Ortgies Pistols

Does anyone have experience with the Ortgies pistol ( .25 or .32)? I've been intrigued by them, but would appreciate some input before I purchase one. Thank you in advance for you advice and comments

Very old, pre-WWII competitors for FN and Walther. Neat little striker fired designs a bit like the 1910 Browning/FN.
I don't know what the current collectors value is, but those will be VERY old springs and magazines are rare.
Geoff
Who notes there were some WWII bring backs and some were sold as surplus in the 1960s.

Only one, a .32. I shot it several hundred rounds and never had a stoppage that I recall, but it has been probably 35 years!

The strikers have two sear legs that are sort of long and prone to breakage. I had to replace the striker in mine because it was broken when I bought it. Parts were still available then, now, who knows?

There was nothing outstanding about the gun that would be particularly desirable. Depends on what you have in mind. Cute little plinker, but certainly nothing I would consider as a carry weapon! It was just one of many somewhat eclectic handguns I have owned over the past nearly 60 years simply because they were somewhat of curiosities more than anything else.

They are very well made pistols but don't seem to be all that collectable in recent years. If your ever bored, field strip one and try to get it back together.

Even 5 or 6 years ago you could buy a pretty nice one for under $100. They are probably $150-$200 now. I had a 6.35 with a period holster plus an extra magazine (like hen's teeth) that I bought for $80 and sold for over $300. They were only made for a few years in the early 1920s.

I own one. I would never carry one with a round in the chamber. There is nothing safe about the grip safety. They appear to be well made, but they are an accident waiting to happen. Mine was made in 1929 and barely fired when I got it, so no springs or moving parts were worn out. There's a good reason they are worthless in the collector market. A piece of junk. Save your money.

moosedog said:

They are very well made pistols but don't seem to be all that collectable in recent years. If your ever bored, field strip one and try to get it back together.

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When I got mine, I had to find someone who knew how to disassemble it. It wasn't too difficult after that. Easier than a Ruger Mark III.

The 'pocket pistol' Ortgies are pretty common and not too awful different from what was available on the market at the time. They function well as a general rule. They were made iin 380 as well as 25 and 32 cal.

Numrich has quite a few parts for these usually, but the sears are usually in short supply. Many parts for the 25cal edition are caliber specific as opposed to the 32/380 version.
Ebay and the GunAuction sites are good source of parts for these. Some decent parts prices can be found. Magazines are pricey but if you're quick you can find them for a fair price when first listed.

The early production guns generally have the 'H/O' grip logo medallion,,, the designers initials- Heinrich Ortgies.
A bit later when Ortgies died, the company was bought by Deutches Werke (sp?) they went to a stylized 'D' logo medallion (looks like a cat actually). Some of the Deutches Werke guns used up the earlier 'H/O' logo grips on them I understand.
Lots of variations in slide address markings, stampings, ect.
Overall production wasn't that long,,just after WW1 to the mid 1920's .

The early 32 & 380 production shared the same magazine. The mags are stamped 7.65mm on one side and 9mm on the other with appropiate view holes on each side for the different cartridges.
7rd 32,,6 rd 380 capacity.
Later production Deutches Werk magazines are caliber specific AFAIK as they are stamped on the floor plate with the cal (either 7.65 or 9mmK) along with the D/Werk logo.

Grip safety only,,no thumb safety on any I've seen. One thing different from grip safetys on Colt types and others is that the grip safety remains in the 'off' or pushed in position when hand pressure is removed.
It doesn't spring back to 'safe' mode like you might expect it too.

There's a small button on the left side of the frame just above the grip panel that when depressed will snap the grip safety back to the 'safe' position. That button is also used for TD of the pistol.
Only other pistol I can think of with that type of grip safety feature is the Remington 51 if I'm not mistaken, but it's been a while since I had one of those.

All coil springs inside the Ortgies,,simple to keep running. Grips are generally held in place by clips so they snap into place on the frame though some later production will have a standard screw through the grips and frame.

