .45 ACP copy of the Colt 1911
in 1924. It was not a slavish copy, however, and introduced a captive recoil spring which would be the inspiration for that feature in the Polish Vis-35 and many later pistols.

By 1927, fewer than a thousand has sold, and it was decided that a new very that was a closer copy of the 1911 was introduced (in several calibers, including .45 ACP, 9×19, and 9×23) which would become very popular as the Llama pistol.