Búfalo
Gabilondo y Urresti · Pistol · Discontinued · 1919
Also known as: Bufalo, Buffalo, Búfalo 6.35mm
Overview
The Búfalo is a Spanish semi-automatic pocket pistol introduced in 1919 by Gabilondo y Urresti of Eibar (factory code 'GU'), the firm that later became Llama. It is a simple blowback design closely modelled on John Browning's FN/Colt vest-pocket pistols, replacing Browning's internal striker with a concealed hammer and adding a Spanish-patented grip safety. Best documented in 7.65mm (.32 ACP) and 9mm corto (.380 ACP), Gabilondo also catalogued a vest-pocket .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning) Búfalo that copies the Browning Model 1906: a deep-concealment sidearm with a roughly two-inch barrel and six-round magazine. The Búfalo sold extremely well in the early 1920s before being superseded by the very similar Danton in 1925.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 360 g (12.7 oz) |
| Overall Length | 114 mm (4.49") |
| Barrel Length | 53 mm (2.09") |
| Height | 80 mm (3.15") |
| Width | 24 mm (0.94") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 230 m/s (755 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 86 J (63 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 15 m (16 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .25 ACP · primary — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Grip Safety
- Features: Concealed Hammer, Fixed Sights, Pocket Pistol
Production
Production years: 1919-1925
A commercially successful Eibar pocket pistol: period accounts describe a single Barcelona armoury selling roughly 100 guns a day, but no model-specific Búfalo production total is documented.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Discontinued: 1925
Notes
Sources disagree on the .25 ACP chambering: the official Llama company history lists the Búfalo only in .32 and .380 ACP and assigns 6.35mm to the successor Danton, but numerous auction and collector examples (Rock Island, Amoskeag, Proxibid) are clearly marked 'BUFALO' in 6.35mm/.25 ACP, confirming a vest-pocket .25 ACP variant. The .32 ACP and .380 ACP chamberings used seven-, nine-, and twelve-round magazines; the .25 ACP version used a six-round magazine. Dimensions given are for the .25 ACP vest-pocket model and follow the FN/Colt Model 1906 pattern it copies (≈114mm overall, ≈53mm barrel, ≈360g).
Background
Gabilondo y Urresti rose to prominence supplying the French Army with hundreds of thousands of .32 ACP Ruby pistols during World War I (orders peaked near 50,000 per month), then leveraged that production capacity into a line of civilian pocket pistols such as the Búfalo and its successor the Danton before rebranding as Llama in the 1930s.