I had a .32 years ago. Seemed well made but unremarkable. The interesting thing is there isn't a single screw in the original design as I recall.

I wasn't familiar with the Ortgies so I set off in search of a little more information.

Found this nicely done article that gives some interesting history of Ortgies, has some good photos, and even instructions on disassembly!

The Ortgies Pistol

No screws

sodacan said:

I own one. I would never carry one with a round in the chamber. There is nothing safe about the grip safety. They appear to be well made, but they are an accident waiting to happen. Mine was made in 1929 and barely fired when I got it, so no springs or moving parts were worn out. There's a good reason they are worthless in the collector market. A piece of junk. Save your money.

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I think many of those older guns were meant to be carried with an empty chamber.

Ortgies were a cheaper option back then but the gun was actually well made, using quality materials, the design was advanced for it time and with few parts. Everything was forged and machined.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I bought a 32 caliber that the LGS I worked in didn't want to buy from a "walk in" guy. I paid him $30 in 1958. I had it for years and it was always in my pickup truck or my pants pocket if I was in an "iffy" area. It was reliable and easy to shoot accurately. It saved the life of a female friend of mine who was driving my pickup truck back home from college for me. She had an attempted car jacking occur in Tonopah a little after midnight at a gas station. Fortunately I had given her several range sessions with the Ortgies before she left Reno on this trip. She pulled the handgun out and told the car jacker to "Beat feet or die". He chose to beat feet. I should mention; In those days there was a Nevada law that a Nevada resident could carry concealed if they were traveling municipality to municipality within the state. This was before there was a "Shall Issue" CCW law.

I should have just given her the handgun, but I choose to sell it a few years later to finance my purchase of a Colt Python. ....

I liked that little Ortgies handgun and if it had been a .380 acp I probably would still own it. The modern day 'pocket' handguns don't have much on it. ............

I had one back in the late 1970s, maybe early 80s, a .32. I picked it up at a flea market cheap, complete and in pretty good cosmetic condition, but it had some problem. I ended up fabricating the needed part, not too difficult to do, and it worked fine afterward. I never did shoot it much, maybe several hundred rounds in the back yard (at that time I lived in a location where that was possible without someone calling the cops). I was big into pocket pistols at that time, but mainly American made ones. Then I traded off the Ortgies for something else. Seemed to be well-made and reliable, and as I remember, it had no screws at all (actually it's not alone among pocket pistols in that respect).

Have an Ortgies magazine problem, need help

Hi, I bought an Ortgies 32acp pistol recently. But didn't check it out until a few weeks later. I find out that the magazine is labeled 380!! But the barrel on the gun is for 32. So do any of you know if I buy a 32acp mag that it will fit this gun. I mean the mag is for a 380 as I loaded a 380 round in it. I also tried to load a 32 into it but the 380 mag is just too wide. So I am worried that maybe the handle of this pistol might be just to wide too for a 32acp mag......but then why is there a 32 barrel on it.

Am I making any sense? Any advice?
Thanks

ortgies

I recently purchased a .25 cal. that the seller listed as "not working", but I got it cheap as a project gun. I've done a few things so far and still cant' get the sear to release the striker ?? Interesting little bugger to work on, but I've got a few more ideas and if it still doesn't fire, I'll write it off as another "paper weight".

OLDSTER said:

I recently purchased a .25 cal. that the seller listed as "not working", but I got it cheap as a project gun. I've done a few things so far and still cant' get the sear to release the striker ?? Interesting little bugger to work on, but I've got a few more ideas and if it still doesn't fire, I'll write it off as another "paper weight".

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Check the dissconnector and it's small coil spring. The disconnector is only a small plunger or button type part that sits in the front of the sear bar. All that is inside the left side of the frame.
The little disconnector extends only maybe 1/16",,maybe less from the trigger bar. The trigger itself engages that small extension when pulled to lift the sear bar and disengage the sear/hammer.

On the return motion of the trigger, the spring loaded disconnector pushes out of the way then pops back out ready to engage the trigger again for the next shot.

If that small 1/16" extension on the disconnector is worn so the trigger mearly pushes it aside during the trigger pull,,or the spring behind it doesn't kick it back out so the trigger can get at it,,you'll be able to pull the trigger but nothing will happen.
Sometimes the spring is missing all together on them from disassembly and being lost.
That's the usual problem with them.
Google up an Ortgies schematic and you'll be able to see the disconnector and sear bar


FWIW,,the early 32/380 version used the same magazine,,stamped 7.65 on one side and 9mm on the other with appropriate # of cartridge view holes on either side for the caliber.
LAter production used caliber specific magazines, but should be marked 9mm or 9mmk if orig in 380acp caliber.
Original magazines are usually expensive but sometimes you can snag one off FleaBay or at a show if the timing is right.

The only experience I've had was watching my Dad shooting and cleaning his .25 and .32 Ortgies. By the time I was old enough to own a pistol he had sold them. I do remember he always thought they were well made pistols and would show then to friends once in a while.

2152hq said:

Check the dissconnector and it's small coil spring. The disconnector is only a small plunger or button type part that sits in the front of the sear bar. All that is inside the left side of the frame.
The little disconnector extends only maybe 1/16",,maybe less from the trigger bar. The trigger itself engages that small extension when pulled to lift the sear bar and disengage the sear/hammer.

On the return motion of the trigger, the spring loaded disconnector pushes out of the way then pops back out ready to engage the trigger again for the next shot.

If that small 1/16" extension on the disconnector is worn so the trigger mearly pushes it aside during the trigger pull,,or the spring behind it doesn't kick it back out so the trigger can get at it,,you'll be able to pull the trigger but nothing will happen.
Sometimes the spring is missing all together on them from disassembly and being lost.
That's the usual problem with them.
Google up an Ortgies schematic and you'll be able to see the disconnector and sear bar


FWIW,,the early 32/380 version used the same magazine,,stamped 7.65 on one side and 9mm on the other with appropriate # of cartridge view holes on either side for the caliber.
LAter production used caliber specific magazines, but should be marked 9mm or 9mmk if orig in 380acp caliber.
Original magazines are usually expensive but sometimes you can snag one off FleaBay or at a show if the timing is right.

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Thank you for your advice sir. I'll check out that tiny spring. and if it doesn't kick the button back out, I'll probably need a new spring

moonwhim said:

Hi, I bought an Ortgies 32acp pistol recently. But didn't check it out until a few weeks later. I find out that the magazine is labeled 380!! But the barrel on the gun is for 32. So do any of you know if I buy a 32acp mag that it will fit this gun. I mean the mag is for a 380 as I loaded a 380 round in it. I also tried to load a 32 into it but the 380 mag is just too wide. So I am worried that maybe the handle of this pistol might be just to wide too for a 32acp mag......but then why is there a 32 barrel on it.

Am I making any sense? Any advice?
Thanks

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Original mags were made to work with either round and are normally (but not always) marked 380 on one side and 7.65/32 on the other. A factory mag might have been messed with, spreading the lips or it could be an aftermarket, not made to the same dimensions. There are aftermarket 32 mags out there and that would be the easiest way to fix your problem. Factory mags seem to be a bit pricey but I have had good luck with the aftermarket ones.

I have owned several Ortgies over the years, had a nice little collection of them at one time. An interesting design, well made, sleek and easy to operate. The grip safety design is unusual but was probably considered to be quick and as safe as many other designs on the market (a lot of early pistols really don't meet our standards for safe carry nowadays, times were different then). There were a few pistols made with a sliding button safety above the grip. It locked the slide and prevented the grip safety from being released. Some have police property markings so it may have been developed for police contract versions or special order sales. These are uncommon, I have only seen a few of them.

I had an Ortgies as a kid that my father had given to me to use when my friends and I played Army. It was an empty frame with a barrel, slide and recoil spring. I made a set of wooden grips for it and had it for years. I gave it to my little brother when my "playing Army" days were over. I haven't seen it in over 40+ years, sure it got lost somewhere in the neighborhood.